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October 27th, 2009 at 8:37 am
@Vic: Death by a thousand payments.
October 27th, 2009 at 8:34 am
This is really just a note to myself so I can check later that http://cbw.livelistings.ca/ shows 19,691 active listings right now.
October 27th, 2009 at 8:20 am
@Vic: I agree. I am not in the tech industry like yourself, but am in an equally aggressive industry in which sleep and vacation are considered a weakness.
The days of 9-5 jobs are way gone.
More like 6-6 now.
October 27th, 2009 at 2:56 am
I highly doubt we 30+ year olds will live longer by natural causes. We work crazy hours to pay for our mega mortgage. We don’t take time off or vacations…to pay for our mortgage. We don’t eat well — because we are don’t have time to make a home made meal. We eat out a lot because we are too tired to make our meal and both parents are working. We don’t sleep well…because we have to wake up earily for crazy commute through crazy traffic…across bridges, construction zones and 1 inch of snow. We work crazy hours because of corporate downsizing/outsourcing/re-organization — you work those crazy hours…or you loose your job to somebody else who is willing to do it.
That’s the life of a 30+ year old techy — a lot of my friends are in the same sinking boat. And…most of them are stressed out and in very poor health shape. Most can’t even enjoy their mega home because they are so tired and stressed.
So…honestly…I think many of us 30+ year olds will die before 70 at this rate.
October 27th, 2009 at 12:06 am
@Credentialism Rocks: That seems backwards to me: SFH with only 2 adults and condos with a family of 4. But that’s what we have.
Last year showed how fragile the market is — we were pushing 22k listings in Nov 2008. That’s all it took to cut the legs out from under the market and I don’t think it was mostly due to boomer demographic shifts.
October 26th, 2009 at 10:09 pm
“This generation of 30-somethings and under are going to be healthier than ever – fewer smokers and more aware eaters.”
Fewer smokers but obesity rates are way up. This gen might be the first to have shorter ave. lifespans than previous.
October 26th, 2009 at 9:53 pm
@kansai_92:
“Canada will have no choice but to increase their immigration quotas in favour of younger immigrants.”
The average age of an immigrant is actually about 4 years older than that of the average of Canadian. Further, only 18% of immigrants are skilled workers, the rest are all family members (the government classifies immediate family as skilled though they’re obviously not).
So, increase immigration if you wish, but it’s going to have to be a different kind of immigration policy than the one we have now.
October 26th, 2009 at 9:41 pm
@asp: You’d think more boomers would sell during this rampant stupidity and move to a small town (especially if they have roots there). My BILs parents just sold their north Surrey house and bought an acreage in rural Ontario (where his father is from). I’d love it if more boomers did that.
October 26th, 2009 at 9:09 pm
@Boombust:
They may be loathsome, evil individuals but i’ll hazard a guess that neither Dr. Goebbels and Dr. Mengele were morons.
October 26th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
@Credentialism Rocks:
Just to correct an error when you said in the UK university is free. It isn’t. In the mid 90′s they introduced modest tuition fees. Also, it wasn’t until the fees started that the “everyone must get a degree” mentality started – i’m not saying it’s causative, just mentioning it.
Also, though the value of a degree have been devalued in the UK, many, many youngsters there still leave school at 16 without any qualifications at all. At one point i believe it was about 25% of the population.
October 26th, 2009 at 8:05 pm
@No Longer Looking #36: Since we can’t make the immigrants move to small towns, why don’t we convince the caucasian boomers to move?
October 26th, 2009 at 8:01 pm
By thinking outside of the box, CPP/OAS will be plenty for me once I hit 60. With a bit of savings, I should be able to retire at 55.
The plan is to move some place with a much lower cost of living then Canada. This means living like a local in those places, because I see a lot or retires in places like Mexico living consumeristic north american lifestyles by importing TV’s and washers and SUV’s.
I was working in Central America a few years back and renting a house for $100 a month. Torillas and beans and fruits and vegetables at the local open air mercado cost next to nothing. One can live pretty well on $300 a month.
Avoid supermarkets and shopping malls as they charge north american prices for things.
But even if one wants to stay in Canada, if one had a paid off small house in a minor city in Canada, and shopped at local green grocers and farmer markets rather then shopping malls and supermarkets, CPP/OAS would be plenty.
