I’m not sure the word, ‘unfazed’ is positive in this respect.
OTTAWA – Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau is sticking with his assertion that the middle class is struggling with stagnant incomes and skyrocketing household debt, no matter what Statistics Canada says.
If Turdo la Doo had any brains (and he doesn’t) he would have linked the stagnant incomes and debt load to the one segment of the middle class that is taking a hit: small business owners in Ontario who are buried by the cost of regulatory compliance and electricity fees.
The sector of the middle class that has the good fortune to get government paycheques, is definitely better off than they were ten years ago. Just check out the salaries of teachers, cops, hydro workers, etc. on Ontario’s Sunshine List. More here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-s-sunshine-list-sees-double-digit-growth-1.1372270
Trudeau is a typical liberal, once your foot is in your mouth it’s hard to remove it without looking ridiculous.
Please don’t make fun of the little Liberal Princess he ith tho worried about Nathalie.
Math is hard what do those Statistics Canada people know anyway?
“Asked Thursday how he reconciles his depiction of the middle class with the Statistics Canada study, Trudeau said he’s looking at data over the longer term, since 1981, and they show “very, very troubling trend lines.””
Two problems with that:
1. “very, very troubling trend lines” is weak, even for Justin’s high school debating style.
2. It’s only the last six or so years that are relevant to Harper’s government, and apparently these years have shown improvement. Those “troubling trend lines” must mostly, then, have come from other, primarily Liberal, governments.
Jamie, “hydro WORKERS”, there is no such thing, they are hydro employed pay cheque receivers!
I read that article from StatsCan yesterday. What a bunch of BS. So, your net worth has gone up $50,000 in five years?
BFD. For most people, that’s an increase in the value of their homes, which has diddly to do with what you spend day-to-day.
My GF bought her house in midtown Toronto four years ago for $700,000 and put $200,000 in renovations into it. It’s now worth about $1.1; do you think that extra $200,000 is helping us pay the monthly bills? We’re still pinching pennies, brown bagging lunch, negotiating discounts from Rogers, etc., and hoping we can go on vacation for two weeks in September.
I agree totally with Jamie – only workers on the government teat are seeing incomes go up. I’m making half what I made in 1999-2001.
This campaign is based on the advice of his American (Obama’s) advisers, who do NOT uderstand the reality Canada it it’s economics. Trudeau and the Liberals believe they can capitalize on the class warfare rhetoric of the democrats in the US, but may have problems convincing a large enough segment of the Canadian electorate to propel the lovely quaffed air-head to Stornoway, let alone 24 Sussex Drive.
I do not know about Canada, but in the US the middle class IS STRUGGLNG. So are the poor.
Inflation is eroding the value of our earnings. The “official” inflation rate looks at things like mortgage costs and ignores food and energy costs. I may buy a new house and mortgage once a decade; but I buy groceries every week. I fill my gas tank every week. Even my trash bill went up this year (recycling fees, don’t you know.) These costs are up, especially the food I buy. Cities are broke and are raising taxes and fees. Taxes and fees the middle class pay.
Trudeau may be an idiot, but this will resonate with the middle class.
A few thoughts. First the stats are correct, the middle class has had reasonable increases in both wages and assets. Ours has gone up considerably since we started out in 1992 and we live a very comfortable lifestyle. That does not mean that we feel rich.
Families are under financial pressure for both self-inflicted reasons and things out of their control. As KevinB mentioned, asset rich can still mean penny pinching. For families you have to add the financial pressure of RESPs and the outrageous price of sports and clubs while still saving for retirement. Then there is utility price increases, property taxes hikes, gas prices. etc. Trudeau, as a young parent who is surrounded by other young parents, is probably shocked at how expensive kids are. That being said, I’d bet that my solution is 180 degrees different than the LPC. Expanding government is less effective than letting people keep more of their own earnings.
