Friday free-for-all!
It’s the end of the week! Time to do our regular weekend news round up and open topic economic chat!
- First Nations property bill gets royal assent
- Squamish Nation to build 4 condo towers near Park Royal
- Average price edges up in June
- Teranet numbers updated
- CIBC household credit analysis pdf
- Canadians feel optimism mixed with gloom
- Victoria sees lowest June sales volume in 8 years
- Toronto condos a perfect first investment
- Nearly 1/3 of US sales a foreclosure
- Psychology of market cycles
So what are you seeing out there? Post your news links, thoughts and anecdotes here and have an excellent weekend!
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July 5th, 2010 at 12:26 pm
Scoop:
Yeah that’s what I’m finding also. It was easy peasy to find a place when it was just the two of us. We had excellent referneces, no pets blah blah, but now that we have a little one it is getting much harder. Not only is there a lack of rental stock for families, at the moment anyway (there was more last summer), but alot of people turn you away. Politely of course and without trying to get sued by you also. It is frustrating. Plus who wants to move or have propesctive buyers looking at your place all the time when you’ve been up all night with your little one for the past 5 days!!!
If the real estate market wasn’t SO outta wack out here I’d be so tempted to buy right now. We are certainly considering a move somewhere more family friendly finacially that’s for sure.
July 5th, 2010 at 8:11 am
@RP
“I notice that none of the anti-real posters could argue my points”
You are dodging the questions again. I didn’t ask your philosophy for earning money, but rather at what level the market currently sets your value.
@Chip: No one has argued to give public sector workers “what they want”, but rather I have been asking what the market price would be for skilled work in identifiable professions.
My last point: let’s at least get the accounting right. “Public sector parasites” pay taxes too – so if you want to complain about how many of “your” tax dollars we are earning, you should first subtract “our” tax dollars from the equation.
Specuskeptic was right – this is like arguing against an invective bot. I’m done.
JL…
July 5th, 2010 at 7:14 am
@Whitebread:
Man, ignorance rains down on this topic. I guess you have never been on the wrong end of an employer trying to force you to do something that is unsafe,not your job/not trained to do or too cheap to hire enough people to do the job they had no problem saying they could do when they took out the contract due to their greed.
FYI, not all unions are government jobs, many asshole corporations who love to screw workers are unionized and have no respect for workers basic rights. But then again maybe these are just asshole employers posting their drivel here.
July 5th, 2010 at 5:21 am
Grampy I agree with you completely. 17 bucks an hour to keep the elderly from wandering into traffic is far too much to spend.
Gosh, why spend anything at all on them? Old people are parasites on the system. Just look at ol’ Grampy here….. drives on the roads, first in line for benefits to the old and worthless and yet insisting we bring in lower wager workers to further gut the middle class.
I saw we round up all the old people. We could put explosive rigged collars round ther necks then stick ‘em on an islands somewhere. Maybe Baffin Island… nobody’s around there. We could let ‘em all stand on their own 2 feet…. no subsidies! And if they get too close to escaping, we just detonate the explosives in the collar.
Really, what could be simpler? I don’t want a cent of my hard earned money to go anywhere near Grampy and his crumbling cohort. They insist on standing on their own 2 feet, so let’s let ‘em.
July 5th, 2010 at 12:56 am
BTW, 17 an hour is far too much for changing diapers. We should be limited foriegn workers to contract and skilled workers to citizenship. Business class limits should be raised and restricted. Refugees we don’t need nor can we afford. Let these people settle their own issues, they’ll be better off for it in the end. If their religions and governments are bad themn they should stay and change them. Look at the Sikhs, ungrateful and now suing Canada, disgraceful. Lets not continue with these mistakes. Lets speed up investigations and deportations in this area.
July 5th, 2010 at 12:47 am
JL 124, I would give the socialists exactly what they want for everybody except themselves. Oh, and this includes everyone on your wish list. I suggest we stick the civic workers in a communal teepee and feed them black bread with cabbage and bean soup. Then along with the bellicose daitribe, retellings of ‘the tollpuddle massacre’against the chants of hatred for taxpayers lifting the roof, they can blow the lid off with farting to the tune of Solidarity Forever..