October 26th, 2009 at 7:49 pm
@Anonymous #22: Pick a neighbourhood and walk up and down the streets on the 1st of the month.
October 26th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
35 – I’ve worked in UK academia. So no wiki-knowledge relied upon here.
The repayable thing you mention is income-tested: ie: loans , in the same way that students here are loaded with debt. Most middle class and other students pay these fees upfront or later as loans. And the bit about certain level of income, thats about 12k a year, which any job will give you. So, it is a loans system just like Canada, but with higher yearly fees. Rather different from FREE, no?
And the 5k fee limit raise will be in place within 3 years – an open secret within British politics.
October 26th, 2009 at 7:21 pm
@Credentialism Rocks: “You have to start thinking outside of the box a little more, such as people working later in life, job sharing, increased productivity from technology, rather than immigration as the key to maintaining Canada’s way of life etc. More people coming to the country is not the de facto option.”
I agree, we need to do better with what we already have.
There are endless numbers of young adults who aren’t meeting their potential so why add even more?
More immigration will just make Vancouver and Toronto more unlivable. It would be great if immigrants went where they are needed, in towns and smaller cities in economically deprived regions, but they won’t and we can’t make them.
October 26th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
34
“all undergraduate education is largely state financed (with tuition fees set at a maximum
index-linked £3,225 per year, repayable after graduation contingent on attaining a certain level of income, and with the state paying all fees for students from the poorest backgrounds)”
Quoted from YOUR same “worldly experience and knowledge” – aka Wiki …lol
Seriously do some research yourself….
October 26th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
21:
“Or you can take the case of the UK, where their free education system means that everyone has an undergraduate, ”
————
Seriously, do some research. Undergrad fees are 3k a year (pounds) which is more expensive than here (more at Oxbridge when one adds college fees), and this cap is likely to move to 5k a year soon. Free? I think not.
October 26th, 2009 at 5:50 pm
@Drachen:
That’s pretty insulting to an entire profession. People go into all sorts of careers for all sorts of reasons.
October 26th, 2009 at 5:33 pm
#28 C, glad you get the Lib/Imm connection, few do. Ontario had become a ‘plug and play ‘ franchise. Just redraw the lines and stuff an new group of beholden tribesmen in there to vote as they were told. Funny how there got to be so many constiuencies in Ontario eh? One every block in TO.
October 26th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
#12, J, There are a lot of ‘west siders’ who are rooting for ‘multi generational housing’ to lose its stigama as parasitic because these current PG, AR, Kits etc fancy addressee’s are going to get cleaned out of the very pretentious area codes and into the dregs of Surrey or (shudder) ‘the valley’ when granny sells out to fund the ‘ol retirement. So, JoJo you have plenty of backers with that idea.
#13 NLL, totally agree, there are a lot of food poor mortgage rich families out there who can’t afford to eat proper diets now and feed their kids KD behind closed doors to keep the car lease in the drive way. Therre has been a big decrease in the number of kids in sports programs recently because of ‘affordability issues’. All real estate , no life.
#14 D, ya just a quote from a larger oiece ( attached) good overview all the same. But your right, we get ‘experts’ trotted out every time someone wants to buy media points. When I grew up we had doctors on TV recommending cigarette brands. dating myself I know. Don’t trust advertising or announcements from ‘experts’.
#15 jawboning is all carney has left, don’t mistake healthy profit taking from ‘being ‘schooled ‘ by a lame duck government official. The $CDN will be back real soon as the US reaffirms its ‘benign neglect of the USD.
#17 A , that chickens shitting gold. WOW $7 !!!!!
#19 check out the number of elderly already taking those jobs, and it ain’t because they are bored.
#21 C, having lived in UK I can say that ‘everyone has a BA’ is really a stretch. The drop out rate in UK is huge and so is the working class poor.
#24 I, gotta disagree, more companies won’t interview without the shingle.
October 26th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
#27
To some extent education has shifted more to a consumer good, rather than a means of learning. As tuition has risen, so to has the expectation that students will get a great job and have nothing but A’s on their transcript.
And yes, many people go into the professions for the money – always have and always will, but admittedly, more so in the last decade. This can be partly attributable to the influences of various cultures in this Province which value PSE as a means of: upward mobility; of family status; and potential marriage material.
