Inflation

[Fredk]

Not sure but I still pay in cash when I have it. Lots of contractors still accept cash, and I've never seen a bellhop carrying a debit machine.

I don't spend any time in hotels any more, so restaurants are pretty much the only place I tip.

FWIW, Australia, which in the mid 80's had the same minimum wage as us, currently has a $21.38 minimum wage plus 25% casual loading (a top up for those who do not get vacation pay or benefits). Tipping there is not a standard practice.

I'm told by my niece, who lives there at the moment, that you can actually pay all your bills on minimum wage there. This seems like the best approach both from a tax and standard of living point of view.

[Benz]

The very fact that restaurants are having a hard time finding staff is clear evidence that such jobs should pay more in a competitive job market. Further, there are other jobs out there which do pay more, which is why former service workers are finding those jobs rather than returning to their old food service jobs. Food service jobs require minimal training/experience and therefore have minimal barriers to entry, therefore such workers have to take what they can get. This is the reality of a capitalist society. If you want a better job, bring better skills.

As for taxation, more of the same. Just because someone believes that they're grossly underpaid for the work that they do is no excuse for not paying their fair share of taxes. Their tax burden may be trivial in the larger context, but that's not the point. Getting paid partially in cash does not relieve someone of their financial obligations to society. And, to clarify, I say exactly the same thing about trades who gross $100K per year but pay little tax because it's mostly paid in cash. In either case, it's not only unfair to the rest of us, it's tax evasion.

[bl8d]

if you regularly dine out ,or send out for food ,you can afford to tip 20%.
I keep cash on hand for this.
If you do it electronically, the establishment disburses it at their discretion, or keeps it.

[Chambokl]

Not sure but I still pay in cash when I have it. Lots of contractors still accept cash, and I've never seen a bellhop carrying a debit machine.

Not sure . . . but you seem to maybe be saying that . . . the little guy that don't pay tax is unfair . . . but you will pay your contractor in cash so he DOESN'T charge you tax and doesn't declare the $$$. Hummm

Maybe I am wrong . . .

[dmcdam]

Not sure . . . but you seem to maybe be saying that . . . the little guy that don't pay tax is unfair . . . but you will pay your contractor in cash so he DOESN'T charge you tax and doesn't declare the $$$. Hummm

Maybe I am wrong . . .

Nope. I want receipts for everything.

[4wedges]

Prostitutes and drug dealers. Or so I have read.

I've heard some escorts take e transfer.

[4wedges]

Nope. I want receipts for everything.

Same here. It is very shortsighted to pay a contractor in cash. What if there is an issue later? You have no recourse without a receipt. I have had clients ask if I accept cash. Of course I say yes, but tell them you're still getting my invoice and paying HST.

[Arthur Dailey]

From The Star.



Gustavo Indart is a professor emeritus in the economics department at University of Toronto.

To be fair, the Bank of Canada’s likely lack of success in fighting inflation is not totally its fault since the only tool it has is the rate of interest.

the underlying objective of interest rate hikes is to increase unemployment to prevent workers from demanding a wage hike similar to the price-increase that already took place.

while year-over-year inflation was 8.1 per cent in June, average wages increased by only 5.2 per cent. And in 2021, annual inflation was 4.8 per cent while average wages rose by only 2.1 per cent. So, definitely, wages are not fuelling inflation.

We must understand that today’s inflation is not driven by excess demand. Therefore, today’s inflation is not a job for the Bank of Canada — it’s a job for the government. But the government seems reluctant to take responsibility and deal with the domestic source of today’s inflation — more precisely, with corporate greed.

it is the owners of capital who are responsible for the initial price-increase. They raised prices to increase their share of profits in the value created by their workers’ labour. And it is this initial price-increase that reduced the purchasing power of wages.

When the Bank of Canada comes into action: it increases interest rates to reduce demand, cause a recession, and increase unemployment to weaken workers’ bargaining position. But a 4.5 per cent policy rate will not be sufficient to cause a recession deep enough to prevent workers from demanding wage-increases. Therefore, it seems safe to expect the Bank of Canada to continue raising the policy rate at least until the second quarter of 2023.

A historical example may help to illustrate this point. In the first quarter of 1990, the inflation rate was lower than today’s and the unemployment rate higher — inflation was 5.3 per cent and the unemployment rate was 7.3 per cent. Concerned with the existence of inflation more than with its level, the Bank of Canada increased the policy rate to 14 per cent and kept it above eight per cent until the end of 1992 — thus causing a very deep recession with the unemployment rate rising to 12 per cent by November 1992.

So, how much higher dies the policy rate need to rise to cause a deep enough recession and lessen workers demand? I would dare to guess to somewhere between six and eight per cent — or until the rate of unemployment rises to around seven per cent or so.

[dmcdam]

From The Star.



Gustavo Indart is a professor emeritus in the economics department at University of Toronto.

I wonder if the weakening demand may help alleviate some of the supply chain issues, allowing production, preordering, and shipping backlogs to clear a bit. It could certainly help in scenarios such as the automotive industry, where vehicles are still shipping that were ordered months ago despite weakening sales. In theory, that should bring prices back more to normal versus the zero discounting we're currently experiencing.

[bl8d]

^^^ this all is all meant to sound very orderly as if it is going to plan, but it never works that way.

You have a "summer" moat ,knowing that it will freeze and they will walk across.
It is always feast or famine, vested private interests, and dare I say it out loud, our elected government.

The all battle cry is ""Remember the Suez! LOL

[bcampb00]

From The Star.



Gustavo Indart is a professor emeritus in the economics department at University of Toronto.

A “professor emeritus” in the economics department at the U of T fails to acknowledge that the huge amount of debt the Bank of Canada has purchased in the past 24 months (quantitative easing) has significantly contributed to inflation? Or that the purchase of that debt enabled massive federal fiscal stimulus that also contributed to inflation?

I hope “professor emeritus” means that he doesn’t teach student’s anymore. Otherwise …… Those poor students.

[Arthur Dailey]

A “professor emeritus” in the economics department at the U of T fails to acknowledge that the huge amount of debt the Bank of Canada has purchased in the past 24 months (quantitative easing) has significantly contributed to inflation? Or that the purchase of that debt enabled massive federal fiscal stimulus that also contributed to inflation?

I hope “professor emeritus” means that he doesn’t teach student’s anymore. Otherwise …… Those poor students.

Gustavo Indart

https://www.economics.utoronto.ca/pu...y_staff_photo/

Professor Emeritus Ph.D. (Toronto, 1991), M.A. (Toronto, 1981), B.A. (Toronto, 1980) Email address: g.indart@utoronto.ca Personal website: http://www.economics.utoronto.ca/gindart/ Research fields: Economic development, International economics

[Arthur Dailey]

Tweeted by President Biden:

55 of the Fortune 500 have paid no federal income taxes in 2020 – even though they made $40 billion in profits.

[mcgsxr]

Tweeted by President Biden:

And 445 others scramble to uncover who the advisors for those 55 are...

[Benz]

Another reason to eliminate tipping and instead pay service staff in the same way as everyone else.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/topstories/restaurant-finds-itself-in-hot-water-with-cra-over-servers-electronic-tips/ar-AA11DpNu?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=8e4a955f4a5747fba438ce565fea62a4