Federal Government & Politics II

[casper]

Originally Posted by acottawa

I think maybe people are using two uses of the word "cash." The people saying it is hard to live with cash mean it is hard to live using banknotes, i.e. getting paid in banknotes, paying rent in banknotes, etc. I think the people who are saying it is easy to live with cash mean it in the figurative sense, i.e. not using credit (i.e. when someone says they bought their car with "cash" they do not mean they went to the dealer with a suitcase full of banknotes, they mean they made a bank transfer of some sort to the dealer).

Contractors don't like credit cards, but most want a cheque or e-transfer. They might take banknotes for small transactions to avoid some taxes but very few will for large transactions.

Most municipalities want property taxes paid as a bill through your bank. I don't know if it is still possible to show up at city hall with a bag of banknotes.

I haven't used a travel agency for years, but I would expect many are reluctant to take banknotes for large transactions.

I think this is also a cultural thing. My experience is Canadian business culture is very cheque/e-transfer or whatever oriented where there is a paper trail generated. Petty-cash is used to pay for cream in the office fridge if anything.

When you get to residential construction (something I have only ever had experience dealing with as repairs on my own stuff) the guys who are doing work on the side are happy to be paid in cash.

The weirdest industry for this is the US cannabis sector. Federally regulated banks are not allowed go anywhere near those companies. So they end up paying their employees in cash, even paying remitting their state sales tax in cash.

Personally, I like my reward points and am quit happy to see the merchants that sell me stuff fund them.

[casper]

Originally Posted by Bcasey25raptor

US is also about to vote Trump back in and I really don't think Canada swinging Conservative right now is a good time to do so.

A Trump/Pierre bromance is an utterly horrifying prospect

I hold out little hope for a Trump/Pierre bromance. They are both exceptionally poor listeners and communicators. Trump is under illusion that other world leaders will do what he wants because he is president of the US. Pierre is under the impression he can simply tell Trump that Canada is being treated unfairly and Trump will capitulate.

They will resolve nothing. They will quickly determine they don't like each other and stop talking. As an aside JT had and will have a similar relationship.

I do hope that they both don't get in. Who knows, we live in weird times.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by Bcasey25raptor

1) our inflation is 3%, not 8%
2) Debt to GDP is going DOWN
3) workers built my apartment, workers run the restaurant, the owners of the companies profit off our labour
4) without workers those rich people wouldn't have been able to build those industries and companies.
5) I havent advocated raising taxes here, but since you asked, I want the GST to return to 7%


Canada isn't in a debt crisis and austerity is NOT necessary rn. This isn't the 90s when we faced a fiscal cliff.

This is what Austerity causes, you want to sacrifice our own citizens because you've fallen for financial doomerism that the very elite have lied to you over

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hn6KlSdcem8

The federal government is spending 46 billion on debt servicing. That would built a lot of hospitals or public housing.

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by acottawa

The federal government is spending 46 billion on debt servicing. That would built a lot of hospitals or public housing.

That's a lazy talking point. The money was borrowed in the past. Realistically the most tightfisted government being in charge since 2015 means maybe $40 Billion?

[P'tit Renard]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

That's a lazy talking point. The money was borrowed in the past. Realistically the most tightfisted government being in charge since 2015 means maybe $40 Billion?

There's also epic mismanagement by part-time Finance Minster Freeland, where COVID borrowing was locked in short-term notes, and now are being refinanced at significantly higher rates.

Ottawa borrowed heavily without locking in at low rates. The refinancing is getting painful
https://nationalpost.com/news/politi...ort-term-bonds

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

That's a lazy talking point. The money was borrowed in the past. Realistically the most tightfisted government being in charge since 2015 means maybe $40 Billion?

Trudeau doubled the debt, 100B in COVID spending would have happened no matter what, so I would expect a fiscally responsible government would be looking at about 25 billion in debt servicing, leaving 19 billion every year for hospitals, public housing , etc.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by acottawa

Most municipalities want property taxes paid as a bill through your bank. I don't know if it is still possible to show up at city hall with a bag of banknotes.
.

