A tale of two nations: The Sequel.
First, he gave us the condo economy. Now, when the head of the central bank says your moldy, basement-dwelling, unemployed, over-educated adult kids should work for nothing, you know we have a situation. But that’s exactly what just happened. It’s not good.
Stevie Poloz has put his paw into it again, claimimg the job market sucks enough that young adults should probably work for free. At least that way they’ll have something to put on their resumes, he figures, since meaningful jobs may be a long time coming. Doesn’t that put a $35,000 student debt in context? Your kid should have become a plumber.
“Having something unpaid on your CV is very worth it, because that’s the one thing you can do to counteract this scarring effect,” Poloz said Monday. And a little earlier, proving he’s a better standup yuckster than banker, he let this rip: “I bet almost everyone in this room knows at least one family with adult children living in the basement. I’m pretty sure these kids have not taken early retirement.”
Well, this great news for the 200,000 little eggheads who can’t find work came on a tough day. Hours earlier the country’s number two bank announced it’s pulling in the belt, laying off 1,500 people and closing 120 branches. And if well-run, efficient and profitable Scotiabank is doing this, you can be pretty sure the move will be aped by the other guys.
Of course, Tuesday also brought more oil chaos. Crude prices crashed to the $75-per-barrel level in Saudi-inspired early trade before recovering to just above $77. Still a disaster, given that the price was $107 last summer, and all the gunk being produced by the Canadian oil sands industry becomes unprofitable somewhere in the $75-$85 per barrel range. So, if current valuations hold you can imagine the consequences.
On Friday we get the latest jobs stats. The betting is they’ll be disappointing, with a loss of several thousand positions in October, making that the fifth losing month in the past 10. Job creation has fallen by more than 50% in the past two years, and a growing number of positions added have been part-time, with no pension plan and few benefits.
Of course, a relentlessly soggy job market and terror in the oil patch mean a big potential hit to government revenues. And, guess what? The feds already announced last week they’ll be giving away $27 billion in family tax cuts starting in July, spending 100% of the anticipated budget surplus that has a good chance of never materializing. Oh well. Surplus, deficit, whatever. Most people aren’t paying attention, anyway.
And did I mention the dollar’s a little over 87 and a half cents? Lost another half today.
Now, compare this with the US, which so many losers and malcontents on this pathetic blog love to diss.
Americans voted in the mid-terms Tuesday while Washington announced the sharpest fiscal recovery in 46 years. Back at the end of 2009, the annual budget shortfall equalled just over 10% of the entire economy. Ugly. Today it’s down to 2.8%. So despite years of unprecedented government stimulus spending, billion-dollar giveaways to homebuyers, cash for clunkers, corporate bailouts, and fighting major wars half a world away, the deficit is the lowest it’s been since 2008.
The unemployment rate there is a full point less than ours, and at a six-year low. Over 80% of major companies are beating projections for profits, based largely on higher consumer spending and confidence. And middle-class families have reduced their exposure to real estate, while paying off $1.5 trillion in mortgage debt. Americans have created over 200,000 jobs a month, every month, for most of this year. We have fewer people working now than before.
So, howcum?
That’s easy. It’s all about choices.
Canadians since the GFC have chosen to be house-lusty, debt-snorfling real estate junkies. The home ownership rate has advanced, and mortgage debt has essentially doubled. We have never owned so much house, or owed so much money. Average prices for SFHs in two major cities are now over a million and our appetite for property-binging only rises as affordability falls. We have turned into a nation of one-asset portfolios, lacking balance, diversity and (soon) liquidity. Most of us have no idea the level of risk that’s been scaled.
But don’t take my word for it.
Money manager BlackRock has just released a global survey proving your mom was wrong. Canadians are being cash-flow crippled by their real estate, sucking off so much income that there’s scant left to save or invest. On average we’re spending 43% on maintaining our homes, which is surpassed only by the idiots in Holland and Sweden. All this means, says BlackRock, that half of us know we’ll outlive our savings, and almost 70% believe the high cost of living is the greatest threat to their financial future.