Then there is my ever present cynic. It tells me that the media is attacking the “middle class is hurting” mantra for reasons other than purely correcting the record using stats – they are correct and I agree with the numbers. In general, the media class tends to be pro-tax and spend (more, bigger). This isn’t a liberal/conservative division. For instance, A.Coyne once had a twitter post about taxpayers having it too good which I assume was an accidental posting that he meant for his other twitter account. Dion’s carbon tax was very popular with these reporters and columnists. I think it would be difficult to advocate for carbon and other taxes that would hurt the middle/working class unless you believe those citizens can afford to pay more without crushing them financially. You’d look like heartless bastards (see the UK and Germany energy poverty defended or ignored by big government supporting journalists).
Rd: you are right – you do not know about Canada. We have not be ruled by a radical left party for eight years but rather a conservative one and that makes all the difference. The middle class in Canada is not struggling. And thus this sour rhetoric by JT will not resonate with many.
As for JT he is relying on his own anecdotal experience – so typical of a fine arts liberal and not an economist. I bet he’s telling the truth – but he’s only talking to grumpy liberals who feel entitled and that the govt is the curer of all ills.
“Justin Trudeau unfazed”
He’s ‘unfazed’ because Justin’s fazer is stuck on stunned.
Oh! and LIVs will never know what StatsCan says so they’ll vote for his “Dreamy Hair!”
Hopey Changey meets Hair and Privilege.
Yeth, Juthtin ith tho worried about “Nathalie” he can’t think thraight.
We need to see a lot more of Justin unplugged from his handlers but it appears they have him on a short leash,he’s not up to the job, can’t be trusted to fly on his own. Problem is, his handlers haven’t got a grip on the realities either.
I grew up so poor the only thing I had to play with was myself
I grew up so poor, we ate our cereal with a fork, and handed down the milk to the next kid.
There is a middle class squeeze. The stats do not tell the whole story. You know the saying, there are “lies, damn lies and statistics”.
The average middle class family is seeing:
1. Two jobs are now needed to pay the bills
2. Wages are not increasing nearly as fast as the size of government, energy rates, food costs, and so forth
3. Debt is going through the roof, in many cases just to pay the bills
4. Education has gone down the toilet thanks to leftist fads, forcing middle class families to spend more time teaching their kids, putting them in extra programs (at extra cost) and the like
5. The legal system no longer serves the middle class at all, it serves the crooks and the ultra-rich.
6. Income taxes may be down, but taxes on everything else are through the roof, booze, air tickets, you name it, the government has just found other ways to suck us dry
I don’t think it is wise to presume that Trudeau is off base on this one. I think Harper will beat him come election time, but the Cons better be careful not to get too cocky.
Indeed I think people are being just a tad too quick to dismiss Trudeau, and they will do so at their peril. He can be beat in the next election, but the win will not be as easy as some people think.
We were so poor that when a pork chop fell off the table, the dog called for a fair catch.
Seriously, though, did not have indoor plumbing until I moved out when I was 18.
Life is so much better now.
Trudeau said he’s looking at data over the longer term, since 1981, and they show “very, very troubling trend lines.”
So it was actually his dad that started this “very very troubling trend.” I don’t think I would ever throw my father under the bus like he did. But then again, my father taught me the value of work for pay. Justin has learned to receive pay without earning it.
“Trudeau, as a young parent who is surrounded by other young parents, is probably shocked at how expensive kids are”
THAT, is hilarious. You must have forgot ‘sarc’.
Turdo la Doo earned more from one of his many speaking fees than many parents clear in a year.
Unfazable..?..Dazed and confused..?..Confazed..?..
Yes, of course, but he still probably notices some of the additional expenses. I’m also assuming that his peer group, friends and colleagues who would likely have young children but less money, may have an influence.
I think the acknowledgment of middle class issues will resonate with many voters. The LPC proposed solutions….not so much, I hope. Expanding government spending, more debt/deficits and meddling in provincial matters has few positive economic benefits for middle class voters. Even fewer for their children who will inherit those debts.
“….the middle class is struggling with stagnant incomes and skyrocketing household debt,”
And if the voters are dumb enough to vote this guy in, he’ll see that his words come true.
Maybe he can try wage and price controls,like his Dad did with great success.(according the Liberal Party spokespersons)
Better get used to the gaffes and intellectual vacancy of the pony because all indications are that this monument to mediocrity and privilege is about to occupy the PMO come the next general election.
