Kelowna minimum living wage now $18.42

[seewood]

It was a blanket statement for businesses engaged in shareholder capitalism, an earmark of neoliberal economics of the type Urban Cowboy referenced as profit centered.

So how do government pensions accumulate sufficient funds to pay their very nice defined benefit pensions without company dividends.
Ontario Teacher pension fund:
With $207.4 billion in net assets as of December 31, 2019, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan is the largest single-profession pension plan in Canada. An independent organization, it invests the pension fund's assets and administers the pensions of 329,000 active and retired teachers in Ontario.

If the government goes to Defined contributions for the employees, guess the investment advisors get wealthy.

If the governments can reduce or limit the loop holes very large corporations use to reduce their tax exposure, perhaps that is a good thing so long as dividends paid out do not affect retiree's or pension income. Can that even be done ??

With every action, there well may be a negative reaction.

Getting back on topic , it is in my opinion, an inflation raising event when everyone gets a raise whether they deserve it or not.
Is there really an easy answer? I don't think so really.

[fluffy]

So how do government pensions accumulate sufficient funds to pay their very nice defined benefit pensions without company dividends.

Company dividends need not disappear. Why does it have to be all or nothing in these discussions ? I get a little tired of the mindset that comes up with a dozen reasons as to why something can't be done without giving any thought at all to how it can be done. The smart businesses will figure out how to keep all stakeholders happy.

[seewood]

Company dividends need not disappear.

If increased taxes are implemented they may well be reduced. Not good in my opinion.

What I'm doing is playing devils advocate here. Profits are required for any business to survive. Great profits benefit the company and shareholders, nothing wrong with that is there?

I get a little tired of the mindset that comes up with a dozen reasons as to why something can't be done without giving any thought at all to how it can be done.

What can be done about what? Sorry, must have missed something. What can be done perhaps is have the large government institutions change from Defined benefit to defined contribution pensions. But then the employees still need a return on any investments.( dividends)
No easy answer without some part of the population getting screwed I suspect.

[fluffy]

Profits are required for any business to survive. Great profits benefit the company and shareholders, nothing wrong with that is there?

No, nothing wrong with that, but is there something wrong with all links in the chain sharing that benefit ? What I'm saying is that the way those profits are being divided has fallen out of balance in many cases, disproportionately favouring owners/shareholders. Employees, suppliers and customers are every bit as essential as owners/shareholders, perhaps even more so as employee owned businesses are not unheard of.

Labour unrest in the US has grown considerably recently as the pandemic has really shone a spotlight on socioeconomic inequality. Low income earners have been hit the hardest, yet their jobs are the ones labeled "essential" to the proper functioning of the economy. High income earners have seen little of the downside, and corporate profits have soared. Similar conditions exist in Canada but not as loudly as with our neighbours to the south. Labour shortages in the low income sectors are a common complaint among employers, yet our unemployment rates are at record lows. People are simply refusing to work in areas like the hospitality sector, whether it be for higher wages, better working conditions, or both. There is growing frustration with the fact that the "trickle down economics" promised by Ronald Reagan in the early days of neoliberal economics has not come to pass. Buying power has remained stagnant for all but the top ten percent of earners for the last forty years.

We seem to be seeing a resurgence of a "ruling class" of economic elites, and corresponding unrest of middle and low income earners who see this as unjust.

"An increase in income inequality matters because of the potential for social and economic consequences. People at the lower rungs of the income ladder may experience diminished economic opportunity and mobility and have less political influence. Researchers have also linked growing inequality to greater geographic segregation by income. In addition, there is evidence that rising inequality may harm overall economic growth by reducing consumption levels, causing excessive borrowing by lower- to middle-income families, or limiting investment in education.

The income gap between Americans at the top and the bottom of the income distribution widened 27% from 1970 to 2016. Among all Americans, those near the top of the income ladder had 8.7 times as much income as those near the bottom in 2016, $109,578 compared with $12,523. In 1970, Americans near the top had 6.9 times as much income as those near the bottom, $63,512 compared with $9,212. (All income estimates are adjusted for household size and expressed in 2016 dollars.)"

https://www.pewresearch.org/social-tren ... ng-asians/

The thought that "What's good for business is good for everybody" only holds water if business actually takes steps to insure that "everybody" gets some consideration. The last few decades have shown us that inclusive attitudes among employers have become the exception and not the rule.

[seewood]

Labour unrest in the US has grown considerably recently as the pandemic has really shone a spotlight on socioeconomic inequality. Low income earners have been hit the hardest, yet their jobs are the ones labeled "essential" to the proper functioning of the economy. High income earners have seen little of the downside, and corporate profits have soared. Similar conditions exist in Canada but not as loudly as with our neighbours to the south.

I get it . However I really doubt much will change until there are a majority of disillusioned workers where a government is voted in to change how corporations work. Apparently the NDP is a proponent for the little guy, however they always seem to be the party in third or 4th place nationally. Provincially, the NDP seem to recognize the importance of corporations in the delivery of tax dollars to their coffers. However they are gutting the forestry sector.