Now, imagine that real estate stops going up. Or even goes down a little. Or a lot. Or that the jobs market stalls. Or those pasty young people can’t finds careers so they can buy the Boomers’ houses. Or that oil tanks Calgary. Or mortgage rates increase. Suddenly putting all that money into one asset, while ignoring your TFSA or retirement account or a balanced collection of liquid ETFs, doesn’t look too hot.
But, as I said, most people are not paying attention. So there’s still hope for you.
246 comments ↓
Always interesting Garth.
Last weeks Economist(Oct 25-31st) questioned the sudden rapid growth of ETF’s(page 78)?
Any comment?
I wonder does Poloz work for free….
What stupid advice. Only in Canada…
I’d say people should boycott Scotiabank, but what’s the point? Credit Unions suck as well, and are also about the bottom line.
Anyway, I wonder how much of the big banks is owned collectively by us through CPP? Too much to make a difference?
Scotiabank: “They’re not richer than you think”
Any chance the TFSA limit will increase? For those of us without kidlets, a bigger tax-free investment vehicle would be welcomed. Stephen Harper, are you listening?
Now if we could only get the nurses,teachers,police,doctors,firefighters and paramedics to work for free…
Of course, a relentlessly soggy job market… mean(s) a big potential hit to government revenues.
Hey Kathleen, you listening?
In addition to…
-Your ridiculous Green Energy policies resulting in stratospheric hydro rates killing manufacturing
-A condo-based economy that’s about to come crashing down
-The ORPP that will kick private sector employees and employers in the ribs
-Never ending boondoggles wasting billions
-Unions wanting more and more that you are willing to go along with to buy votes
-A record debt that swallows up $10bn+ in interest payments a year before credit downgrades and rate rises kick in
…jobs in the “economic powerhouse” of Toronto are going to get a real good hiding. BNS today is just the start. Others will follow in cutting costs as growth stagnates.
Alberta? Well, at $75 a barrel they aren’t going to be able to bail you out as you and Justin may have planned.
What a sorry state of affairs.
“Now, imagine that real estate stops going up.”
We don’t need to ‘imagine’. Its already happening in most of Canada.
And the youth should be blaming the CMHC for much of this mess, as they took $900B worth of speculative subprime credit and directed it not into job creation (outside of the FIRE sector), but rather, directly into housing speculation.
Imagine where we would be as an economy if we used the past decade to diversify and leverage the strength of Canada’s economy into strength in new sectors, rather than put everything into the one trick ponies of O&G and housing!
Garth, I am liking the first shots in the deflation war…
– Housing is crashing in my neighborhood and people are looking shellshocked
– more and more F350 super dutys with bull balls on the hitch remain parked.
– and I put a half a tank of gas in my van today for $40
Whats not to like?
Fiscal stimulus on the way.
Goodbye dollar and federal revenue. Like I said. There was no plan b.
There is no Free lunch. Misallocation has to be reversed. The market will do it on its own.
Poloz has no idea what to do because he knows there is nothing he can do. Except lower rates. He has no other tool.
It’s true. nobody is paying attention.
Everyone is on facebook. Or alibaba.
Furst!
