Federal Government & Politics II

[goodgrowth]

There was going to be no slackening in population growth anytime soon to relieve housing pressure that might even help the Liberals. Among all other avenues for growth the deadline for Ukrainians to come to Canada under the emergency visa is March 31. An additional ~80K have arrived since last July up to the end of February. Probably another 10K in this last month.

At one time that might have been our entire immigration quota right there. Especially during the winter.

If there was any expectation of a re-balancing on the housing market anytime soon it's wishful thinking. Best case is another year or two imo assuming the student permit reforms kick in. And there will be a strong lag effect with all this.

[Truenorth00]

^ I was told the war in Ukraine doesn't impact us at all.

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

^ I was told the war in Ukraine doesn't impact us at all.

Don't encourage them. They'll just say see the fake refugees are using up all that money they don't want to spend on the homeless. Anyway they quickly start working and are a net plus for sure by year 2.

[ssiguy]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

yes, which should make his video journalism all the more credible to other conservatives, right?

I've been to the deep South many times. As well as the worst parts of the Rustbelt in the Midwest and Northeast. The poverty is absolutely grinding; much deeper and on a far wider scale than just about anywhere in Canada (aside, perhaps from some of the First Nations reservations, and maybe North Winnipeg).

Obviously, there is homelessness and poverty in the US but is this what we are now suppose to be proud of? That Canada is only as bad as the poverty in the US South? The fact that we are now even comparing ourselves to the poorest states with the lowest minimum wages and home to most of the US's lowest levels of social welfare program exemplifies just how far we have fallen. We use to be able to compare our cities to the best in the world like Zurich or Oslo and now we are suppose to be happy that we aren't as bad as Jackson Mississippi?

I don't buy this idea that Trudeau and the Liberals didn't realize how our standard of living would plunge by bringing in millions of new suckers every year. They knew exactly what would happen but they just didn't care. They have absolutely no understanding of how to grow an economy so they just took the easy way out by opening the floodgates to help keep the housing Ponzi-Scheme going and to hell with the consequences as our homeless and hungry are nothing more than "collateral damage".

[MolsonExport]

^not at all; my response was to put things into perspective to the chorus of voices here on this thread (led by a couple of very strident voices) that Canada was going down the toilet compared to the USA and other countries. I travel very frequently abroad. Quite frankly, it would be good for some of the people that regularly denigrate our country to do so as well. The USA is a great place for upper middle class (if you have health insurance) and everyone above that social class; it is a very cruel society for those among in the lower classes.

And Canada is head and shoulders less poor than the worst parts of the Deep South. This is plainly evident to anyone who has spent time in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, and Georgia. Ditto for much of Appalachia and swathes of the Midwest.

We are not as wealthy as Norway (or Switzerland). Practically no country is. Their circumstances are very unique. The USA has a much higher average income (PPP) than Canada, but the disparity between the rich and poor is unmatched in any other developed country. This is not something we should be striving towards.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

The USA is a great place for upper middle class (if you have health insurance) and everyone above that social class; it is a very cruel society for those among in the lower classes.

I think this is a bit of a misconception. The US spends lots on social programs and has programs like Medicaid. It is true that some people fall through the cracks in the USA who don't in Canada, but we have our own problems too and in some cases people at the bottom in the US get more generous assistance than they do here. Housing costs are really hurting a wide swath of Canadian society and our healthcare system has a lot of problems. High prices for basic goods and services hurt people at the low end too; it's not all about government services and transfers.

To me the cross-country comparisons don't mean much. With our resources we should be better off than Italy or China or India. The main comparable country is the USA, and the real question anyway is how Canada could do better. Given the out-there immigration policies and housing and healthcare woes I'm pretty sure it's possible to do better than what we're getting right now.

[P'tit Renard]

Originally Posted by Build.It

Corporate tax rate in Ontario is also very low - also works out to 15%.

Are you referring to the small business rate, that benefits only small closely held Canadian companies? Canada's tax code is strange, in that it artificially incentivizes small businesses not to grow, else they'll be punished with a punitive tax rate (at double the rate) once they pass a very low income threshold. There's also very few Canadian tax incentives for small business to invest in technology or make IT driven productivity investments other than gaming the convoluted SRED regime.

Ditto for any Canadian companies trying to expand beyond Canada, they're doubly punished with an extremely complex and punitive international tax regime. It's completely counter-intuitive, and Tax legislation just keeps getting more complicated every year.