My city most definitely accepts in-person payments in cash and I am pretty sure all municipalities do.

They are a government and cash is legal tender so they don't have a choice. Unless you want to pay it all with nickels and dimes, for which there are limits set by law.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by Acajack

My city most definitely accepts in-person payments in cash and I am pretty sure all municipalities do.

They are a government and cash is legal tender so they don't have a choice. Unless you want to pay it all with nickels and dimes, for which there are limits set by law.

CRA only accepts cash payments through a third party that charges a fee. I suspect some municipalities have also adopted this policy.

[Truenorth00]

The idea that it's so easy to get around with cash doesn't jive with recent concerns that we're too close to becoming cashless:

Canada 'sleepwalking' into cashless society, consumer advocates warn

A consumer group is urgently calling on the federal government to follow other jurisdictions in the U.S and Europe and bring in legislation to stem the slide toward a cashless society.

Only 10 per cent of transactions in Canada today are done using cash, according to Carlos Castiblanco, an economist with the group Option Consommateurs.

"There is a need to protect cash right now before more merchants start refusing [it]," Castiblanco recently told CBC Radio's Ontario Today.

It's critical to act now, he added, before retailers begin removing all of the infrastructure required to store and maintain physical money.

"They are already used to dealing with cash," he said. "So this is the moment to act, before it is more complicated."

In a report called "Will cash be a thing of the past?", Option Consommateurs published one of the first deep dives into who is still using coins and paper money.

....

The issue has caught fire outside Canada, Castiblanco said, with several jurisdictions beginning to legislate to protect access to cash.

In 2019, Philadelphia became the first city in North America to prohibit "a person selling or offering for sale consumer goods or services at retail from refusing to accept cash as a form of payment."

Other U.S. cities, including New York, Seattle and Los Angeles, have since moved ahead on the issue.

In New York, the regulation proposes fines of up to $1,500, with the councillor who sponsored the rules declaring that a ban on cashless businesses protects privacy, equity and consumer choice.

European countries like Norway, Spain, and Ireland have introduced similar laws. In Ireland, the law would require a cash option at businesses like pharmacies and grocery stores that sell essential products and services.

...

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottaw...warn-1.7248846

You can probably get by with just cash in Canada. Your quality of life won't be great. And I don't think the majority of faux students we get (who from the middle class in their home countries) want to live like that in Canada.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by acottawa

CRA only accepts cash payments through a third party that charges a fee. I suspect some municipalities have also adopted this policy.

Gatineau doesn't even accept debit or credit cards for in-person payment of property taxes. It's cheque or cash only.

They also cite the federal currency act as follows:

Veuillez noter que le paiement en monnaie est limité de la manière suivante, et ce, conformément à l'article 8(2) de la Loi sur la monnaie, LRC 1985, c C-52 :

Les pièces de deux à dix dollars : pour un montant total maximal de quarante dollars;
Les pièces de un dollar : pour un montant total maximal de vingt-cinq dollars;
Les pièces de dix cents et plus mais de moins d'un dollar : pour un montant total maximal de dix dollars;
Les pièces de cinq cents : pour un montant total maximal de cinq dollars;
Les pièces de un cent : pour un montant total maximal de vingt-cinq cents.

Les paiements par carte de crédit ou par carte de crédit/débit ne sont pas acceptés.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Bcasey25raptor

1) our inflation is 3%, not 8%
2) Debt to GDP is going DOWN
3) workers built my apartment, workers run the restaurant, the owners of the companies profit off our labour
4) without workers those rich people wouldn't have been able to build those industries and companies.
5) I havent advocated raising taxes here, but since you asked, I want the GST to return to 7%


Canada isn't in a debt crisis and austerity is NOT necessary rn. This isn't the 90s when we faced a fiscal cliff.

