Explain it to me. Preferably with your own numbers, and assessments.

We shouldn’t live in a capitalist society. It’s a bad system that leads to oligarchy and class division.

Its definitely not a perfect system, but show me one thats better? I mean Canada has a capitalist economy but with as strong social support network underlying it. I cant think of a better way to run a country.

Yes Im aware of the difference. I guess the issue is that I dont see the people who are not making it being the economies fault, primarily because I have 3 adult children and 3 adult step children between 25 and 39 and they are ALL doing ok financially. One is just getting by, the the other five are already making more money and living more comfortably than I did at their age and they’re doing it on their own, with no help from us. So I have a hard time understanding why anyone cant make IF they want to bad enough in Canada. The opportunities are here (2 of my kids are self starting entrepreneurs) if you work hard enough. Yes, wages are stagnant if you’re working retail at a mall, but no one’s stopping anyone from upgrading their education and getting a better job. Our immigrants do it, Canadians can do it too.

I told you earlier that I don’t have numbers. My assessment is that the numbers you provided aren’t valid and I explained why in the last two comments. You can respond to those if you like. Repeating what you’ve said word for word does not add any new information. If you don’t want to continue the discussion, that’s fine, but if you have insight on why my reasoning might be wrong, I’d like to hear it.

Your reasoning is wrong because it has nothing to do with my point. There has been no discussion because of that. It is a simple math problem.

Take care.

At least you had one. It’s probably worth half a mil today and out of most people’s reach.

Because there isn’t a shortage of cars, and cars aren’t necessary to live. However, housing is. Having a shelter to live in is a basic human need. It shouldn’t be hoarded by rich elite few who own so much they basically control the whole fucking market.

If housing is limited and is a living necessity, it should totally be regulated.

Capitalism is an inhumane system that glorifies profit and undervalues human life and human rights. In order for capitalism to succeed, it needs cheap labour, it needs wage slaves, or even better, actual slaves. If capitalism had any provisions for social justice, equality, equity, respect of human rights and human life, it wouldn’t even be viable.

Actually it got torn down to make way for a Shoppers Drug Mart.

But you got me curious so I went back to my home town and searched for a similar house in the same area. Found one similar to it but about 15 years newer and bigger listed for 159k so Id say mine if it was still standing would be about 145k. We sold for 33k so its gone up 4.4 times in value in 40 years. But then again the Canadian dollar has gone up 3.7 times in value due to inflation in the same time period.

So, yes houses cost more than they did, but not MUCH more in that town in particular.

So everyone within your very close, related circle is doing ok and that’s indicative of the diverse country as a whole?

Wages are stagnant for everyone. I’m an architectural technologist and wages are absolutely getting worse year over year despite it being an important, educated, in demand job. The fact that you think I’m talking about mall retail points only to your complete failure to have a shred of empathy for the poor and for any kind of job you don’t understand. Also, retail seems to be pretty fucking important and shouldn’t be thrown aside and allowed to have stagnant wages either, you broken twat.

Anywhere else, homes DO cost more. WAY more.

My parents bought their house, brand new, on paper, in a suburban part of Montreal for 60k which was about the same amount as their yearly gross pay combined working as financial advisors in a local financial institution.

The same house today actually costs between 450-500k. The pay for that same position? 40k/person for the same amount of experience they had back then. That would make it about 80k/year. So the same house costs nearly 6 times the combined wages for that same position. SIX TIMES! And it’s not even is a nice place. It’s far from everything, has little public transportation options, and is surrounded by oil refineries.

I don’t know what small town you bought your house in, but it doesn’t reflect the reality that the vast majority of Canadians face.

Exactly, so more a viral entity than a parasitic one.

Dude. one of my kids is a house cleaner. Give up your prejudiced opinion. But the difference between her and the average retail worker is she decided to start her own company and has now got enough work she can hire another worker. And she works her ass off scrubbing other people’s toilets, bathtubs and sinks for hours a day on her knees.

There IS a way out of the hole if a person is motivated enough. But I dont have sympathy for those who aren’t motivated enough to bust their asses to move up the ladder.

You think people aren’t trying? You think their problem is a lack of motivation? They’re doing a job we’ve deemed important enough to have and you have no idea what they’re going through or how much it demands of them yet you think they deserve shit pay because you don’t respect them. The only reason you treat your kid any differently is because you know them personally but you can’t extend that to a stranger because you’re broken. I can’t fix you and I don’t know what can, but I guess empathy just doesn’t come stock in everyone.

You dont know anything about me. I founded an outreach charity for street kids at risk thats been running for 30 years. We have helped hundreds of kids out of addiction, out of entrapment in sex work, out of poverty and into healthy lifestyles primarily through friendship. Stop projecting your own issues onto others.

In that case then I’m fucking shocked that you’re acting like this. It is incredible to me that you can have this stance while supposedly being an otherwise active and compassionate member of the community.

Take that energy and direct into not being a huge fucking asshole to underpaid retail workers. You act all pretentious when I don’t know you while assuming that you know everything about these “unmotivated” people who are just trying to pay rent. I may not know you but I am absolutely correct that, at the moment at least, you’re being a real shithead.

Do better.

So, I’ve done the math. Let’s take someone with twice the avg canadian salary.
They’re making $130k/year.
They pay about 29% tax. $38116/year.
Let’s say they own property in a HCOL area. Maybe $3k/year property tax.
That leaves them with $88k left.
Assuming worst case scenario - they don’t pay mortgage or rent or anything and spend every penny. So they’re paying about $13332 in sales tax.
That leaves 75550 that they’ve spent before tax. Which is about 42% of their income going to tax paid, in total.
Again. That’s worst case scenario. In reality, they’re paying a mortgage and/or contributing to an RRSP or even paying rent. All of which would substantially reduce that percentage.

The idea that Canadians (on average) are paying 50% tax is just right wing propaganda bullshit designed to scare you in to cutting social programs in hope of getting a little trickle down action. Don’t fall for it.

For me, I’m paying about 35% tax, in total. Including sales tax, income tax, and property tax. And I think I’m far closer to the “normal” percentage most middle class Canadians pay.

Youre the massively judgmental one. I never degraded anyone, but you’re here calling me a shithead. Hmm… which one of us is judgmental?

So I have a hard time understanding why anyone cant make IF they want to bad enough in Canada. The opportunities are here (2 of my kids are self starting entrepreneurs) if you work hard enough. Yes, wages are stagnant if you’re working retail at a mall, but no one’s stopping anyone from upgrading their education and getting a better job. Our immigrants do it, Canadians can do it too.

You’re literally saying that people could be having a better life if they wanted it bad enough, and thereby saying loud and clear that people who are having a bad life clearly just don’t want it bad enough. Immigrants are treated pretty badly and not paid nearly well enough, and you’re being a real ass for using their desperation and shitty situations as justification for invalidating Canadians’ struggles.

You’re also saying that “no one is stopping anyone from upgrading their education” while clearly not understanding at all what that takes, especially if you’re coming from a place where you can have a family member pay for everything. Working during school, especially the amount that 2025 demands for you to make ends meet, is crushing and, in many cases, basically impossible. Getting a job after that is also completely fucked for many of its own reasons. I did everything right and am good at my job but getting a job right now, even with experience, is next to impossible as companies refuse to hirer new or intermediate people and try to rely on senior people who will retire with no one to fill their roles.

Everything is so much more fucked than you clearly have even the barest understanding of. You’re still the asshole, bud.