on Cdn. Gov't Debt

D - this is a pic of debt held by foreigners.
Notice how suddenly Japan looks OK.
Their debt is largely held by the people of that nation.
Then look at us.
Sure, not quite as bad as the USA.
But not golden either.

Aside- we are not the only nation with a looming retirement problem.
China's one-child policy has resulted in younger men who will need
to care for not ONE, but TWO parents by themselves.
Why do Chinese save so much? And why won't they ever have a robust
domestic economy? They must save that much, without social programs in place,
to take care of their parents in the decades to come.

I think of intergenerational debt as the sins of the father being
visited on the son, and his son, to the 5th generation, to borrow some
Old Testament passage.
It is blood guilt of a sort, the idea that one's children must pay for one's
own wrong-doing.
We don't have the excuse of a Great War to fall back on.
The last few decades have been about hedonism and luxury and living beyond one's means.

Harper: the issue is health care, stupid

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/health-care-talks-with-provinces-should-top-harpers-list-poll-finds/article2044202/

The survey suggests 59.2 per cent of respondents believed working with the provinces on healthcare is an immediate priority compared to 44.1 per cent who said that eliminating the deficit was most pressing and 35.3 per cent who viewed crime-fighting as the top priority for the country.

D - I cannot help but think how those billions to be sent into tough-on-crime policies could help with other less feel-good but more important issues.

US grad's story- college is scam, a bubble to burst

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/college-is-a-scam-lets-make-some-money-off-it-2011-05-26

Student-loan debt is now greater than credit-card debt for the first time ever. After the huge debt crisis we experienced in 2008 and the financial bust in housing that ruined so many lives, you would think we would be having more of a national discussion on this — but we just aren’t.

Forty-four percent of 2009 graduates are either unemployed or hold jobs that don’t require degrees. So, in other words, these millions of young people are five years behind their peers, and many are holding over $100,000 in debt. What a shame.

On whether the increased income is worth it:

Obviously, this test will never get done, but the basic idea is common sense. Take people who are equally intelligent and ambitious and give them a five-year head start, with no debt. They are going to do very well, I have no doubt.

Tuitions have gone up 10 times faster than inflation in the past 30 years and three times faster than health-care costs in the past 30 years. We need to have an active discussion on this as a society. Meanwhile, the greatest entrepreneurs, artists and inventors in history either didn’t go to college at all or dropped out (or were kicked out).

Ouch...

ageing canadians, implications

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/economy-lab/stephen-gordon/canadian-population-by-age-2010/article2039509/?from=2039511

Scary - we are just now seeing the tip of the iceberg, with early retirements.
In 15 years, the damage will largely be done.

And at a time when pensions were largely off the radar as election issues!

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/middle-class-retirement-outlook-takes-hit/article2002892/

A new study by the Montreal-based Institute for Research on Public Policy shows that about half of middle-income Canadians born between 1945 and 1970 are likely to face at least a 25-per-cent drop in their disposable incomes when they retire. Middle-income is defined as earning an average annual lifetime income of between $35,000 and $80,000.

D - I have 2 words. So. What.

The Mintz study concluded Canada’s pension system is “performing well” and said 80 per cent of households are saving enough to replace 90 per cent of their working income in retirement.

He said his analysis also found that several bold reform proposals that have been floated – including doubling the Canada Pension Plan and improving the Old Age Security system – would not significantly improve retirement incomes for baby boomers.

Under the various reform scenarios, middle-income earners would see their average after-retirement income compared to pre-retirement income improve between four to eight percentage points for people born from 1960 to 1965, for example.

the IRPP report concludes “more much ambitious reforms than the ones being considered will be required to improve the adequacy of retirement incomes.”

Mr. Wolfson argues Canadians should be willing to open a debate about granting improved Canada Pension Plan benefits to baby boomers even if they haven’t earned them, arguing there is plenty of historic precedent for speeding up eligibility.

D - I've already outlined how the Boomers have received a free - or heavily subsidized- lunch on pensions.
And keep in mind that the tax base will shrink exactly when age-related health costs and social program usage is spiking.
In that context, this proposal is indefensible.

I saw an article in the Record this week proposing we hike CPP pay-in rates by c. 1/2% per year to address middle class retirement income.
The only advantage of this is that it would at least ding retiring Boomers for 1-15 years for their own retirement costs.
Having said that, ensuring the long-term viability of the pension plan has yet to be addressed. First things first.

NDP want to double pension benefits

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/layton-says-hell-be-driving-hard-to-strengthen-pensions/article2019108/

During the campaign, the NDP proposed doubling CPP benefits and pumping an extra $400-million annually into the Guaranteed Income Supplement for the poor. It said the GIS boost would be covered by higher corporate taxes.

D - thank heaven he does not have the clout of a minority government!

No explanation about where this money would come from.

When the long-term viability is already in doubt.

This amounts to icing on the cake for Boomers.
First, they pay artificially low rates for the 1st 1/2 of their work careers.
Then, last minute, they get an increase that amounts to what the "Great Generation" got, on top of that!

Wow. Just wow.

collge new post-U finishing school

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/education-levels-broken-down/article2016110/?from=2016162

Funny. I'm eying Excel and Access classes at the local college.
For a job on university campus.

D.

why teens are not activist when Boomers were?

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/movies/regeneration-a-rallying-cry-for-apathetic-teens/article1970498/

D: student loans.

Why aren’t they as galvanized as the so-called great generation that fought the Second World War or the baby boomers protesting during the 1960s, the film asks?

A wealth of factors are cited by the talking heads, from parenting to media to education. They boil down to what Chomsky points to as an institutional system of control. Parents want their children to excel, so they shelter and coddle them. The media feeds them advertising at every turn. Then as they set out as young adults, huge student loans force young people to take company jobs to pay off their debt, and so the cycle continues, Chomsky and others argue.