This is what Austerity causes, you want to sacrifice our own citizens because you've fallen for financial doomerism that the very elite have lied to you over

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hn6KlSdcem8

Compared to most OECD countries, you're correct that Canada is doing a lot of things right or at least is doing pretty well, perhaps out of simple luck in some cases maybe.

But we've seriously fucked up on housing and immigration, and these are very important areas for people's quality of life and the future of the country.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

The idea that it's so easy to get around with cash doesn't jive with recent concerns that we're too close to becoming cashless:



https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottaw...warn-1.7248846
.

This could also be a reaction to a still very small but increasing number of situations where people can't use cash, while they're used to being able to pay with it everywhere.

I should also note that there are still more cash only businesses out there than one might think.

From time to time I end up somewhere and there is a sign that says "CASH ONLY - ATM AROUND THE CORNER IF YOU NEED IT".

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by acottawa

Trudeau doubled the debt, 100B in COVID spending would have happened no matter what, so I would expect a fiscally responsible government would be looking at about 25 billion in debt servicing, leaving 19 billion every year for hospitals, public housing , etc.

You think if Harper is in charge still we can only increase the debt by 100 Billion from 2015 to 2024? Automatic stabilizers during Covid would have cost a lot more than that or would they have stopped EI and increased tax rates because of Covid telling everyone starve as we are in a crisis? Of course the massive recession your plan would entail would have also cost even more revenue wheras the spending returned to the government as people spent that money that was then taxed. Meanwhile we would have bankrupt cities and transit agencies, provinces carrying the debt at much higher rates. Even as a let it rip country that is simply impossible. It was done nowhere.

But best case even cutting 30% of that new spending wouldn't really have reduced our debt servicing costs by 15% down to $40 Billion.

[hipster duck]

Originally Posted by Acajack

But we've seriously fucked up on housing and immigration, and these are very important areas for people's quality of life and the future of the country.

We've always been mediocre-to-poor when it comes to housing compared to our peer countries. We had a good run in the 1960s and 1970s, but so did most other western countries, and we were never best in class. In the 90s we were "saved" by a housing crash and a poor economy. And, since then, well, we all know the story.

But when it comes to immigration we used to be the best in the world. And while I don't think we're "the worst in the world" (that case could be made for housing), we're no better than the average of our peers, maybe even below average, and all of this happened within one administration - Trudeau's.

None of our other peer countries has fallen so drastically in their area of strength. This would be like if Japan all of a sudden had Canadian levels of crime. Or if the US was suddenly as innovative as Belgium. Or if Iceland's women's rights fell to American levels.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by hipster duck

We've always been mediocre-to-poor when it comes to housing compared to our peer countries. We had a good run in the 1960s and 1970s, but so did most other western countries, and we were never best in class. In the 90s we were "saved" by a housing crash and a poor economy. And, since then, well, we all know the story.

But when it comes to immigration we used to be the best in the world. And while I don't think we're "the worst in the world" (that case could be made for housing), we're no better than the average of our peers, maybe even below average, and all of this happened within one administration - Trudeau's.

None of our other peer countries has fallen so drastically in their area of strength. This would be like if Japan all of a sudden had Canadian levels of crime. Or if the US was suddenly as innovative as Belgium. Or if Iceland's women's rights fell to American levels.

Interesting metric. You're absolutely right.

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by hipster duck

We've always been mediocre-to-poor when it comes to housing compared to our peer countries. We had a good run in the 1960s and 1970s, but so did most other western countries, and we were never best in class. In the 90s we were "saved" by a housing crash and a poor economy. And, since then, well, we all know the story.

But when it comes to immigration we used to be the best in the world. And while I don't think we're "the worst in the world" (that case could be made for housing), we're no better than the average of our peers, maybe even below average, and all of this happened within one administration - Trudeau's.

