Liberal (Minority/Majority) Government 2025 - ???

[Czech_pivo]

Yup. There’s nothing wrong with the kids. They’re as smart and as hard working as previous generations. But they face a reality of less relative return on their investments in work and education. The middle class dreams of their parents are denied to many more of them than ever before.

Watch this click - I sent it to family friends who’s son is in his 3rd yr as an Electrician apprentice.

 

[Czech_pivo]

Not just politicians, I have private sector friends whose whole/majority of post work subsistence is based on real estate. A crash in the market would destroy they're ability to retire.

The death and destruction of the private sector pension is criminal IMHO.

The removal of the Defined Benefit requirement plan was kicked to the family jewels for many in the private sector. Having a CPP that was set up to only cover 25% of some ‘avantage manufacturing wage’ has been another kick at those same jewels. The slow, long delayed, move to cover 33% is still not enough. It eventually should move up to cover 40% and the upper salary range should go up to 125k.

 

[Czech_pivo]

I think you and others here have done a good job articulating who gains and loses from the status quo, and from a hypothetical major correction in the market. I don’t see much disagreement here on the basic facts of this.

Stepping back and taking a societal view, a big part of the problem I think is that, following the massive run ups of say a decade ago, we now have a whole generation that has entered the workforce and is at the right place in life to be starting families, but with the now much inflated housing prices, they face massive, massive barriers to entry. The inaccessibility of ownership in many places leaves them caught in the rent trap, which has itself inflated considerably.

It’s not good, generally, to have up and coming generations cut off from the dream everyone had up to their parents and which their parents still believe in and express to them. It’s harmful to social and political cohesion to have that large a cohort seeing the ladders pulled up behind the last crew who climbed…

Stagnant housing prices coupled with inflation will eventually reduce this problem, but on a generational time frame. Not soon enough to help the young couples in their mid to late 20s, nor those coming up behind. Or even the tail end millennials who took longer to get well paid careers established.

A major correction downwards would have an impact, but it would need a major trigger of a lot of people trying to sell inflated supply into a market that has seen demand destruction from prices too high for too long. I don’t know what such a trigger would be. And How much would such a major correction actually hit livable family residences versus bachelor or shoebox condos that nobody’s starting a family in anyway? The housing market is far from monolithic…

Damned if I know how Canada balances the policy challenges here - affordability, social cohesion, reliance on home equity, etc etc…

Here's an article out of the US today from the CNBC business site. Same concerns/issues are being felt south of the border.....

'This bargain is eroding': Inside the youngest generations' view of the American Dream

Gen Z is at a tipping point, some economists say: the first U.S. generation in living memory where the majority may be unable to achieve the American Dream.

www.cnbc.com

‘This bargain is eroding’: Inside the youngest generations’ view of the American Dream​

 

[YZT580]

Our country has many problems. Paying OAS to high income elderly Canadians is absolutely one of them. It’s not Robin Hood-eaque ‘steal from the rich’ to change the net income threshold to receive OAS. Not paying high income seniors welfare is simply not paying high income seniors welfare. Why should high income seniors receive welfare?

In actuality, I agree with you but singling that out is not the road to recovery as I have tried to point out. It is a distraction. My 12000 is not the reason why the average house in Canada is 847,000 whilst south of us it is 360,000. And explain to me why we were still sending money to support China up until recently; if we aren't still doing so. Explain why hospitals are actually laying off nursing staff and closing facilities whilst crying poor when they are the beneficiaries of much of our GDP. No my friend, you can rant and rave all you want about OAS but that freeing up that portion of the budget isn't going to solve a damn thing.