[Newsbot]

Title: 31% of Canadians don't earn enough to pay their bills: Survey
Category: Business
Posted By: Scape
Date: 2022-04-19 23:57:19
Canadian

[Strutz]

Wow. Scary. I'm grateful to be in a position of not being in this position. We're still staying ahead but not as much as we could be as everything has become more expensive. Puts some things on the back-burner until the $ is comfortably available (home related shit we need to do at some point)

We have no debts aside from mortgage payments and only 1 credit card, not often used and paid off every month.

[DrCaleb]

It's not a good way to run an economy; when the majority have trouble surviving, and the top tier pays no tax.

[rickc]

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

It's not a good way to run an economy; when the majority have trouble surviving, and the top tier pays no tax.

The top tier pay no tax?

[llama66]

loopholes and the like

[DrCaleb]

rickc rickc:

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

It's not a good way to run an economy; when the majority have trouble surviving, and the top tier pays no tax.

The top tier pay no tax?

Have you not heard of the "Panama Papers"? Mossack Fonseca?

Another example, from today:

Amazon Europe Unit Paid No Taxes on $55 Billion Sales in 2021

Why do the poor have to pay 30% income tax, the 'middle class' pay 40%, and the top 1% pay nothing? Flat rate is the only fair tax scheme.

[bootlegga]

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

Why do the poor have to pay 30% income tax, the 'middle class' pay 40%, and the top 1% pay nothing? Flat rate is the only fair tax scheme.

I'm not a fan of flat taxes. I suppose a flat rate tax gets the wealthy to at least pay something, but 10% of $100 million hurts far less for some rich guy than 10% of $20,000 does for the kid serving coffee at Starbucks.

One guy has to choose between which high end sports car to buy this year, while the other guy decides whether to pay his utility bill or eat.

I wish governments would get the wealthy to pay more (or something), but the problem is the wealthy are the ones who often donate most of the funds the politicians use to get re-elected. So when Politician 'A' suggests higher tax rates for the wealthy, the wealthy just donate to Politician 'B', who promises more tax cuts or lower rates, who then gets elected and ensures the wealthy pay as little as possible.

[Tricks]

bootlegga bootlegga:

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

Why do the poor have to pay 30% income tax, the 'middle class' pay 40%, and the top 1% pay nothing? Flat rate is the only fair tax scheme.

I'm not a fan of flat taxes. I suppose a flat rate tax gets the wealthy to at least pay something, but 10% of $100 million hurts far less for some rich guy than 10% of $20,000 does for the kid serving coffee at Starbucks.

One guy has to choose between which high end sports car to buy this year, while the other guy decides whether to pay his utility bill or eat.

I wish governments would get the wealthy to pay more (or something), but the problem is the wealthy are the ones who often donate most of the funds the politicians use to get re-elected. So when Politician 'A' suggests higher tax rates for the wealthy, the wealthy just donate to Politician 'B', who promises more tax cuts or lower rates, who then gets elected and ensures the wealthy pay as little as possible.

That's why you still have an amount that if you make less than, you don't pay tax. Put that basically at minimum wage. So make less than 30? No tax. Make over that, pay X.

[DrCaleb]

bootlegga bootlegga:

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

Why do the poor have to pay 30% income tax, the 'middle class' pay 40%, and the top 1% pay nothing? Flat rate is the only fair tax scheme.

I'm not a fan of flat taxes. I suppose a flat rate tax gets the wealthy to at least pay something, but 10% of $100 million hurts far less for some rich guy than 10% of $20,000 does for the kid serving coffee at Starbucks.

One guy has to choose between which high end sports car to buy this year, while the other guy decides whether to pay his utility bill or eat.

I wish governments would get the wealthy to pay more (or something), but the problem is the wealthy are the ones who often donate most of the funds the politicians use to get re-elected. So when Politician 'A' suggests higher tax rates for the wealthy, the wealthy just donate to Politician 'B', who promises more tax cuts or lower rates, who then gets elected and ensures the wealthy pay as little as possible.

Having everybody including the wealthy pay something, then giving tax credits for low income homes seems to me the best way to fund the government fairly. If the people who earn the most from the infrastructure the government has constructed pay the least for its upkeep, that to me is terribly unfair.

If the people who earn the least are not able to participate in the economy, we are leaving a large part of the population out of the economy. Like I've written before, my father had a good job, my mom was a housewife, we had 2 cars and a nice house. That seems impossible now. I make triple per year compared to what my father did, and I doubt I could afford to feed 3 extra mouths and keep a house. And I doubt anyone starting out could even do that.

No wonder why we have to use so many temporary foreign workers to do the low paying jobs, and why employers are having trouble finding workers for those jobs now. Not good for the future economy.

[bootlegga]

Tricks Tricks:

bootlegga bootlegga:

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

Why do the poor have to pay 30% income tax, the 'middle class' pay 40%, and the top 1% pay nothing? Flat rate is the only fair tax scheme.