None of our other peer countries has fallen so drastically in their area of strength. This would be like if Japan all of a sudden had Canadian levels of crime. Or if the US was suddenly as innovative as Belgium. Or if Iceland's women's rights fell to American levels.

This is good point. It's also something easily correctable. I fear the corporate cheap labour lobby and the fear of appearing racist may prevent the Cons from making the hard choices but the choice is absolutely entirely in the control of the Federal Government. Dramatic reduction in immigration will also have negative effects on growth and labour shortages but is absolutely easy to implement.

[Dartguard]

Originally Posted by Bcasey25raptor

Most wealth is inherited. You cant be brainwashed enough to think Billionaires just work harder than the rest of us can you? Sheesh, no wonder my generation is fucked

Hardly, its earned. My Son is 37 and the Father of two kids with a High School education and believe me he had some stupid Teenage experiences. He also was mentored and trained by a friend of mine to renovate houses. The Kid could and did replace electric water heaters at 16.Alone.

He is now a DeWalt rep (with a free F 150 crew cab) and bought his third and fourth house in the middle of Covid. Yes I am the free labor and as I tease him constantly that I stopped counting my free hours after 500. He and his Real estate employed Wife are living rent free as they have three rental properties with a total of 6 units. He has worked damned hard for what he has and Canada still provides opportunities for that set of values. The present government however thinks we all should have fewer of those opportunities and it sounds like you are feeling punished.

Find a mentor and when you do stuff the Poor me and LISTEN. That's what my Son did. It worked and I truly thank a higher power as that Son was headed down a dangerous stupid path. You sound like you have more going on. DON'T EVER GIVE UP!!

[shreddog]

So every day there seems to be more and more dissent within Team RED regarding PMJT. I still want him to ride it out to the election as I feel he derserves whatever outcome awaits. That said, for those that believe he could still win the election - that is win it and not have the CPC lose it - what do you think he could do in the next 12 months to change that calculus?

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by shreddog

So every day there seems to be more and more dissent within Team RED regarding PMJT. I still want him to ride it out to the election as I feel he derserves whatever outcome awaits. That said, for those that believe he could still win the election - that is win it and not have the CPC lose it - what do you think he could do in the next 12 months to change that calculus?

I don't think there's much that they can do that will have the desired impact. Radical policy changes are not looking possible and probably would leave people sceptical. I can see another significant cabinet shuffle (Sajjan needs to go, so there's a starting point), but that didn't do much for them last time.

I suspect they may just ride it out and try to dazzle in the election campaign (could happen, but I'm not holding my breath).

Bottom line, it will be ten years in office, they're tired, and it's probably a good time for change, whatever that might entail.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by shreddog

So every day there seems to be more and more dissent within Team RED regarding PMJT. I still want him to ride it out to the election as I feel he derserves whatever outcome awaits. That said, for those that believe he could still win the election - that is win it and not have the CPC lose it - what do you think he could do in the next 12 months to change that calculus?

Before listening to the Herle Burly podcast episode I thought for sure he would stay. Now I agree that he's gotten to quit as soon as he can figure out a good transition plan that doesn't completely destroy his policy.

For the second part of your question, I think the advice is going to be the same regardless of whether he stays or goes. They have to do something on cost of living and housing. And it has to be something tangible. They have a bad habit of announcing a program, declaring victory and simply moving on. Nothing actually gets delivered or built and then the public gets angrier and more cynical. My second advice is to address immigration. The public knows their immigration policy is broken. Finally, a bit of humility and contrition. They refuse to acknowledge mistakes. They simply insist on gaslighting the public on cost of living, immigration, housing, etc. This is eroding trust massively. And its a huge part of why they are tanking in the polls. Nobody trusts any of their announcements anymore. People will give a lot more leeway and forgiveness to governments they believe are actually listening and trying. Even if they disagree with policy. They won't forgive governments they believe are wilfully ignoring their problems or requests.