October 26th, 2009 at 5:13 pm
#27: “no matter poor or rich the really good ones can make their way up.”
————
You do realize that in Canada any student with excellent grades can get scholarships that will fund (debt-free) them all the way through to whatever degree level they wish, don’t you? The “really good ones” are very well-supported here compared to many countries (eg: the UK).
October 26th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
# 26
First, the theory that each successive generation will downsize has been around for many, many, years. The theory has yet to be play out. You would be surprised at the number of seniors who appreciate the size of home they have, and only move from SFH to assisted care facilities later in life (not in their 60s).
And for all those condo owners hoping for a swap with the boomers for their homes, you might be waiting a very very long time (perhaps another decade or so). If that is the case, good luck raising your family in your 600k two bedroom condo
Second, your purport that immigration is the panacea to Canada’s “boomer” problem. However, immigration as the key to sustaining Canada, is a myth that was generated in the 1980s to help the expansion of the Liberal Party of Canada’s base of political support.
The Conference Board of Canada concluded studies prior to the expansion of the immigration quota to the 200k mark which showed that a negative immigration rate actually increased per capita earnings, and hence the quality of life.
You have to start thinking outside of the box a little more, such as people working later in life, job sharing, increased productivity from technology, rather than immigration as the key to maintaining Canada’s way of life etc. More people coming to the country is not the de facto option.
October 26th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
re: perpetual students in Germany. They introduced a fee of 500 bucks per semester to get rid of these students. Gov funded education is a good thing. It’s compassionate and allows everyone a chance for a proper education and no matter poor or rich the really good ones can make their way up.
Look what the f$#%$%n Harvard grads did to the economy. Being successful CEO is not about being smart, it’s short term cheerleeding for whatever company gives you the big bonus check.
As for doctors, of course we need them, but it seems pretty hard to find a capable onde (that actually cares) in Canada. F&*ck i visited 5 doctors before finding out I had an allergy. And guess what, it wasn’t any of the doctors but google who told me this. After finding out that way i went to a doctor and guess what, he confirmed it.
i guess that’s the reason I’m a bit frustrated with this.
And then there’s the dentist – these guys get the degree for the money – that’s for sure. Maybe I still have to meet the honest dentist type, but it seems they all rip off our health care system big time. I know one who actually moved here from Sweden because it’s easier to rip of the system here
Anyways, point is, someone like George Bush would probably not have made it through highschool in Germany and not even the fact that the parents have money would have helped. In the twisted NA system this moron became president.
October 26th, 2009 at 4:56 pm
A significant number of boomers are going to be in deep sh!t.
Few reasons will contribute to this.
Ultra-low interest rates are punishing savers and those in “safe” asset classes like fixed income (usually seniors).
Necessities such as food and fuel will be rising in the future.
Declining home prices as boomers downsize their SFH in order to fund their retirement.
Possibly a double whammy here if they’ve taken out LOC against their home to help out their children with down payments to get them on the property ladder.
Canada will have no choice but to increase their immigration quotas in favour of younger immigrants.
October 26th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
“…it’s morons like Jenny Mcarthy who have no education at all”
Morons can have an education, too.
Hmm…Dr. Goebbels, Dr. Mengele…
October 26th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
@educuntion: Nice generalization. I worked by butt off to pay my own tuition/rent for both my BSc and my PhD. I assure you that I didn’t buy my way through the defense. (And it’s not a salary-enhancer – I’m making half of what I was before my second degree. Academia doesn’t pay very well.)
[And to echo Drachen, we and the kids (3yr, 6mo) are getting the H1N1 shot asap.]
October 26th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
“{Titles here are salary enhancers whereas in other countries they actually mean you’re smarter than others and you have to prove it…here titles mean your parents have deeper pockets.”
———–
And how is this different from the US, or the UK, or any other Western country? Your argument has no logical support.
#18 is right.
October 26th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
how does one find rental housing? i’m just asking because postings here seem to imply craigslist postings are bad. do people still use newspapers for this sort of thing? if i can’t use craigslist, then how should i proceed?
sorry if it seems like a stupid question, but i’d like to avoid buying right now but would like a bigger place than what we’ve got right now.
thanks
October 26th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
#18
Well, I guess I will trust my medical diagnosis and contract negotiation to that high school graduate rather than a doctor or lawyer who took the time to invest in themselves and sought to improve themselves, while deferring gratification…
Currently, students only pay approximately 28% of their education, with the “state” paying the difference. In many respects, education is already subsidized to the point where individuals only have to fund a “fair” portion of their education.