I'm not a fan of flat taxes. I suppose a flat rate tax gets the wealthy to at least pay something, but 10% of $100 million hurts far less for some rich guy than 10% of $20,000 does for the kid serving coffee at Starbucks.

One guy has to choose between which high end sports car to buy this year, while the other guy decides whether to pay his utility bill or eat.

I wish governments would get the wealthy to pay more (or something), but the problem is the wealthy are the ones who often donate most of the funds the politicians use to get re-elected. So when Politician 'A' suggests higher tax rates for the wealthy, the wealthy just donate to Politician 'B', who promises more tax cuts or lower rates, who then gets elected and ensures the wealthy pay as little as possible.

That's why you still have an amount that if you make less than, you don't pay tax. Put that basically at minimum wage. So make less than 30? No tax. Make over that, pay X.

[bootlegga]

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

Having everybody including the wealthy pay something, then giving tax credits for low income homes seems to me the best way to fund the government fairly. If the people who earn the most from the infrastructure the government has constructed pay the least for its upkeep, that to me is terribly unfair.

Works for me.

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

If the people who earn the least are not able to participate in the economy, we are leaving a large part of the population out of the economy. Like I've written before, my father had a good job, my mom was a housewife, we had 2 cars and a nice house. That seems impossible now. I make triple per year compared to what my father did, and I doubt I could afford to feed 3 extra mouths and keep a house. And I doubt anyone starting out could even do that.

You can do that, but only if you've got a high end professional degree (medicine, law, engineering, etc.) - I'm not sure about pharmacy, but that might also be doable.

I have a couple friends, one a doctor and the other an engineer, who both have stay at home wives and earn enough to have two/three cars (one guy owns two Harleys as well), three or four kids, own a nice house, have a vacation home, go on nice trips, etc.

The problem is that used to be available to pretty much any college educated person, and that is no longer the case because wages for most people have stagnated over the past few decades and inflation has gradually eaten away at people's buying power.

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

No wonder why we have to use so many temporary foreign workers to do the low paying jobs, and why employers are having trouble finding workers for those jobs now. Not good for the future economy.

I see lots of posts about people who say there's a labour shortage, when the reality is it's a wage shortage. The problem is that previous governments have let industry import TFWs by the tens of thousands, so they've had zero reason to pay decent wages for their staff.

I'd like to think things will change, but greed is a powerful motivator and there are lots of people who can only think of amassing more and more wealth instead of sharing it and helping everyone prosper.

[DrCaleb]

Tricks Tricks:

bootlegga bootlegga:

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

Why do the poor have to pay 30% income tax, the 'middle class' pay 40%, and the top 1% pay nothing? Flat rate is the only fair tax scheme.

I'm not a fan of flat taxes. I suppose a flat rate tax gets the wealthy to at least pay something, but 10% of $100 million hurts far less for some rich guy than 10% of $20,000 does for the kid serving coffee at Starbucks.

One guy has to choose between which high end sports car to buy this year, while the other guy decides whether to pay his utility bill or eat.

I wish governments would get the wealthy to pay more (or something), but the problem is the wealthy are the ones who often donate most of the funds the politicians use to get re-elected. So when Politician 'A' suggests higher tax rates for the wealthy, the wealthy just donate to Politician 'B', who promises more tax cuts or lower rates, who then gets elected and ensures the wealthy pay as little as possible.

That's why you still have an amount that if you make less than, you don't pay tax. Put that basically at minimum wage. So make less than 30? No tax. Make over that, pay X.

Or implement a minimum income at that point. The savings in bureaucracy would help, if not totally fund it.

[Thanos]

100% of the wealthy creeps who've successfully kept wages stagnant for thirty years are simply overjoyed at the revelation the drones, proles, klooges, meatpuppets, and Joe Average lowlifes are having it so hard.

[Tricks]

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

Or implement a minimum income at that point. The savings in bureaucracy would help, if not totally fund it.

True and like you said, you can still have tax credits, but have hard limits on income. Someone making 5 million a year doesn't need tax credits.

At the end of the day, I don't think anyone is super thrilled about paying taxes. But some people recognize it as a civic duty, and others don't give a shit about other people. And I get governments have a problem with waste, but if it's have a service that helps people with waste, or have the service but only wealthy people get access, sadly there is only one option.

[Tricks]

bootlegga bootlegga:

The problem is that used to be available to pretty much any college educated person, and that is no longer the case because wages for most people have stagnated over the past few decades and inflation has gradually eaten away at people's buying power.

I'm in the top 10% of earners in Ontario and I can't afford to buy a family home. No kids, one car, not real debt other than the car (which is getting paid off within the month) and a small student loan. I work from home so even gas isn't an issue.

I basically have the least amount of monthly expenses a person can have and 90% of people make less than me and I can barely do it. How can anyone else expect to?

The difference is I'll pay a little extra in taxes if it means other people who are in a bad financial place can eat, or get clothing or whatever. If my friend needs a place to stay for a couple months to get back on their feet, then they can stay with me. Sadly a lot of people in the bracket I'm in are not the same.