1903 replies to this topic

[lanforod]

PS. I'll take the donut

[Mike K.]

I stand corrected.

So why has there been such a mad push for subsidized housing? You often hear the affordable housing pitch from politicians and various stakeholders who say the rents are just too high. Or is that something they always say? I dunno.

[Nparker]

So why has there been such a mad push for subsidized housing?

Because it appeases the folks who keep our local government in office. 

[lanforod]

The rents ARE too high here for someone on minimum wage only, aren't they?

[VicHockeyFan]

The rents ARE too high here for someone on minimum wage only, aren't they?

 

Yup.  But most minimum-wagers are young people, that live at home, or with roommates.  God forbid if you are into your 30's and still earning minimum wage.  That's a rarity.

[jonny]

Yup.  But most minimum-wagers are young people, that live at home, or with roommates.  God forbid if you are into your 30's and still earning minimum wage.  That's a rarity.

 

That struggle would be similar anywhere in Canada I bet.

 

Students I know who work part time retail or restaurant type jobs make well over minimum wage.

 

Sorry, but if you're an adult who is trying to make end's meet at a full-time minimum wage job (i.e. not a student or like 18), something is seriously wrong with your personality and/or skill set.

[gumgum]

Or you're disabled or an immigrant.

[jonny]

Or you're disabled or an immigrant.

 

Most immigrants I know make more than I do, and being physically disabled is in now way a life sentence of working at McDonald's.

[Jason-L]

I think you need to be bringing in around $16.50/hr to be able to afford a $750/month rent, based on the idea that rent shouldn't be more than about 30% of your pay (and if you add in hydro, cable, phone, etc, no more than 50%).  A bit more than minimum wage, that.

 

Keep in mind that our "new economy" is all about service jobs, that tend try to keep you part-time and aim to have you working as close to minimum wage as possible.  This might be why you see a lot of folks with roommates these days, even into their late 20s and early 30s (and beyond).  

[Coreyburger]

Yup.  But most minimum-wagers are young people, that live at home, or with roommates.  God forbid if you are into your 30's and still earning minimum wage.  That's a rarity.

 

US data says that most minimum wage earners are not actually young people, that is merely the perception. I haven't seen equivalent for Canada, it would be interesting to see if this is true here too.

[Greg]

US data says that most minimum wage earners are not actually young people, that is merely the perception. I haven't seen equivalent for Canada, it would be interesting to see if this is true here too.

http://www.bls.gov/c...age2012tbls.htm

 

Just over 50% of minimum age earners are 16-24 years old.

[dasmo]

For the poor and working poor rent downtown would be expensive and there has been a massive gentrification of all the radiating areas around the core over the last 20-30 years. This has removed a great amount of rooming house stock. My hood is one of them. I witnessed one house that had 12 "rooms" crammed in it convert to single family. The fall out of this is way less $150 / $200 a month places on the market....

[Mike K.]

We also forgot to add that the Q Apartments (Queen E Hotel) and Dalton Hotel (microlofts) will be adding quite a bit of rental units onto the market.

[Dimitrios]

Sorry, but if you're an adult who is trying to make end's meet at a full-time minimum wage job (i.e. not a student or like 18), something is seriously wrong with your personality and/or skill set.

Well, someone has to work all those McDonalds and Subway shifts. When I worked at MEC 15 years ago (in Ontario, mind you), starting wage was very close to minimum wage; fun place to work and decent perks, but crap pay. Do these places mostly staff with part-timers? I guess if you're really tight for cash, have no vehicle (and are not into biking or long bus rides), you pick jobs near where you live, which might mean dealing with minimum wage.

[Mike K.]

Bachelor rentals at the New England will be starting at $800 and going as high as $1000.

[http]

Sorry, but if you're an adult who is trying to make end's meet at a full-time minimum wage job (i.e. not a student or like 18), something is seriously wrong with your personality and/or skill set.

 

You missed the Neofascist Manifesto: staff are expendable and expense, not investment and resource.  The new reality is that wages and working conditions are no longer to be negotiated between equals.

 

http://detrea.tumblr...age-when-it-was

"The premise of minimum wage, when it was introduced, was that a single wage earner should be able to own a home and support a family.  That was what it was based on; a full time job, any job, should be able to accomplish this.
    The fact people scoff at this idea if presented nowadays, as though the people that ring up your groceries or hand you yourburgers don’t deserve the luxury of a home and a family, is disgusting."

[VicHockeyFan]

 

"The premise of minimum wage, when it was introduced, was that a single wage earner should be able to own a home and support a family.  That was what it was based on; a full time job, any job, should be able to accomplish this.
    The fact people scoff at this idea if presented nowadays, as though the people that ring up your groceries or hand you yourburgers don’t deserve the luxury of a home and a family, is disgusting."

 

No.  Government should not set prices for labour, any more so than they should set prices for other items in a free market.  Why should an employee that is only $9/hr. productive be paid any higher?

[pherthyl]

No. Government should not set prices for labour, any more so than they should set prices for other items in a free market. Why should an employee that is only $9/hr. productive be paid any higher?

And how do you determine how productive an employee is? Obviously your employee is producing more value for you than $9/ hour or it wouldn't be worth keeping them. So exactly how much are they actually producing?

I don't agree that someone on minimum wage should be able to afford a house. Obviously that is ridiculous in a city. But I think it's reasonable that minimum wage should be enough in order to live, have shelter, and not be a burden on society.
In the US minimum wage is a hot topic because you have companies like Walmart making billions while their workers are accessing food stamps. That is not good for society, and the government is effectively subsidizing companies by paying part of their staffing costs.

[Mike K.]

It could be argued that government itself is responsible for the ever increasing cost of living. In Victoria is it an employers fault that local government heavily restricts the supply of housing and employment opportunities, thereby increasing the cost of living and strangling the economy?

Or that while taxes and operating costs increase and businesses are forced to cut hours or freeze wages, government coffers grow larger and their workers enjoy rising wages? I mean look at the volume of municipal workers earning >$100k in this city compared to other jurisdictions. Meanwhile plenty of private employers can barely make ends meet.

[pherthyl]

It could be argued that government itself is responsible for the ever increasing cost of living. In Victoria is it an employers fault that local government heavily restricts the supply of housing and employment opportunities, thereby increasing the cost of living and strangling the economy?

Given the amount of construction in Victoria I'm not convinced the government is restricing housing supply. If they're trying they're not very effective at it (surprise).