Gap between Rich and Poor growing?

[Riesen]

The gap is only going to continue growing because today (or yesterday), Congress decided not to raise the minimum wage (but did decide to give themselves a raise, kudos). Poor people continue to get shit on by the rich. Fun times.

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I hit on the issue on the pay raise the Gov gave themselves in a different thread:

http://forums.trenchwars.org/showthread.php?t=25572

Not sure if it should be moved to this thread, but the topic of the Fed giving themselves a pay raise and then listening to lobbyist to can the minimum wage increase is blatand disregard to the people of whom they where elected to represent.

[Mantra-Slider]

It was Mark k2!!

[Zerzera]

Just invade 3 more countries with recourses to compensate. Easy. The more poor people, the more kids will enlist!

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Just invade 3 more countries with recourses to compensate. Easy. The more poor people, the more kids will enlist!

Why would they do that. It is so easy to get a gun here, then all you need to do is carjack some rich F'er's traveling on vacation here in a rented car and you got money.

That is pretty much sarcasm, but it was a trend on vacationing people visiting Florida. These trageted vacationers where primarily from Europe. No offense to the Euro's here.

[Eric is God]

6) Housing prices have been one of the prime drivers of growth in the past 5 years. The fact is the housing boom is keeping the economy alive and allowing people to spend WAY beyond their means (by way of second mortgage and so on). But it's also a fact that because housing prices are so high in 1/2 the country (the coasts, not the middle section of America where land remains plentiful), and because baby boomers are living longer than ever, the next generation... OUR generation (us on this forum) is going to have a MUCH harder time to find an affordable place to live in the future. With housing prices at an all time high, wages flat, population steadly increasing, and the baby boom generation sticking around another 20 years, we will HAVE to as a group settle for less. Smaller houses because of housing prices and flat wages, and also less things because of inflation, flat wages and no ability to mortgage off anything because we don't own anything to mortgage. Thus our standard of living is going to be lower.

This actually creates an interesting divide. On one hand, you have the boomers who did prepare for retirement who are now hitting the highest wages they've ever hit, and also seeing their investments come to maturity. On the other hand you have the younger generation who is entering a market of flat wages and increasing prices and no assets, and that's your two classes right there, steadly going away from eachother. Add in the fact that the parents aren't going to die for anohter 20 years, and you will see the younger generation won't even get an inheritance either for a long time. As well, seniors who didn't prepare as well for the future are now hit by record healthcare costs and housing costs, and thus the second they stop working they become very poor. And thus, the gap increases.

I could end up being completely wrong (and investing another $5,000 in the market 6 days before 9-11 suggests I usually am), but I don't think the housing boom can keep going at this rate. Possibly in some urban areas the deamnd for land will remain high enough to support current prices, but the only constant with markets is that bubbles always burst. I can't speak for people in the States, but urban sprawl seems to be huge in Canada. I see businesses and families continuing to move further and further from the big cities. Yes people like you and me are going to get shafted trying to buy real estate in the next 5-8 years Epi, but in terms of the job market, we are going to be fine. Unemployment is at a 30 year low, the job are out there. Wages may be flat in many sectors, but certainly not in professional positions. There is going to be a huge demand for highly educated, upper level management as our generation enters the big earning years of 30-45. I agree that the under qualified among us are going to have a tough time building equity, but that has been the natural progression of the world in the past 20 years.

[Eric is God]

Just invade 3 more countries with recourses to compensate. Easy. The more poor people, the more kids will enlist!

You have a point, but until large scale neutron bombs or genetically engineered viruses become available, invaders will always have to deal with insurgents.