For myself I will be satisified with whatever I can earn on my own and consider myself fortunate to have the self esteem and self respect to stand on my own two feet instead of going through life as a parasite.
Shocked to hear the Coq, fire lice are making 90K p/a…anyone wonder why theres no text books in the schools? Union greed is the virus that kills the host. Look to Europe for a glimpse at the future. We’re far more in debt than they are per capita. Our taxes are disguised in multi layered direct and indirect tax grabs so that the sheep can’t see the blade. Overall we are paying more than 80% of income, have a national debt in excess of 125% of GDP, have 147%++ in personal (all rising). Remember union fools, 100% is everything. Those that can’t count on another visa card coming in the mail will know exactly what that means. The days of vacuous spending are coming to an end. I can make a living in dollars or rubles or yuan for that matter, can you? Whent he shit hits the fan and your smarmy game is done…well, happy landings.
July 5th, 2010 at 12:34 am
And I should mention that I actually support open immigration laws, as long they’re geared to skilled workers who have a net benefit to the tax base. Current policy is geared to low skills and pay which, coupled with ‘free’ healthcare and other benefits, entails a rather significant net loss to the Canadian government.
The reason immigration laws are easing is that we cannot attract enough high skilled people, thanks to higher levels of taxation and lower levels of job opportunities compared to many countries, including funny enough, current sources of immigrants: India and China.
Personally, I would like to see immigration policy reflect economic, not political, considerations. While that may see fewer immigrants arriving we could probably still meet our humanitarian goals by perhaps doubling our intake of refugees and in the end still save the country a huge amount of money.
July 4th, 2010 at 11:54 pm
@coastal:
Screw the union workers. They screw up the system. That’s why people can’t get medical care here. Too dam expensive. They do not need to immigrate here. We go there to see them. And they do a better job.
http://www.healthtoursindia.co.....y-cost.htm
July 4th, 2010 at 11:47 pm
@Union Parasite:
“Hi. I look after people with disabilities. I make a whopping $17 an hour to change adults diapers, keep them from hurting themselves, hurting me, wandering into traffic… you get my drift. ”
The government can’t be in the business of paying people what they think they’re worth. In that direction lies financial Armageddon.
But you undoubtedly think I’m a free market radical so perhaps consider this argument instead. The Canadian government just relaxed the immigration law on caregivers. Predominantly from the Philippines, foreign caregivers will now have easier access to a Canadian work permit and now be able to work less than two years before applying for permanent residency for themselves and their families.
A Filipino caregiver in Canada earns about $1200 a month with room and board paid. So on top of hitting the jackpot of Canadian residency, they are paid about six times the salary they would get in HK or Singapore. This is enough to buy five homes in their home village EVERY month.
So, you see, your job prospects can only get bleaker and looking to the government will not help because in this case your appeal as an overworked and underpaid Canadian loses out to the appeal of a multicultural Canada built on immigration.
The Philippines is now the largest source of immigrants to Canada.
July 4th, 2010 at 11:44 pm
FYI (This is the frefforall right?!) Looks like an interesting series from the Tyee over the next few days.
http://thetyee.ca/News/2010/07.....ourFuture/
July 4th, 2010 at 10:50 pm
Actually the Honk Kong and Shanghai markets are down. The Shanghai is down over 1%.
The S and P futures are up 3 points. The S and P sits at 1022 currently, so the futures are up 0.03%, hardly anything and that could change in a heart beat.
Also they aren’t pointing to a higher open tomorrow, because the US markets are closed tomorrow!
just trying to keep you honest McLovin, not that I enjoy agreeing with Meth.
July 4th, 2010 at 9:11 pm
Asian markets up and S&P futures are pointing to a higher open
http://www.cnbc.com/id/38090628
July 4th, 2010 at 8:35 pm
Everyone ready for the stock market collapse this week?
Across the Pacific they’re not waiting for us, Shanghai’s market is getting beaten like a Singapore jaywalker. Again.
http://finance.yahoo.com/echar.....=undefined
AIYA!!