The general rate is closer to 26.5% for most Canadian based companies. This rate is already too high compared to the US after Trump's tax reform, so there's no room to cut.

[Build.It]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Corporations are undertaxed.

Well the alternative is pay more tax and employ fewer people, so pick your poison I guess...

[Build.It]

In vast swaths of the US, a husband-wife tandem of Wendy's workers can buy a detached house and raise a family. I don't know of anywhere in Canada that this is still possible.

Canada has poor people, and the US has poor people, but objectively if you are poor, you will have a higher standard of living than you will here.

Maybe the room you rent here will be in a nicer looking neighbourhood, but it won't be yours, and good luck raising a family. In the middle America as long as you can hold down some sort of steady job, you'll be able to afford a home, and raise a family.

Healthcare is the only aspect of your life that will be better in Canada if you are poor, but everything else will be better for you in America.

[Build.It]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Why? We shouldn't fund dental care for kids who can't afford it?

Dental care for underprivileged kids already exists:
https://www.smilecaredental.ca/blog/...e-ontario-2021

Drug coverage for underprivileged people also already exists:
https://www.ontario.ca/page/get-help...ion-drug-costs

Everyone else has private insurance through work.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by Build.It

Dental care for underprivileged kids already exists:
https://www.smilecaredental.ca/blog/...e-ontario-2021

Drug coverage for underprivileged people also already exists:
https://www.ontario.ca/page/get-help...ion-drug-costs

Everyone else has private insurance through work.

If that was true, then the government funding for dental care wouldn't be needed. "We know that in 2022 one in four Canadians reported avoiding visiting an oral health professional because of the cost and that a third of the people living in Canada do not have dental insurance." [source]

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Build.It

Well the alternative is pay more tax and employ fewer people, so pick your poison I guess...

Taxing business profit does not equal less employees. I'm embarrassed for you if you call yourself a business owner.

[goodgrowth]

Originally Posted by Build.It

In vast swaths of the US, a husband-wife tandem of Wendy's workers can buy a detached house and raise a family. I don't know of anywhere in Canada that this is still possible.

Edmonton possibly.

[Dartguard]

Originally Posted by Changing City

If that was true, then the government funding for dental care wouldn't be needed. "We know that in 2022 one in four Canadians reported avoiding visiting an oral health professional because of the cost and that a third of the people living in Canada do not have dental insurance." [source]

Yet the national dental program is being rolled out to very elderly folks first. Here is a real question. Have the Feds asked the dental industry if they will play? The first act this government did was end some tax advantages that disproportionately affected Dentists Incomes. Medicare was a very rocky road in implementation back in the sixties.

[Build.It]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Taxing business profit does not equal less employees. I'm embarrassed for you if you call yourself a business owner.

You are correct that you get taxed on the profit and that salaries are claimed. However when you invest in new people that is typically going to come at least partially from reserves, which would come from prior years' leftover profits. The more difficult it is to save, the more difficult it is to invest in more people. The alternative is to borrow money, but that is generally a terrible idea.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by Changing City

If that was true, then the government funding for dental care wouldn't be needed. "We know that in 2022 one in four Canadians reported avoiding visiting an oral health professional because of the cost and that a third of the people living in Canada do not have dental insurance." [source]

A dentist visit is about $125 every 9-12 months. if people can't afford that maybe they shouldn't be having kids.

[Build.It]

Originally Posted by goodgrowth

Edmonton possibly.

I'll give you Edmonton, Winnipeg and Regina. If the Wendys couple stretches they can afford a condo in these for sure.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Build.It

You are correct that you get taxed on the profit and that salaries are claimed. However when you invest in new people that is typically going to come at least partially from reserves, which would come from prior years' leftover profits. The more difficult it is to save, the more difficult it is to invest in more people. The alternative is to borrow money, but that is generally a terrible idea.

Those "reserves" are then tax deductible expenses.

Your train of thought is pretty short sighted.

[Hecate]

Originally Posted by whatnext

A dentist visit is about $125 every 9-12 months. if people can't afford that maybe they shouldn't be having kids.

lol try $200

[Hecate]

But yea so far the dental care plan is helping very few Canadians who actually need dental care. The main age group needing treatment is the 18 to 45 year olds who don’t qualify.