By the way, in countries where the education is free, such as in Germany, you have the problem of perpetual students where individuals “collect” degrees because its easier than facing the working world. Or you can take the case of the UK, where their free education system means that everyone has an undergraduate, to the point that a degree’s ability to differentiate is severely diminished. The only way these individuals can get ahead is to keep seeking additional degrees…
Is any education system perfect? Of course not. But if you take the time to learn through university and develop the ability to think critically, or “learn how to learn,” this would not be a surprise.
October 26th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
@Anonymous: Thankfully, there are lots of alternatives for cheap produce in Vancouver. Produce specialty stores and farmers markets offer better value than the supermarkets. If we can keep the developers out of the ALR than that should an advantage even after peak oil.
Thankfully, we’re renters so we can afford to have room for a deep freeze. We don’t have it yet, but I can see getting one for fish and meat sales someday.
October 26th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
@Hovering: “Instead of pimple faced teenagers at 7-11 we’ll see ma and pop (bitter ma and pop too).’
Yes, unless they are highly skilled and self-employed (like a doctor), elderly people are going to be taking the lowest jobs in the economy. Employers discriminate. They don’t want someone who is going to demand more pay (for experience), need more benefits and days off, and might die soon (many employers subsidize life insurance). This is brutal but true. If employers have good jobs with benefits, the boomers are last in line.
October 26th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
MBA, bachelor, PHD, RN, yada yada yada….you do realize that all these fancy titles are relatively meaningless in an environment where people buy their education.
had the pleasure to work with a guy who has an MBA…OMG he has no clue…
Titles here are salary enhancers whereas in other countries they actually mean you’re smarter than others and you have to prove it…here titles mean your parents have deeper pockets.
It the same as with housing, you start giving student loans to help people to ‘afford’ the education cost and all it’s doing is driving education cost through the roof. Unis know how much folks can borrow and hence know they can jack up cost without loosing folks.
I’m thinking in an environments where education is free titles mean more.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
@13 -No Longer Looking:
I agree. As the person who does groceries in our family I’m struggling to keep our monthly spending in check. I have to pay $7.00 for a dozen of real eggs these days, $20.00 for fish and $30.00 for a decent cheese… and these are Superstore prices…
The produce prices are not as shocking (yet) but the quality is following a downward spiral very fast… so it’s the same thing in the end.
A frozen McCain pizza for $4:00 seems like a life-saving score in comparison, especially when you’re mortaged to death (no pun intended)
October 26th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
Don’t miss this self-congratulatory article:
http://www.vancouversun.com/bu.....story.html
October 26th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
It looks like the tug of war between housing bubble and export economy is coming down on the exports side.
——————————-
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/......txRDteZ9Q
Oct. 24 (Bloomberg) — Canada’s dollar dropped the most in a month over the past five days after comments from the central bank’s governor prompted investors to unwind bets policy makers would raise interest rates before the second half of 2010.
The Canadian currency posted its first weekly loss since Sept. 25 after climbing to within three cents of parity with its U.S. counterpart. Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney, reiterating a warning that the nation’s dollar has grown too strong, said intervention “is always an option.” The Canadian economy grew in August, a report next week is likely to show.
——————————-
Bad news. If this “free” money doesn’t dry up soon, the fall from this bubble is going to be fast and hard as more and more sub-prime borrowers are sucked in. I was favouring a long slow decline but now I’m not so sure.
October 26th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
“@realpaul:
“My wife (an RN-BSN with an MS in physiology & biophysics) & I decided that we were not getting our daughter the H1N1 vaccination; we couldn’t have gotten her vaccinated by now even if we wanted”
I know you were just quoting the article realpaul, but I find it very sad that someone with a medical education would be afraid of innoculation, it’s morons like Jenny Mcarthy who have no education at all who are spreading lies based on a single study which was done nearly ten years ago, was proven completely false and the researcher who published it later admitted that he was bribed into arriving at certain conclusions in spite of a complete lack of evidence.
