4570 replies to this topic

[Matt R.]

Yeesh, was mentally taking note last night of the to-do list for renos during this second summer of covid.....

- new handrail for the front walk;
- sanding down/painting the rebuilt deck from last summer;
- new plumbing fixture/piping for the kitchen sink;
- touch up exterior paint;
- new vanity and shelving for upstairs bathroom;
- new oak barrell/planters for the back yard and - if I can somehow squeeze it
in the budget -
- new fence along the driveway....
.....That on top of the bucks we just shelled out for the new HW tank.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ - especially the lumber for the last item on the list: wish my portfolio included forestry companies and lumber suppliers, lol....

Can’t you apply for a grant for all of that??

Also, Windsor has wine barrels on sale this week. Nice.

Matt.

[spanky123]

Feds extended the CRB today. A buddy of mine with a painting company said 2 students, who had previously accepted jobs, emailed him to say that they wouldn't be working the summer shortly after the announcement.

[sebberry]

Feds extended the CRB today. A buddy of mine with a painting company said 2 students, who had previously accepted jobs, emailed him to say that they wouldn't be working the summer shortly after the announcement.

 

It really should be a wage subsidy to keep people productive instead of living off the government.

[spanky123]

It really should be a wage subsidy to keep people productive instead of living off the government.

You don’t get as many votes that way. Teens and university students love Trudeau. By the time the CRB runs its course they will have $35K sitting in their bank accounts for doing nothing.

[A Girl is No one]

Yeah smells like electioneering.
Plus promises of billions for child care etc. That’s always the tell-tale sign!

Did the budget come out today?

[spanky123]

Yeah smells like electioneering.
Plus promises of billions for child care etc. That’s always the tell-tale sign!

Did the budget come out today?

Federal one yes. $400B in new spending over next 5 years with about $4B in new revenue!

[vortoozo]

Feds extended the CRB today. A buddy of mine with a painting company said 2 students, who had previously accepted jobs, emailed him to say that they wouldn't be working the summer shortly after the announcement.

 

The CRB was extended, but drops to $300/week in July for people that have already collected it for at least 42 weeks.

I doubt that will encourage a lot of people to remain on that benefit unless they have to. That's less than half of what you'd receive working full time at minimum wage.

[vortoozo]

It really should be a wage subsidy to keep people productive instead of living off the government.

 

The wage subsidy was extended through September.

[Matt R.]

It really should be a wage subsidy to keep people productive instead of living off the government.

Wage subsidy extended too.

Matt.

[VIResident]

spanky123, on 19 Apr 2021 - 5:32 PM, said:

Feds extended the CRB today. A buddy of mine with a painting company said 2 students, who had previously accepted jobs, emailed him to say that they wouldn't be working the summer shortly after the announcement

 

 

Your buddy, might want to pass this along Spanky.

 

"Complaining about the inability to fill empty positions in your company because people make more on unemployment is an interesting way to admit that your company pays poverty wages" - Rose Bright 

[spanky123]

Your buddy, might want to pass this along Spanky.

"Complaining about the inability to fill empty positions in your company because people make more on unemployment is an interesting way to admit that your company pays poverty wages" - Rose Bright

I don't think that most students compare the CRB and a job on the basis of which pays them more. They view it as a comparison between spending the summer working a full time job or spending the summer hanging with friends, going to the beach and spending their time on whatever they want while making more than enough money to cover their fun and pay their tuition and board next fall and spring.

The CRB will also continue paying them into September after the job has ended.

Edited by spanky123, 20 April 2021 - 06:44 AM.

[Matt R.]

^^ crb pays about $10 an hour. If you are offering $20-$25 an hour, the person who would rather not work makes the comparison and says “I don’t work for $10 an hour” or “$15? That’s not even minimum wage. I’ll stay home.”

Matt.

[spanky123]

^^ crb pays about $10 an hour. If you are offering $20-$25 an hour, the person who would rather not work makes the comparison and says “I don’t work for $10 an hour” or “$15? That’s not even minimum wage. I’ll stay home.”