[Epinephrine]

I could end up being completely wrong (and investing another $5,000 in the market 6 days before 9-11 suggests I usually am), but I don't think the housing boom can keep going at this rate. Possibly in some urban areas the deamnd for land will remain high enough to support current prices, but the only constant with markets is that bubbles always burst. I can't speak for people in the States, but urban sprawl seems to be huge in Canada. I see businesses and families continuing to move further and further from the big cities. Yes people like you and me are going to get shafted trying to buy real estate in the next 5-8 years Epi, but in terms of the job market, we are going to be fine. Unemployment is at a 30 year low, the job are out there. Wages may be flat in many sectors, but certainly not in professional positions. There is going to be a huge demand for highly educated, upper level management as our generation enters the big earning years of 30-45. I agree that the under qualified among us are going to have a tough time building equity, but that has been the natural progression of the world in the past 20 years.

Eric in 6 years I will be making a minimum of $200,000 a year, probably a lot more than that actually. I am not talking about me, I'm just answering the original question which says that the gap between the rich and the poor is growing. The fact is for most people, they will have a much harder time living the life their parents lived, and thus there will be a sort of class divide.

As for housing prices in the GTA, I actually don't see the bubble bursting at all. It might flatten out, but with 100,000 people coming to Toronto proper every year (and 3x that in the GTA) and with the greenbelt policies of the provincial government, there is less land to go around for more people. Prices will stay high.

[T3l Ca7]

Eric in 6 years I will be making a minimum of $200,000 a year, probably a lot more than that actually.

Even if you are making $200,000 a year in 6 years time. A nice house in a good suburb would probably be at least 1 million.

Say you do earn 200, 000 a year, your government comes in and takes about 100,000 from your pay.

Then with a 6.5% interest rate, you 65,000 will go the next if you do not want to default on your loan.

Which leaves you with 35,000 a year with car, food, elec/water/council bills.

... oh wait, but sure you want to make SOME principle repayments ... right?


And not to scare you: the higher your salary is, the more likely you will get retrenched in the next down turn.


That is ... just life

[DoTheFandango]

Say you do earn 200, 000 a year, your government comes in and takes about 100,000 from your pay.

Since when does a government have a 50% income tax?

[Mr. Peanuts]

its 44% here for those over 65,000 or something.

That's as far as I remember. I did a piece of Business coursework on taxes, brackets and such.

[Epinephrine]

And not to scare you: the higher your salary is, the more likely you will get retrenched in the next down turn.


That is ... just life

Scare me? Unlike you, I will have a 100% guaranteed job that will pay $200,000/year and more, completely depending on how much time I want to spend working. I will only lose my job if I choose to not work, and unless Canada blows up or something, my job will never go away, nor is it really affected by the economy. If I'm lucky I might be making $600,000/year in 5 years. Of course I'm sacrificing my entire 20s for this and it's a lot of responsiblity, but hey.. that's life.

But either way, I will not be one of the 'poor' ones in the rich or poor gap even if I won't be Bill Gates, but that isn't the point of this thread anyway.

And in Canada, if you made $200,000/year you can take home $130,000 (after tax-free investments) without doing any fancy business writing off which I will do for sure.

[Supreme Authority]

Here they do, once u earn like 50k+ after that its 52% <_<

[Eric is God]

Even if you are making $200,000 a year in 6 years time. A nice house in a good suburb would probably be at least 1 million.

Say you do earn 200, 000 a year, your government comes in and takes about 100,000 from your pay.

Then with a 6.5% interest rate, you 65,000 will go the next if you do not want to default on your loan.

Which leaves you with 35,000 a year with car, food, elec/water/council bills.

... oh wait, but sure you want to make SOME principle repayments ... right?


And not to scare you: the higher your salary is, the more likely you will get retrenched in the next down turn.


That is ... just life

Right now a nice 3 bedroom house in the suburbs is anywhere around $350,000 - $450,000 Cdn. Rates are very low and there is no way the average person would be paying that much a year on their mortgage. A single person can easily get by on a $50,000 salary (as long as they don't want a house in downtown Toronto).

[Eric is God]

Epi, when did you become arrogant lol. I'm guessing shortly after you got accepted to medical school :P