Canada RETHINK

[happycanuck99]

I get the intent of the video, but if the delivery is taken in literal terms then it is very poorly executed. A race implies there are winners and losers, and in the context of the video it would appear that there is only one winner of a $100 bill. In that example there are no incentives for those who start with a disadvantage to even bother. They tried to generalize that concept too much in a way that it'd get picked apart by guys like appleomac.

In my opinion a better analogy would be: after all the steps have been taken, you give everyone 5 seconds to run as far as they can from the start line, and everyone gets a dollar for each meter they are from the start. In this case, those who are behind to begin with are still incentivized to run as far as they can, but they will have little to no chance of catching up to those who had big leads to start.

As an aside... if you did watch the video to the very end, you can see the guys who were at the very start and had hardly taken any steps, they blasted through those who had big leads very quickly so much so that I'm almost certain the video had to get cut short so that the point could still be proven.

LOL! And I thought *I* had the super-power of over-thinking!

 

[masterpoonhunter]

I'd posted before that we as pooners weren't going to solve the whole tax thing on this forum, but after seeing the analysis and the thought and time put in here, well shit, guys keep it going. A solution just might get shot out the other end of this thread.

 

[Uncled]

Communism - it's the only answer!

The People's Democratic Republic of Canada

 

[Big_Guy_Rye]

This is some kind of "Great Reset" thread?

 

[newbie123]

OK lets try this another way. Today 2021 you make $23,000 year before taxes (minimum wage). Give me a breakdown of your rent, utilities, transportation and food.

Minimum wage in MB is $11.90. Assuming a 40 hour work week and a person works 50 weeks per year, they will make $24,752 (50 weeks x $11.90 / hour x 40 hours x 1.04 for vacation pay). Taxes, CPP, and EI would be about $4,270 so a person would be left with $20,482.


Sure, here are my expenses from 2020:
- Average 2 bedroom rent for vacant apartments = $1400 / month so $700 / person ($8400 per year)
- Utilities = $50 / month (I pay $30 for a 750 square foot condo) or $25 / person ($300 / year)
- Phone = $67.20 (based on my plan including tax) / month = $67.20 / month ($806.40 / year)
- Internet + TV = $116.48 (based on my plan including tax although my bill doesn't split the two out) / month = $58.24 / person ($698.88 / year)
- Food = $1384.01 / year (my spend in 2020 includes $278.33 eating out)
- Transportation = $104 / month ($1248 / year)
Total = $12,837.29
Savings = $7,644.71 ($637.06 / month)

My numbers aren't vastly different than what Appleomac came up with. My food number is quite a bit lower (perhaps I just eat less than average) and my utility number is lower. Utilities are cheaper in MB plus a two bedroom apartment would be lower than the Canadian average in general given the size compared to houses. I"m sure you could argue other necessities or miscellaneous expenses but there is flexibility for some additional costs. There is also the option of taking on another job to get more hours or invest dollars to upgrade skills to find a higher paying job.

For what it's worth, my expenses for 2020 totaled $16,984.19 (although that doesn't include vehicle payments or mortgage/rent payments since they are paid off). The only item cash outflow I am excluding from that number are the tax installments I make in addition to those withheld from my normal paycheque. I classify those as a reduction of income instead of expenses.

 

[Lo-ki]

In BC
Minimum wage....
In a tent

 

[newbie123]

I think it is absolutely commendable for you to consciously struggle to get where you are in life. In today's day and age, not many people are able to do what you did, partly because of the environment we now live in (consumption culture) and that environment is propagated widely in the western world.

I think your case was an extreme and an anomaly. While I don't doubt it to be true, there may be things that were unknowingly left behind. Privilege begins at birth (hence earlier the question "were you born in Canada"), and from there our environment shapes us to be who we end up being. Perhaps someone else working two jobs in university would not have the resilience or mental fortitude to do what you did if they didn't have family and friends that helped them shape their values as they grew up (just paraphrasing, but that is an example). I think what other posters and I are getting at is that it isn't as simple as work X hours, get paid Y dollars, even if that plays a more obvious role in where we all end up where we are.

That's a fair comment and I made the comment about me more than I intended. I realize I am a single data point and extrapolating single data points over broad populations is fraught with problems. The point I was trying to make is that it is doable - although not glamourous - to make do with less (admittedly easier in MB versus other locations) and before folks complain about receiving additional handouts/support from governments in the name of fairness, I'd like to see more accountability from individuals to own their own circumstances.

I do agree I had the good fortune of being born in Canada. I was trying to compare to other Canadians but it is an interesting discussion because many of the less fortunate in Canada would be considered well off in many other countries. I think perhaps where we disagree is where we are on the determinism/free will spectrum. While there are always uncontrollable variables, I do tend to believe much more in free will and that people largely control their own fates. An interesting anecdote is that I have a brother two years older than me. His life is largely a mess and he is quite the opposite of me in many ways. That relationship definitely influences my view as he blames everyone else for his problems but refuses to ever take responsibility for his decisions and circumstances.

 

[johnnydepth]

Minimum wage in MB is $11.90. Assuming a 40 hour work week and a person works 50 weeks per year, they will make $24,752 (50 weeks x $11.90 / hour x 40 hours x 1.04 for vacation pay). Taxes, CPP, and EI would be about $4,270 so a person would be left with $20,482.


Sure, here are my expenses from 2020:
- Average 2 bedroom rent for vacant apartments = $1400 / month so $700 / person ($8400 per year)
- Utilities = $50 / month (I pay $30 for a 750 square foot condo) or $25 / person ($300 / year)
- Phone = $67.20 (based on my plan including tax) / month = $67.20 / month ($806.40 / year)
- Internet + TV = $116.48 (based on my plan including tax although my bill doesn't split the two out) / month = $58.24 / person ($698.88 / year)
- Food = $1384.01 / year (my spend in 2020 includes $278.33 eating out)
- Transportation = $104 / month ($1248 / year)
Total = $12,837.29
Savings = $7,644.71 ($637.06 / month)

My numbers aren't vastly different than what Appleomac came up with. My food number is quite a bit lower (perhaps I just eat less than average) and my utility number is lower. Utilities are cheaper in MB plus a two bedroom apartment would be lower than the Canadian average in general given the size compared to houses. I"m sure you could argue other necessities or miscellaneous expenses but there is flexibility for some additional costs. There is also the option of taking on another job to get more hours or invest dollars to upgrade skills to find a higher paying job.

For what it's worth, my expenses for 2020 totaled $16,984.19 (although that doesn't include vehicle payments or mortgage/rent payments since they are paid off). The only item cash outflow I am excluding from that number are the tax installments I make in addition to those withheld from my normal paycheque. I classify those as a reduction of income instead of expenses.

OK I have to ask... $1,384.01 for food for an entire year? WTF? I would love to see that broken down by meal.

 

[titus320]

OK I have to ask... $1,384.01 for food for an entire year? WTF? I would love to see that broken down by meal.

Yea I’d say $1384 for food is a hard number to get to. I did that while I was in college for a few years. My “trick” was to calculate meals at no more than 1 dollar per meal. I ate like shit, my health was awful and I was depressed. It pisses me off when people speak about these numbers and say it’s fucking doable. Realistically you can keep food costs for one person down to 600 if you just skip a few meals and use the food bank a bunch. It’s just dehumanizing and alienating to struggle just to survive. People should not have to debase themselves like that in a country like Canada so please donate to your food banks friends.