Matt.

 

The CRB pays about $15 an hour equivalent based on a 37.5 hour work week and the fact that there are no deductions other than tax (which you get back anyways) and no travel costs to/from work. In addition, I don't know of too many students who get paid $20 - $25 an hour. 

 

If I am wrong and the helped wanted signs all over town are simply because we are at full employment then why do we have a CRB in the first place then?

[Matt R.]

^ illustrated my point even better. It’s not always about the employer paying a poverty wage, even a living wage sometimes can’t compete.

Matt.

[spanky123]

Remember I am talking about students. The Government says 43% of them are not working. I am simply offering a rationale for that shockingly high %. I realize lots of people don't want to accept it as the extrapolation is to UBI.

[Victoria Watcher]

‘Can’t afford to lose another summer’: B.C. tourism group supports COVID travel rules

 

 

The organization representing tourism operators in B.C. said they’re “supportive” of new travel measures announced Monday (April 19) to curb the spread of COVID-19.

 

Walt Judas, CEO of Tourism Industry Association of BC, said the group has been working with the province on trying to get a handle on the pandemic, which in B.C. has reached record-breaking heights in recent weeks.

Judas said that while the association would not want to see a travel ban, they are hoping the more stringent measures – details of which are expected Friday – will help operators turn away out-of-region travellers.

 

He said that prior pleas and recommendations to stay local were “open to interpretation” in a way he hopes the new order will not be. While details of the new orders were not announced Monday, Premier John Horgan did provide some clues.

 

 

https://www.vicnews....d-travel-rules/

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 20 April 2021 - 09:00 AM.

[Matt R.]

Remember I am talking about students. The Government says 43% of them are not working. I am simply offering a rationale for that shockingly high %. I realize lots of people don't want to accept it as the extrapolation is to UBI.

Yes, of course. Students who in the summer normally paint houses, wait tables, pour coffee, etc. I get it.

Matt.

[Rob Randall]

Reading the Wade thread it reminded me of a chat I had yesterday with my sales rep, talking about how Covid affected world supply chains.

 

Last March a lot of companies in Canada were just struggling to meet payroll. A lot of them stopped purchasing stock. But any company related to home improvement was hit by massive demand as people cancelled travel plans and stayed home. Things went okay for a few months as existing supply in Canada was used up but when warehouses started to empty and new orders were placed suppliers struggled to fill them as factories overseas were double hit by increased demand and the effects of the virus on employees.

 

Add to that shortages of key components: computer chips, aluminum (more people drinking from cans), shipping containers, plastics and others caused by the virus, shutdowns and other factors like the big hurricanes and flooding in the US. 

 

So backorders that normally took a week or two are now taking months. An order for a dozen items might end up being half of that or fewer as wholesalers try to spread their limited stock to as many desperate retailers as possible.

 

Even if your shipment arrives at the warehouse it might take longer for a driver to get it to the store as a shortage of truck drivers, which was already bad here before the pandemic, impacts deliveries. Courier companies were also busy but that industry is getting back to normal.

[spanky123]

^ Amazon doesn't seem to have this problem. 

 

There is no doubt that retailers cut back on orders when the pandemic started. No point having inventory sit on the shelf of a closed store. As stores re-opened retailers were still cautious and many tried to JIT customer requests (ie instead of having the item in stock they ordered it when the customer ordered it from them). When retailers do this they fall in priority to those who book stocking orders and they leave themselves vulnerable to online retailers. Those who get inventory then in many cases have an advantage and try to make up for lost covid profits by boosting prices.

[Victoria Watcher]

More than 45% of workers in Greater Victoria could work from home

 

Teleworking could reduce greenhouse gas emissions but cut demand for public transit

 

 

According to the report, 45.2 per cent of workers (almost 83,000) in Victoria Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) could work from home, based on 2015 figures. The local share of workers who could telework but currently do not stands at 37.2 per cent.

 

https://www.vicnews....work-from-home/