To change corporate structure internally has been done, however maybe to make a titanic shift so employees benefit "more" from earnings maybe to have employees become shareholders themselves.
I know TD bank does this.
There is only so much "profit" to go around, if the company has profits in the first place.

Pay employees more, company raises their prices and inflation may well ensue.
I'm an ex logger, not an economist, but my experience in business has shown me there are so many variables in company structure to earn profits, pay taxes, pay employees enough they don't bail and move to other operator, pay your expenses and most of all, create a happy customer.
Get government involved and we have another Venezuela.

[fluffy]

I get it . However I really doubt much will change until there are a majority of disillusioned workers where a government is voted in to change how corporations work. Apparently the NDP is a proponent for the little guy, however they always seem to be the party in third or 4th place nationally. Provincially, the NDP seem to recognize the importance of corporations in the delivery of tax dollars to their coffers. However they are gutting the forestry sector.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying profit isn't important, but some balance needs to be maintained or, like you say, employees will walk. I think that's what we're seeing in the hospitality industry right now, especially with the demand for labour so high that employees have something better to walk to.

What I'm talking about is a more equitable split of profits. If that means that prices have to go up or owners/shareholders have to settle for a little less then so be it. Studies have shown that in the end a happier employee is a more productive employee, and money can be made up in that aspect.

[69cutlass]

The only "jobs" the NDP create are bureaucratic ones. Redundant positions that fill little to no need.

[Ace Storman]

And that Ladies and Gentlemen, is coming directly to you from a LIBERAL SHILL! Nuff said...

[Ace Storman]

The only "jobs" the NDP create are bureaucratic ones. Redundant positions that fill little to no need.

Can you please provide us with the appropriate links to substantiate your comments...crickets are waiting!

[seewood]

^^^^ Perhaps a bit cynical but the entire forestry, mining, and provincial fisheries branch is now redundant as NOTHING happens without first nations consent and input. According to my brother, and my boys mother, the mining and fisheries branch could now have half the employees they do now.

[rustled]

There is only so much "profit" to go around, if the company has profits in the first place.

Pay employees more, company raises their prices and inflation may well ensue.
I'm an ex logger, not an economist, but my experience in business has shown me there are so many variables in company structure to earn profits, pay taxes, pay employees enough they don't bail and move to other operator, pay your expenses and most of all, create a happy customer.
Get government involved and we have another Venezuela.

[69cutlass]

The only "jobs" the NDP create are bureaucratic ones. Redundant positions that fill little to no need.

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/voiceonline ... als/%3famp

Can you please provide us with the appropriate links to substantiate your comments...crickets are waiting!

This is Alberia ndp but ndp is ndp
https://www.google.ca/amp/s/edmontonsun ... 6d6eb/amp/

And some other good points
https://businessexaminer.ca/vancouver-i ... -business/

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/voiceonline ... als/%3famp

[Urban Cowboy]

The only "jobs" the NDP create are bureaucratic ones. Redundant positions that fill little to no need.

Can you please provide us with the appropriate links to substantiate your comments...crickets are waiting!

Have you been residing under a rock that you require a link?

NDP behavior is well known, documented, and unlikely to change any time soon.

It almost appears that you require a reminder as to how many times NDP governments have engaged in "studies" in order to accomplish two tasks, first off to provide contract work for their cronies, and secondly to stall something that they have no desire to pursue, case in point the William Bennett Bridge, that could, and should, have been built under their tenure, for far less money than it wound up costing in the end.

This was a prime example of spending tax payer dollars on a "study", that provided us absolutely nothing in return, and is but one example of them engaging in such a tactic. I for one would be amazed to see work on a Massey Tunnel actually begin, because so far it's been nothing but studies and talk, particularly when work on the bridge the Liberals undertook was ready to break ground before the incoming NDP government scrapped it as one of its first actions.

[69cutlass]

Can you please provide us with the appropriate links to substantiate your comments...crickets are waiting!

Have you been residing under a rock that you require a link?

NDP behavior is well known, documented, and unlikely to change any time soon.

It almost appears that you require a reminder as to how many times NDP governments have engaged in "studies" in order to accomplish two tasks, first off to provide contract work for their cronies, and secondly to stall something that they have no desire to pursue, case in point the William Bennett Bridge, that could, and should, have been built under their tenure, for far less money than it wound up costing in the end.

This was a prime example of spending tax payer dollars on a "study", that provided us absolutely nothing in return, and is but one example of them engaging in such a tactic. I for one would be amazed to see work on a Massey Tunnel actually begin, because so far it's been nothing but studies and talk, particularly when work on the bridge the Liberals undertook was ready to break ground before the incoming NDP government scrapped it as one of its first actions.

[fluffy]

Well, one thing they have done is push the minimum wage up by a country mile since they took power. I like that.