As it happens my wife has a PhD in Medicine and we’re getting our kids inoculated this week. So I take your RN and raise you a PhD (I hate when people quote RNs as supposedly knowledgeable sources, some are, but just like Real Estate agents, the vast majority are not, if they were that smart they’d be Doctors).
October 26th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
@jojo: “This generation of 30-somethings and under are going to be healthier than ever – fewer smokers and more aware eaters.”
I’m not so optimistic. The only good thing is fewer smokers (of tobacco). Eating quality food costs money, and I predict its price will rise faster than anything. I see a future of over-mortgaged young adults eating cheap starchy foods, and not having the money for physical recreation or quality entertainment. They will retreat to a lifestyle of virtual reality and low nutrition. When they get foreclosed-on, their main concern will be how to re-connect to WOW or Second Life.
October 26th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
I personally think we will see a return to multi-generational households – particularly if house prices don’t fall in places like Vancouver. Many cultures still do it of course, but I think it will become the norm for a lot of people as people live longer. We’ll see married couples with kids living with their siblings (married or otherwise), parents and even grandparents.
This generation of 30-somethings and under are going to be healthier than ever – fewer smokers and more aware eaters. Living to age 100 is going to become very normal so people relying on inheritances might have to wait a lot longer than previous generations and there might be a lot less to inherit as people spend their savings, etc just to enjoy a reasonable standard of living.
There’s no doubt our workforce will grey and people will work into their 70s. After all, someone retiring at 65 can easily expect to live for another 20 to 25 years – almost a whole working life – except this time without the working part.
And with older people all over the place, we will see changing demands for services. Sadly we’ll also see more conservative governments as people tend to become more selfish as they age.
The future is indeed grey. Smart people thinking about what career path they should follow will start training in medicine, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, law, accountancy and the trades. Smart marketers will go after the grey dollar.
October 26th, 2009 at 11:51 am
#10 The G&M article says that the cost of Uni can be less by ‘bunking with the parents’. true enough but it says that the cost savings on a four year program will be $30,000 on not living in res. I disagree, I have a kid in UNI res in BC now and the current cost about $1200 p/m all in year round because of summer programs to fill in credits just to get the four years done in four years instead of the five to six it is taking a lot of students because of the shortage of seats/lack of courses. Thats $58,000 for res inc food allowance( actually more with trip money home and clothing books etc etc) over the 4 years.
Tack on tuition ( and never mind transpo and a lot of other annoying stuff) and the current costs are a lot higher than the article suggests. If its this expensive now then its going to be a lot more expensive in 18 years time. Getting an undergrad degree and a teaching cert all on student loan is now about $80,000.00
October 26th, 2009 at 10:40 am
With all the ‘granny money’ dissapearing up in smoke it means fewer dollars will be inherited. With an entire generation of basement dwellers pinning their hopes on inheriting grannies house and cash this is going to create a lot of desperate wannabe’s in areas like the west side who see the dreams of moving up going down the drain as granny sucks up more and more cash just to put food on the table and pay the property maintenance and taxes.
Granny is already subsidizing the current kids bills and vacations. What happens when the money runs out and the kids have to move instead of becoming ‘upwardly mobile’. A reverse mortgage loan means ‘for the life of the owner’ not the life of the occupant.
These sucking maggots are having kids and the cost of supporting them is skyrocketing, especially the dream of a higher education.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com.....le1337924/
October 26th, 2009 at 10:08 am
“I think our work force will “grey”, rules will change and we will see alot more people keep working well past traditional retirement age out of necessity. Instead of pimple faced teenagers at 7-11 we’ll see ma and pop (bitter ma and pop too).”
– Great, so the boomers with not only be passing on massive debts to the younger generations, but they’ll also be taking their jobs!
October 26th, 2009 at 9:57 am
A PS on the Mexican Flu/ H1N1. It is a National emergency in the US. Strangely, no movement from the Canadian government. I guess it must be the magic screen at the border that keeps us immune from any uncomfortable topics.