July 4th, 2010 at 8:32 pm
@Just Looking (and others engaging ruPaul while I’m at it)
You are providing measured, reasonable, fact-based argument. ruPaul is about invective and finding any audience he can for his spew and his own, personally constructed reality. Responding just inspires him further as he’s on a “mission”. His reality is different and you cannot reason with his position as a result of it. No amount of reasoning and factual defence will change his mind. He’s in the Fox news Alex Jones vortex and t’aint nothin’ can change his mind because he’s always right because he knows what he sees.
Read http://crabbyoldfart.wordpress.com/ for absolutely pitch-perfect satire of what this cat’s all about.
Disagreements about conclusions and logic are great and they help all involved to get at “truth”, but when one’s reality is distorted as his is, discussion and debate are a colossal waste ‘o time.
July 4th, 2010 at 7:57 pm
@realpaul (With apologies to specuskeptic…)
It’s funny when you ask someone a question and they answer by saying “to answer your question…” and then proceed to ignore your question. It’s funnier still to then be accused of not engaging with their line of reasoning, when the whole point was to come to an understanding of the underlying logic/data/reasons so that just that might be possible.
Will you actually answer my question? What is a reasonable wage for a nurse? Teacher? Yourself? Your family members? I’m not talking about a union concept of a living wage. I’m just asking you to use your experience in hiring real world people into productive jobs. What would it take to hire someone that talented and educated enough that you would feel confident to have them teaching your kids and making decisions about what to do if you were their patient in the ICU.
A format for a response to the question might look something like:
Nurse: $xxxxx/yr
Teacher: $xxxxx/yr
RealPaul: $xxxxx/yr
Please don’t keep changing the subject by saying I’m an entitled parasite – that is the same kind of ad hominem attack you are decrying.
Do you actually think that every single person (myself included) is a parasitic, lazy and useless? If so, based on what evidence? In that context, if it’s true, how is it that we have some of the top ranked universities in the world?
You mention that all people in the public sector play no role in wealth creation. As I pointed out in the previous thread, that is not quite true. It is true that it is much more difficult (and costly) to draw a straight line between a dollar of revenue and the service I provide to a university student. It is also difficult to draw a straight line between a corporation’s IT support guy and a dollar of revenue. Take the IT guy away crash the computers and you have an unproductive business. Take the public sector away and you remove the conditions for a productive society (before you call me a communist, I would argue that eliminating the private sector would also remove those conditions).
I’d suggest the logical leap you are making is that the IT guy and me provide no value. A complex economy like ours requires a nuanced view of productivity. It is difficult to quantify the IT guy’s role at the level of analysis of a single corporation, the greater challenge with the public service is that the level of analysis is not an individual organization, but a government jurisdiction. It is very difficult to quantify the work I do in terms of economic benefit, but, if I do my job well, students at university graduate faster, have better leadership skills, have chosen a program and initial career path that will enable them to move effectively into being a productive member of our society/economy and therefore add to GPD.
As for the notion that all work should be done on the basis of an open market, no one handed me my job – I competed in an open process. I am not entitled to a job just by waking up in the morning either – no one here is making that argument. If what you meant was that we should all be individual contractors, I would ask what evidence you are coming to the conclusion that that is more efficient? If contractors are more efficient, why does any organization have regular staff? Usually you have to do a lot of analysis to determine which is more efficient.
I don’t think those arguing respectfully with your opinions (and not all are doing that) are espousing the radically leftist views you attribute to us. Can you show me the reason/logic/data behind your views?
JL…
July 4th, 2010 at 7:43 pm
@coastal:
That’s what the masks are for, they should be put on when arriving at the scene.
I could see a Manhattan firefighter getting 90K since every fire involves a highrise and the risks are high, but Coquitlam?
Being a cab driver in Coquitlam is more dangerous.
July 4th, 2010 at 7:41 pm
First class firefighters typically make $76kish per year before overtime, depending on the municipality. That salary is also based on what works out to be a 48hr work week, not 40. Around $30 per hour, which isn’t unreasonable to be responsible for public life-safety, handle traumatic events, and be prepared to take above average personal risk to perform your job.
July 4th, 2010 at 7:33 pm
Unions were invented in the first place to protect workers from employers like realpaul who fail to see the value in anything or anyone except for themselves.
