POOR ALWAYS PLACED
(These thoughts are purely the blunt, no nonsense personal opinions of the author about financial fairness and discrimination and are not intended to provide personal or financial advice.)
The columnist’s opinion letter prompted the author to submit an opinion letter to a major local newspaper which was published. Due to space and time constraints the last statement of the author’s opinion letter can be interpreted in several ways. The conclusion discusses these interpretations.
COLUMNIST’S OPINION LETTER PUBLISHED IN MAJOR LOCAL NEWSPAPER
RE: Government hypocritical on minimum wage, Oct. 2. (hypocrisy)
‘What sort of person could possibly begrudge someone getting a raise when they only make 12 lousy bucks an hour?
Probably someone who’s been hanging onto the coattails of the deep thinkers over at the Fraser Institute, or maybe ingratiating themselves with those tall foreheads inhabiting the C.D. Howe playpen. Such folks talk as though the blood drained from their thin veins a long time since.
Nope, here in Calgary, on this glorious fall morning, some fine people will be starting work with an extra spring in their collective step, knowing a nice $1.40-an-hour raise is coming, with the minimum wage jacked up to $13.60, alongside the promise it’ll hit $15 in another year.
I wish them well and, honestly, a veritable pox on those who’d deny them otherwise.
Of course, some small-business owners might decide they can’t afford this new, higher wage, so instead, they’ll work extra unpaid shifts themselves and maybe cut some poor soul from the payroll altogether. No blame should be levied there, either. Walk a mile in those shoes.
Oh, then there are those big, international corporations – the McDonald’s and Amazons of this increasingly global and heartless world. The more the cost of labour goes up, then the more bottom-line reasons to invest in robots and automation. Such reactions are inevitable – on a worldwide scale, it’s why we don’t produce much of our electronic gadgets, clothes or food because someone, somewhere, does it much cheaper, and the price we’re willing to pay supersedes patriotism everytime and everywhere.
Countless economic studies – conducted, of course, by those who’ve never seen a minimum wage pay packet since mommy and daddy shelled out for that first go-round of college – have never successfully nailed the effect of such ordained raises on subsequent employment. Usually, the conclusions mirror the political viewpoint of the group paying for the study.
Let’s face it: any relevant data here in Calgary to be gleaned in the upcoming 12 months after this latest increase would be washed away in the wake of a jump to $70 in the price of a barrel of oil. There are too many factors involved, so politicians merrily fill the gap…..
…..Politicians love spouting one-sided rhetoric. Take Alberta’s NDP Labour Minister who’s pushing this minimum wage strategy.
“Through talking to economists, business people, low wage workers and other stakeholders, we’ve come to the decision all hard-working Albertans deserve enough to support themselves.”
Hypocrite is what I say to her and all the rest of the dreary clan on both the provincial and federal stage. Because if $13 bucks an hour is not a living wage – and I wouldn’t argue otherwise – then why do these people steal from those poor souls making such a pittance?
They call it taxation. On the federal level, you start paying tax at about $12,000 a year. So, assuming you make a paltry $13 an hour and work 40 each week, your annual income is about $27,000 a year. Oh yes, Ottawa wants its sweet pound of that sad flesh.
Now the NDP Labour Minister and her saintly crew aren’t quite as grasping, to be fair, but once $15 an hour is reached, then the yearly sum will be over $30,000 and a third will be subject to provincial income tax.
So what sort of person gets up on a platform with flunkies to the right and hangers-on to the left and proceeds to lecture everyone about how the lower paid need a living wage and then takes part of such an increase and pockets it themselves? After all, where does a politician’s salary come from if not from tax revenue?
What sort of person? A politician, that’s who.’
BLOG AUTHOR’S OPINION LETTER PUBLISHED IN A MAJOR LOCAL NEWSPAPER
The columnist calls the NDP Labour Minister hypocritical for pushing the minimum wage strategy. He states government through taxation steal from those poor souls making such a pittance.
Fact check: when the almighty Alberta Conservatives (financial-discrimination-based-on-minimum-wage-controversy) brought in the flat income tax, they raised the provincial tax from 8% to 10% for the lowest income level. The poor never had an Alberta Advantage.
Fact check: those with low lifetime income will have a pittance of CPP pension retirement pillar (canada-pension-plan) because CPP contributions are based on wage levels.
Politicians, corporations and the wealthy always win because they pull the financial purse strings.
CONCLUSION
Because of time and space constraints the last statement ‘Politicians, corporations and the wealthy always win because they pull the financial purse strings’ would likely leave the reader thinking this blog author was agreeing with the columnist regarding taxation, minimum wage, and NDP hypocrisy. The columnist fails to mention the Alberta NDP also replaced the Conservative Party flat tax with a progressive tax system while increasing the minimum wage.
It is the opinion of this author that the Alberta Conservative Party when implementing the flat tax placed low income persons at a financial disadvantage while benefitting the wealthy more. The Alberta NDP has, in fact, done the right thing by replacing the 10% flat tax with a progressive tax and at the same time increasing the minimum wage incrementally to $15 per hour. The poor will receive an increase in income (impact-on-cpp-enhancements) at same time the wealthy will pay more tax. By increasing the minimum wage for the poor and tax for the wealthy, the unfair financial spread between the two groups is narrowed.
ALBERTA PROGRESSIVE TAX 2017 IMPLEMENTED BY ALBERTA NDP PARTY
- First $126,625 10%
- >$126,625 to $151,950 12%
- >$151,950 to $202,600 13%
- >$202,600 up to $303,900 14%
- >$303,900 15%
CANADIAN FEDERAL PROGRESSIVE TAX 2017
- 15% on the first $45,916 of taxable income, +
- 20.5% on the next $45,915 of taxable income (on the portion of taxable income over $45,916 up to $91,831), +
- 26% on the next $50,522 of taxable income (on the portion of taxable income over $91,831 up to $142,353), +
- 29% on the next $60,447 of taxable income (on the portion of taxable income over $142,353 up to $202,800), +
- 33% of taxable income over $202,800
(This blog is of a general nature about financial discrimination of individuals/singles. It is not intended to provide personal or financial advice.)
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