Misty Hollow Carving
This BLOG is sponsored by “Misty Hollow Carving”. You are welcome to visit Misty Hollow and see all of my carvings.
My Web Site is a like a Gallery – please drop in for a stroll through.
To help me promote my Web Site please copy this URL address and email to someone today http://www.murraylincoln.com/
* * * * * * * *
Today’s Blog Post
The Shrinking Workforce, Ageing Population and Slowing Economy – Welcome to My World
Over the last few days I have been on a Roller Coaster of emotions. From delight to the exact opposite. Yikes what a ride it has been!
The other evening I completed the book work and assembling all of the paper stuff in order to get our income tax stuff done. What a painful time that has been. Gulp! It is my yearly sweating the small stuff… even though the book says to not sweat the small stuff! Holy Mackerel what can be done to make this easier? There has to be some way! Maybe that is why death is more attractive for some.
I have realized this year in a very full way that we are next to being broke. How we made it through this year on the income that we have versus the expenses that we incurred – is a cotton pickin’ miracle!
I am not laying this situation as a heavy on anyone… it is just my new reality. I have a lot more month left than I have money to cover it. That is new reality of retirement in Canada. We have entered the Fixed Income Retirement Era in a world with the elastic debt. That is “FIRE” in a volatile world!
While our Canadian Government continues to blow up bigger and bigger – like a Hot Air Balloon – people like us have to suck it in.
Oh boy…
In Montreal at this present moment “Mikey I.”, the leader of the Liberals, is waking up with a head ache… or perhaps is sipping his very strong coffee as he prepares for the day. His Political Party is conducting a Thinkers Conference where very important and sharp people are presenting their ideas and research on the state of Canada right now. The intent is to glean enough “good stuff” from the experts that the Liberals will in turn be able to form a new “Platform” to defeat the Conservatives in the next election.
I am impressed with the effort. As they collect together the experts and their ideas they are listening.
Politicians usually do not listen – they speak. They know everything that we all need to know and everyone should know that from that point on… it is on a “need to know basis” for the rest of Canada… that they lead…and if someone thinks that the rest of Canada needs to know – they will tell you.
Hey that is the way that they all operate!
The Star Newspaper is reporting on this conference. In an article by Les Whittington and Susan Delacourt this following statement is made..
Quote…
“Former Bank of Canada governor David Dodge spelled it out in bleak terms, saying Canadians need to have the courage to engage in an "adult conversation" about what governments can afford at a time of a shrinking workforce, ageing population and slowing economy.
"We kind of are wishing the problem away by assuming that we can curtail expenditures without curtailing the real services that governments are providing to you and me as citizens," he said after addressing 250 convention attendees.
The reality is that governments face "stark and unpalatable choices," he said. "There is no magic solution and we absolutely must have an adult discussion of how we're going to do it.”
Dodge set the tone of the second day of the conference by saying the current economy isn't producing enough wealth to pay for Canada's "caring society" during the rest of this decade and into the 2020s.
As a result, Canadians face the prospect of more seniors living in poverty, reduced government services and declining health care.”
End Quote
Did you catch that…? “the prospect of more seniors living in poverty, reduced government services and declining health care.”?
Double Oh Boy!
The reality is that many of us seniors have arrived at that point now. That is… there isn’t enough money left to do anything at the end of the month. In order to do something we have to stop doing other things in order to do that one thing that we would love to try.
Going back to work is a reality that is soon pressing our freedom of doing nothing now. Dropping volunteering in the community is a major consideration when you haven’t got a way to get to the volunteer job. The car died and there is no way to replace it. It died and so did your involvement out there!
The Liberals have noted that it is “a time of a shrinking workforce, ageing population and slowing economy.”
And yet they have screamed at the Conservatives that it is all the Conservative’s fault! What a CROCK!
A whole lot of us are getting very old very fast. And the reality is that it is costing us a huge amount more.
In Ontario and British Columbia this summer the hated and dreaded HST will come into being. That is the “Harmonized Sales Tax” – where the Federal Tax presently called GST and the Provincial Tax called PST will be come the HST.
At first that seems to be an easy, no brainer changeover. Except for one thing. The Government is about to really stick it to the seniors ONE MORE TIME! Are you ready for this….?
The funeral that you will need soon will now have an additional 8% stuck on to it. They are going to get you ONE MORE TIME – just in case they haven’t got you enough already. That stinks.
Each and every time you get a hair cut they will stick it to you ONE MORE TIME! And that is about to happen quite a few ONE MORE TIMES!
I wonder if the brilliant people in Montreal’s Liberal Thinkers Conference have thought it through?
In two provinces the Liberals could be re-elected by simply standing up and saying they will exempt the Seniors from any HST and will give the Seniors a “Treaty Card” – like the Aboriginal People have.
That is a sideline to what I write about to day – but a huge issue. How will we pay more with less?
I am just about at the point that a trip to church will be once a month to save on the gas that is needed to drive there. And if my van dies, which may happen, I will be looking for a closer church.
Yikes… I KNOW I need a strong coffee this morning! And “Mikey I.” I appreciate you for at least trying!
~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/
Source:
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/786553--thinkers-conference-tough-questions-few-answers
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
In the days of a shrinking economy and higher taxes it really is overwhelming to be looking ahead to the "golden" years. People were taught that security was a worthwhile goal only to find out that someone moved the goal line. The challenge is that we don't know how to do things differently. But it's even more than we don't know how, we don't know how to think differently.
I see more and more people acting like deer caught in the headlights. They are immobilized, a lot of them are praying but they aren't praying for something to change inside of themselves. They are praying for solutions that don't require any personal involvement or initiative.
Our dependency on the "system" is now complete. The ideas of vision, helping others, teamwork, equality and personal dignity have been abandoned as we fearfully wait our impending doom.
Is that how it is supposed to be? It is if security is what you sought all your life. There are answers but only if people choose to not live in isolation and learn to trust each other again.
Post a Comment