” Sadly, we’ve just had our 3rd child die here in the ****** metro area. I think they were, 16, 4 and 9 years old. Think the H1N1 is not serious? Don’t just judge it by numbers. With a metro population of around 700K, we shouldn’t have had 3 kids die by December due to influenza complications, let alone by the 3rd week in October. Sure, most people have nothing more than the equivalent of a bad cold with H1N1, but 2 of the 3 children who are now dead were not overtly at “high risk”. Only one of them had asthma. In all honesty, on Friday I was feeling apprehensive when my 12 year old daughter vomited after getting back from feeding her goats & horses Friday morning & then complained of a bad sore throat. My wife (an RN-BSN with an MS in physiology & biophysics) & I decided that we were not getting our daughter the H1N1 vaccination; we couldn’t have gotten her vaccinated by now even if we wanted”
http://urbansurvival.com/week.htm
October 26th, 2009 at 9:46 am
We can just defer our costs by not paying for anything along the way like how VANOC has defered paying suppliers and thereby when we retire we’ll all be able to report huge surpluses. We’ll call “Olympic Acoounting” and all retire rich. LOL. Build your debt people and die before the bill comes due.
http://www.vancouversun.com/bu.....story.html
Hey, the bottom line on the seniors debate is that they are getting poorer and more indebted by the day. The one sided systemic inflation that the government has built into the system has guaranteed that anyone who retired ten years ago is running out of cash fast and will be strapped long before they die.
The thing about living longer, as fewer living seniors are smokers and boozers ergo generally getting healthier means that their running out of money much sooner than their financial advisors over the past twenty years of retirement planning could have ever planned for due to the zero return enviornment.
At some point the demographic may move towards an increased frequency of residential selling not due to lifestyle choice but of financial neccessity. Now heres an interesting thought,
On an earlier thread there was a point of speculation that changes may have been hinted at in the capital gains exemptions. What if these exemptions were extended to claw back additional funds for OAP and CPP as seniors who draw them are assessed for need.
Oh, the cynical mind boggles at a government employees fantasy of clawing back all that hitherto tax free revenue into the huge hole of government debt created by the Cons for this phony stimulus which we all know is just patent politics in a drive towards a majority government at any cost. Dont forget that we have just passed the US in personal debt and somebodys going to have to pony up before the well runs dry. Is anyone forgetting what happened the last time Canada technically went bust.
Bad things, huge tax increases. The Libs settled the deficit on the backs of the lumpenprolitariat without so much of a whimper from the unwashed. Do you have the capacity to double your tax burden, thats the question. So, think of how the government feels when it looks at all that taxable money the seniors arent giving up.
On that point I think it is a fatal mistake for the Libs not having taken on the CMHC debacle publicly and will come back and bite them long term.
October 26th, 2009 at 9:28 am
It takes a special kind of stupid to make your house your entire retirement plan. Yes a paid off house is an ideal situation to be in when you retire but not if you have no other savings. I plan on having both retirement savings and a paid off house. Whether the house is in Vancouver or not depends on when this bubble pops. If it doesn’t pop soon than I’ll move to Hawaii and I’m serious.
October 26th, 2009 at 8:56 am
The retirement age is outdated anyway (and yes, I know it has legally gone, but the perception remains). 65 was fine when the average lifespan was 67. Now most folks live well into their 70s at least, and the average retirement age has to increase (yes, some will still retire early, good for them).
October 26th, 2009 at 8:52 am
I was chatting with a doctor recently who told me that the stock crash last year also wiped out the predicted doctor shortage (they all have to keep working to make back their money).
I think our work force will “grey”, rules will change and we will see alot more people keep working well past traditional retirement age out of necessity. Instead of pimple faced teenagers at 7-11 we’ll see ma and pop (bitter ma and pop too).
October 26th, 2009 at 8:43 am
As someone who was born in the late 60s, I don’t expect that there will be anything left of the pyramid scheme known as the Canada Pension Plan by the time I qualify for it. Any measures taken by government to avert crisis with the Plan will ultimately be inflationary, so I store my wealth in precious metals.
October 26th, 2009 at 8:35 am
It is difficult to tell if all of the talk around finances, housing and the markets the last two years has been a positive factor in raising the level of quality conversation around a Canada with more seniors.
As serious as the retirement subject is for us, and we will pay one way or another for our procrastination in delaying meaningful conversation, it appears that the business as usual thinking is still in play; read retail headlines and believe them, feel nervous about house prices and plan the next Saturday outing to Ikea.
October 26th, 2009 at 6:57 am
“This has been a great recession – it was short, but it is bringing a big restructuring and will require major adjustment in this country.”
Mark Carney/Financial Post/Oct.26,2009
Phew! That was close. Glad it’s all over with.