At this point I’ve given up trying to appeal to the thickest who comprise the zombie electorate. It’s time to look out for yourself and plan for the same massive FUBAR we see in the US – also the result of ain inept face boy leading a malefic political cabal to plunder the remnant of the middle class.
Prepare for an escalation in taxation, PQ mob pork, Public union patronage, scandals, abusive policing and invasive belligerent government – all the hall marks of Quebec led Librano regime then some – it all follows the Truedope entourage into the power seat. I’m getting ready to bug out to a less hostile jurisdiction where I can hold onto my savings and what’s left of my individual freedoms (and no, I won’t go back to Alberta until the red UN witch is melted and her agenda 21 damage to property law is corrected).
I seem to recall that he said he was going to consult with the experts? Also seem to recall the spital laced rants the liberals went on over how Harper didn’t respect Elections Canada.
However I was considering the oppositions hill they have decided to die on and came up with this.
If you contend that there is this “fact” of unequal incomes, then you would also be advocating to make everyones income equal. This then will be the three questions I look forward to pressing the liberal candidate in 2015 with:
1- How exactly are you going to make everyones income equal?
2- What dollar amount per year do you consider equal for every Canadian?
3- Can you tell me what country has done this successfully?
The flaw in this campaign of income equality is the same one the liberals had with the green shift. It’s all good until they had to talk about who paid for it. Going to make everyones income the same? Okey do key, please explain if that means the minimum wage earner is now making six figures a year or the six figure a year earner is now on minimum wage (how much is a bag of milk Justin)?
Its the details that will trip him up and the details that will make his low info followers do a double take.
If he says he wants Natalie to make 80k a year, everything being equal then that means the folks making 150k will have almost half their salary taken away.
Or how did a past PM put it? Oh yes now I remember.
” zap you’re frozen ”
Yes well if he did that he would have to lay blame at the feet of his fellow socialist Elvira Gultch Wynne.
Unfazed? Hmmm…
A little too much pot perhaps?
Funny how every politician worries about the plight of the middle class and as soon as they are elected the middle class is the cash cow to see the first plunder in the way of user fees, new programs, utility fee increases, rising property/other taxes, inflation etc. When the next election approaches, the worry about the middle class starts all over again with the same tired promises. Justin is just following in his fathers footsteps. Worked for the old man and we have paying for that success ever since.
I joined the middle class a couple years ago and have no debt. As a private sector employee, my wages keep going up and I’ve been able to use my discretionary income to make significant investments that are now out pacing the growth of my earnings and providing me with a nice monthly income on top of what I make. Life is good for me right now but if Trudeau gets in he will ruin it.
People forget that he speaks for Quebec, first and the rest is an afterthought.
I agree with you for the most part, but I think you ought to depersonalize a bit: for example, a female former colleague of my wife (both have worked in the Ontario public sector, broadly defined) has recently monetized her non-taxable capital gain by selling a property in southwestern ON and is moving to Toronto to take residence close to her daughter’s family. I’m convinced that she’s doing it with the best intentions — namely to help out her daughter in avoiding costs associated with the raising of the latter’s children (which I know to be very steep, considering that my own sister-in-law faces precisely the same predicament, which, in turn, might resemble your own in some respects).
Choices and circumstances are what they are, which I completely respect, but neither Mr. Trudeau, Jr. nor Statistics Canada seem to be making the case with respect to any individual circumstances. The only difference between them is that Statistics Canada seems to be offering some data in support of its position, whereas Mr. Trudeau, Jr. seems to be offering none.
Unless Mr. Trudeau, Jr. can offer some tangible evidence as to how Statistics Canada has changed the game with respect to how it reports these things over time, I’d say he’s lost again.
In my area the lower and middle classes are struggling, mainly due to changes in resource sectors and added restrictions placed on just about every job. BY the various levels of government. Things are slow and people are scratching for money.
Even if Justin Quebecfirst is right about the middle class situation, he’s wrong about the solutions. Economic problems for the middle class (and everyone else) are caused by government debt and waste – consuming the seed capital that is needed to fuel future production and research. His big-spending policies can only make the situation of the middle class worse. You can bank on it.