July 4th, 2010 at 7:20 pm
@Best place on meth:
And the shit the firemen breathe during that time increases their odds of getting a handful of painful diseases not long after they hit 50.
July 4th, 2010 at 7:18 pm
realpaul won’t change his anti-union rant til an $8 per hour immigrant with bad english is giving him his catheter change and colonoscopy.
July 4th, 2010 at 7:17 pm
Hi. I look after people with disabilities. I make a whopping $17 an hour to change adults diapers, keep them from hurting themselves, hurting me, wandering into traffic… you get my drift. Non union employees are making $13- 14 an hour to the same job. Should I be doing it for $8? Don’t worry, I can’t afford mortgages, or childcare, but I am just such a stain on society I am lucky to even have a rental roof over my head. RealPaul, you make me absolutely sick, and I would love to invite you to come to work with me for a day, and see just how luxurious my union gig is. And yes, I do have a university degree, but all you cranky old farts just keep warming chairs so none of us newbies can get a decent job.
July 4th, 2010 at 7:06 pm
@patriotz: “For the same monthly payments as it would take to buy a crackshack you can rent a mansion. Does that answer your question?”
—
It doesn’t FULLY answer scoop’s question because he/she is pointing out the logistic & emotional cost of being unexpectedly forced to move, with young kids (and possibly school district issues, too?).
We all agree that it is far and away economically better to rent. Despite that, many renters have pangs to own, simply to ensure some geographic stability.
July 4th, 2010 at 6:46 pm
@Anonymous: #110
Holy shit! Coquitlam firemen make $90K a year?
They probably spend about 12 hours a year actually fighting fires.
What else, a full pension at age 50?
July 4th, 2010 at 5:33 pm
Hey, take a look at larry’s figures for June in Vancuver West. Looks like average price went down a LOT…
July 4th, 2010 at 5:33 pm
Realpaul’s mental ladder may be missing a few rungs but it is true that the fiscal crises now plaguing Europe, California, New Jersey, New York and now Illinois are due to too much spending on the public sector, in terms of more personnel, higher salaries and pensions that can never ever be paid.
So, in a sense, I’d rather have a few Realpauls freaking out about too much spending rather than a dozen complacent people drifting along complacently, convinced that it’s different here.
(And it’s always worth noting that Ontario’s per capita deficit is higher than California’s, with 47% of spending on healthcare and a deficit of over $20 billion)
Renting Is Wise And Prudent, But It Can Be Demoralizing – “Moving with young kids is not my idea of fun. Neither is trying to find a decent 3-4 br family-friendly rental house in Vancouver. There’s a lot of crap out there.” « Van Says:
July 4th, 2010 at 5:22 pm
[...] BCite at vancouvercondo.info 4 July 2010 1:14 pm – “I’m so discouraged with renting at the moment and I certainly don’t want to buy right now. I do wish this bust would hurry up and happen already. Can anyone else out there identify?” [...]
Renting Is Wise And Prudent, But It Can Be Demoralizing – “Moving with young kids is not my idea of fun. Neither is trying to find a decent 3-4 br family-friendly rental house in Vancouver. There’s a lot of crap out there.” « Van Says:
July 4th, 2010 at 5:21 pm
[...] BCite at vancouvercondo.info 4 July 2010 1:14 pm – “I’m so discouraged with renting at the moment and I certainly don’t want to buy right now. I do wish this bust would hurry up and happen already. Can anyone else out there identify?” [...]
July 4th, 2010 at 5:09 pm
Please, please, please… with whipped cream and a cherry on top. Ignore trollpaul.
July 4th, 2010 at 5:07 pm
$100,000 salaries common at city
http://www.thenownews.com/busi.....story.html
http://issuu.com/canwestcommun.....at20100703
But still no where near the 330% salary hikes for some fat cats.
July 4th, 2010 at 5:05 pm
@scoop:
For the same monthly payments as it would take to buy a crackshack you can rent a mansion.
Does that answer your question?
July 4th, 2010 at 4:51 pm
Realpaul I suggest you quit posting your lame, tired rants. You’re making yourself look really stupid.
