1035 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

[Mike K.]

Social media comments turned off, too. So no time required to read feedback.

[Tony]

For a comparison 2020 to 2024 consumer price index in the same time period was at least !7%

[Mike K.]

A full 60% higher rise at the CoV comms department, then.

[Tony]

Yes you can look at it that way. Cost of living increase was just given as another marker of general cost increases that most people know.

 

How close does the general public basket that is used as the base for the cost of living compare to the basic costs that municipalities have in their general cost basket? Is there such a general basket? 

 

Not much I would expect. A bit like comparing apples and oranges.

 

Using percent differences alone are a well known way often used to exaggerate differences.

[Mike K.]

If we’re comparing markers, how about comparing the City’s communication department growth, compared to population growth, over the last 20 years?

[Tony]

One  can compare so called markers of anything to something else. 

 

Any particular comparison needs to be evaluated both in purpose and utility. Comparing two things in no way automatically make them useful or automatically reflecting the underlying realities. The closer the items to be compared in all aspects are to each other the more useful the resulting information  may be.

 

Over the last two years the age of a two year old has increased by 100% The age for a fifty year old has increased by 8%.  Comparing these two on change in age over the same time period provides some dramatically different per cent results.

 

The numbers are correct but how useful are they? 

 

Comparisons are just that.  The conclusion drawn or implied by comparisons may not be useful, Useful or not, appropriate or not, they can be used to support a particular opinion or point of view.

[Sparky]

Over the last two years the age of a two year old has increased by 100% The age for a fifty year old has increased by 8%.

Actually, using the English language along with arithmetic can be very misleading as well. Let's take the 2 year increase in the age of a human as an example.

One year ago the two year old was one year old. If he is two years old today, that is an increase of one year...or an increase of 100% over the previous year. (you used two years so that means that the math would have to start as a newborn or 0 so it wouldn't be 100% for the two years.

If the age of a 50 year old has increased over a 2 year period, that means the math starts at 48. An increase of 2 years of a 48 year old as a percentage of the 48 year old is 2 divided by 48 = .0416 X 100 = a percentage increase over his previous age of 4.16 % …not 8%.

One needs to be extremely careful of the wording of the math before using math in order to substantiate or dispute a particular point of view.

Catch my podcast "Fun With Numbers" every Friday night at 11:30 PM.

[Tony]

Yes language is not clear as to the starting age, If you assume that the mathematics used is indeed accurate one could then infer from the results the age at which the calculation was based and the age of each individual at that time.

 

However it would still be an inference.

Edited by Tony, 17 December 2024 - 06:25 PM.

[dasmo]

Actually, using the English language along with arithmetic can be very misleading as well. Let's take the 2 year increase in the age of a human as an example.

One year ago the two year old was one year old. If he is two years old today, that is an increase of one year...or an increase of 100% over the previous year. (you used two years so that means that the math would have to start as a newborn or 0 so it wouldn't be 100% for the two years.

If the age of a 50 year old has increased over a 2 year period, that means the math starts at 48. An increase of 2 years of a 48 year old as a percentage of the 48 year old is 2 divided by 48 = .0416 X 100 = a percentage increase over his previous age of 4.16 % …not 8%.

One needs to be extremely careful of the wording of the math before using math in order to substantiate or dispute a particular point of view.

Catch my podcast "Fun With Numbers" every Friday night at 11:30 PM.

Straight outa How To Lie With Statistics!

[Sparky]

2024 Property assessments are now available. Some that I checked in Saanich are the same as the previous year while some that I checked in Victoria are up 6%. One in Sooke seems to be down a little.

Maybe we have flat lined for a while.

https://www.bcassessment.ca/

[lanforod]

Mine in Saanich +3.4% (doesn't account for a reno yet, not sure yet if they'll adjust it for that for 2025).

[Barrister]

I went up by about 5% in Victoria but I doubt that real prices are up that much if up at all.

[Tony]

Victoria down 0.34%

[LJ]

Down 1% in Langford.

[Matt R.]

+4%

-1%

-5%

+9% (condo - compared to purchase price