Not a Justin fan, not going to vote for the Liberals, don’t think they would improve anything, but much of the middle class IS struggling with stagnant incomes and skyrocketing household debt. It’s the lower half of the workforce that is squeezed the hardest, by massive low-wage immigration and rising costs of everything government-related. I live in the Vancouver area so my perspective may be a bit skewed — everywhere else you can travel to seems to have cheaper everything.
I had a reasonably good comment on this post which was being held for approval this afternoon. I have no idea why it never appeared except perhaps because I suggested that we should not underestimate Justin Trudeau.
Anyway, I cannot be bothered to retype it, except to say that the middle class squeeze is real.
I am no JT fan at all, but his handlers are doing their homework on what matters to Canadians.
The stats can data is right if you extrapolate the data country wide.
When you parse the data, the struggle seems to be evident in those jurisdictions that are controlled by liberal governments. Ontario and Quebec are suffering under continued assault of the private sector with burdensome green energy scams or excessive social spending. But if you go to Saskatchewan the unemployment rate is 3% and the province is booming.
Justin will not become PM, because unlike the Obama narrative he can’t claim racism if you don’t vote for him.
He’s also shown that he doesn’t think things through before he opens his mouth…the boy is a walking attack ad.
Yes I do concur that there is a possibilty that polls indicate he could PM if the election where held tomorrow, but the election isn’t tomorrow.
His drivel works as long as he doesn’t have to keep it up for a year. Election is in 2015.
He’s screwed.
BC. The little twerp is right. He has no idea how or why he is right, and if he knew, he wouldn’t have the guts to say it, but he is right.
The Government can trundle out all the stats it wants to show increases of “net worth”. But when virtually all of that increase is based on grossly inflated real estate market values, is it really an increase in net worth?
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-17/canada-courts-housing-bubble-imf-sees-as-risk-with-record-rates-mortgages.html
The Canadian dollar lost 10% of it’s value early this year, as a direct result of Bank of Canada policy. Putting that another way, your savings lost 10% of their spending power. As the Canadian banks continue to reap record profits, RBC was caught replacing qualified Canadians with temp foreign workers, who work for less. TFW’s are also taking Canadian jobs in the oil sands. The bank and the oil sands are two hugely profitable sectors that do not need cheap labour. Add in the banks directly stealing 10% by deliberate devaluation of the currency, and yes, Trudeau 2.0 is correct. The middle class is hurting, or is going to be hurting very soon.
The problem with Trudeau here is that he’s right and he’s wrong at the same time. The middle class ARE taking a shellacking and have been since the 1970’s. The reasons are TAXES, REGULATIONS and ENERGY. As in fuel.
In Ontario the future of home heating in the 21st Century is WOOD, thanks 100% to the Liberal Party and their Green Shaft. Wood stove guys out here right now are running like they have never run before, installing new stoves at a rate they have never seen. Personally I’ve learned more about wood, chimneys and stoves this winter than I did the whole rest of my life. In the coming summer I will be constructing a proper drying shed and storage shed for firewood, because I am never going to get caught with my pants down again like I did this year.
Imagine the “middle class” working people around here living paycheck to paycheck, suddenly having their fuel bill go from $400 a month to $1500 a month. Going to be some foreclosed mortgages and repossessed cars come spring, let me tell you.
Trudeau thinks the answer is more/bigger/better taxes regulation and energy cost. More programs, more incentives, more disincentives, more meddling, more management, more supervision. He believes, in his heart, that you have to MAKE people do the right thing, the smart thing. There will be no energy conservation without jacking the taxes and regulations on fuel. There will be no public safety without confiscating every single weapon in the country. There will be no public health without ten million regulations mandating hand washing. Et bloody cetera.
People are stupid. They must be controlled.
I would go so far as to say that might be the only thing Little Justin the Shiny Pony really believes. All else is a show for the rubes.
In order to save the planet they will be coming after your wood stove too. Remember their motto, if it smokes and you enjoy it, you must be stopped.