July 4th, 2010 at 4:35 pm
Typical ‘shit for brains’ union style ad hominem fallacy rants. Can’t justify your disonance boys and girls? It would be hard for anyone with guts, a backbone, some smarts, ethics or morales to get up every day and face being a loser parasite. I wouldn’t do it…for sure..but then I don’t have to, I’ve aways had the balls to make it on my own. I create wealth for myself and don’t have to hide behind some taxpayer screwing union to justify my sorry existence. I notice that none of the anti-real posters could argue my points, instead they broke down and went on strike …waaahhhhhhhhhhh, typical.
The fact is that I’m right and you know it. the more you screw the taxpayer the deeper you fuck yourself and your kids. The greedy little fuck ups have leached themselves into a corner and whine that its now the system thats underfunded and want to come back to the taxpayer for more.
The Campbell government of appeasing the unions with full time day care is atrocious. This kind of thinking is wrong on so many levels. The VSB announced the same idiotic scheme by saying that ‘their workers couldn’t afford their big mortgages’ and so ‘daycare was nessescary’ to subsidize the gap. Hey…union fuck ups, if you can’t afford it, you don’t deserve it either. Why do you entitled little freaks think that your being a loser should become the taxpayers problem? Getting rid of the unions would improve the standard of living for the entire population. Canada can no longer afford to have so many leaches in the system, its time to grow up. That time is here for the unions in the US Britian and Europe, its coming to a union hall here, don’t doubt it.
July 4th, 2010 at 4:33 pm
@paulb fan:
oops that should be 10%, not 105, LOL. Guess should proofread my stuff.
July 4th, 2010 at 4:31 pm
Here is an awesome anecdotal. A friend who knows my stance on everything real estate laughed at my suggestion that he should reduce rent for both his basements if he wants them to get rented as there are tons of them on the market these days. Two months down the line, 10% reduction in rent (I suggested 20%), they are still waiting for tenants. That is automatically at least 30% (105 reduction + 2 months rent) reduction in rents but he does not get it. Still hell bent to not go down further. Wish people were more math literate. But then I am asking too much here. LOL
July 4th, 2010 at 4:18 pm
Realpaul, did you apply for the government job and didn’t get it? Did you then file a grievance and it didn’t work either? Are you now disappointed that you missed the cushy “parasite” job you’ve always wanted and are feeling blue?
Awwww…. so sad too bad. Get to work you fuck and stop spewing your propaganda. Isn’t it what you’re so much against?
Fucking hypocrite!
July 4th, 2010 at 4:11 pm
It’s a tough job emptying bed pans everyday for $8/hr. The only thing that gets me out if bed is taking the best one and pouring it into realpaul’s cornflakes every morning. I have to appologize to the other blood suckers because one morning he noticed some peanuts and corn kernals in his cereal and realized what was going on. Ever since then he’s been really bitter towards public employees and unions.
July 4th, 2010 at 4:02 pm
@BCite
I can identify. Recently received notice requiring us to vacate our current rental home. For a single person, moving from one generic one br condo to another may be no big deal. But moving with young kids is not my idea of fun. Neither is trying to find a decent 3-4 br family-friendly rental house in Vancouver. There’s just a lot of crap out there. Sometimes I wonder, should we just bite the bullet and buy a place, even though the prices make me sick? I’m definitely on the fence at times.
July 4th, 2010 at 3:45 pm
@Just Looking…:
excellent response I’ll add this to your post:
http://www.policyalternatives......view_0.pdf
page 44/45 shows BC spends less per pupil than 45 states and is 7th in Canada, just below the national average.
The fact that the liberal government supports all day kindergarten should tell him something. It’s cheaper to send them to school for the day then to improve child care benefits for families.
realpaul,
I’m sorry you had a bad experience at the hospital or in your schooling but you’re out of line to attack all public sector employees. You have a case of “the grass is always greener”.
The reality is you wouldn’t last a week as a nurse, teacher, police officer, etc that you are so quick to put down. If I’m wrong, then why not enroll in the schooling necessary to become one of those lowly public servants and bask in the overwhelming riches that you claim they are stealing from taxpayers?