Work Harder….and pay for my entitlements…
I will point out this is actually the 2nd generation in a row where our policy makers are pushing the “work for free” meme as a “stepping stone” to career fulfillment, you know, in lieu of an actual decent paying job, so one can actually pay their taxes and be a constructive addition to our society. What an absolutely asinine and irresponsible statement. On a related note, something interesting appeared in last week’s local paper: a full page ad screaming FINAL CLEAROUT SALE! PRICE REDUCED! on what was a brand-new Morgan-Crossing area condo development in South Surrey. Discounts advertised are substantial, in the 20%+ off range from original ask. Many units now “on sale” for well under $300k, some under $200k if I recall correctly. This is significant, as I’ve posted before that while observing the massive overbuilding in the Surrey/South Surrey/Langley area in the last 3-4 years, the reluctance for developers to reduce prices has been endemic, yet they keep increasing the perks offered with purchase, doing anything to not have to actually lower asking prices. We receive many of the same mailers from the same developments, year over year (yes, they are still not sold out, and often only on their “first” phase offering), yet more perks are thrown in each time. Now, not only have the developers lowered pricing on this new build, but they are ADVERTISING it, in effect screaming from the rooftops that they need to unload these. Kind of makes every other similar development in this entire area, (there are many), as well as previously owned units looking for a buyer, look suddenly, unreasonably expensive by comparison. It alters buyer psychology so that even the most kool-aid intoxicated virginal buyers are now thinking that they may be catching a falling knife if they buy soon. I observed a similar phenomenon when researching Los Angeles real estate for a project back in 2006. This is the how the market can turn on a dime, when greed turns to fear and even the lowest common denominator becomes AWARE of it. That is key. How would you like to be one of the original buyers into this development? With that one ad, literally overnight, your unit just lost 20% or more of it’s value, but your mortgage obligation is the same. That is IF you could sell the unit today, as the trend will likely accelerate quickly downward. On a side note, chatting with a Millenial yesterday about RE, who rents because she was already “priced out of the local market”, so I relayed the above story to try to help her feel better. Wide-eyed she said funny I should say that, because her friend bought a Langley condo @ 4-5 years ago, had been trying to sell it for several years with no interest, and she recently finally found a buyer for $70k less than what she paid for it. Yikes. I am hearing this a lot lately, this is not a unique story, Van ‘burbs are already in big trouble. This same friend keeps telling her she is “throwing away money by renting”?! After politely pointing out her well-meaning friend is actually a financial illiterate, I immediately prescribed 10cc of greaterfool.ca, hopefully it counteracts the kool-aid just in time.
Wouldn’t that be ironic if low oil prices kicked off a downturn in Canada, as crazy high prices helped trigger the USA’s capitulation. Poor kids are working for free….very sad.
haha….first!!!
Sheeple……gotta love em!
Mr. R.
When your central bank chief thinks working for free is how we get healthy economies, what more can you do than shake your head and stock up on dog food.
Interesting. So with the market the way it is what’s good to be loading up on now – equities, bonds, prefferds, maybe even a sector play in oil or gold?
Poloz is crazy!
Yeah, throwing thousands of new workers, cough, cough working for free into the slumping job market only sees us slipping down the slope. Why, should employer “A” hire a qualified or even starting out employee when he/she is getting others who will work for free? But of course these free workers also get to eat for free, be housed for free, clothed for free… WHAT? NO THEY DON’T? OH OK! I guess they still have to pay to live, but working for free will be good for them. NOT!!!
The only free labour I can agree with is if one is in school and is being interned as a part of their education. Once they graduate though, THEY DAMN WELL BETTER GET PAID! Interning after graduation is SLAVE LABOUR and any person who says it’s ok should fall off a cliff or be pushed off a bridge.
If a damn business can’t afford to pay competitive and fair wages for which ever job they may have available then THEY DESERVE TO DAMN WELL GO BROKE!
This nonsense must stop and the words of Poloz only shows how much the elites, bureaucrats and politicians HAVE NO CLUE! Or are all on board with a return to an era where people are bought and sold for slave labour.
We are days away from Remembrance Day. I doubt those who served/serve and fought/fight for us wanted/want this crap n’ nonsense!
Mind boggling. Things do not look good at all…then again we already knew that.
Garth,
I noticed on the latest news that “Del Mastro” looks like he will be getting a “One way” ticket out of Ottawa. Could not happen to a nicer guy…
Garth,
We all know that you’re relatively upbeat on the US right now. Without going into details, and for the sake of argument, I’d appreciate if you’d make a case against the US economy in order to provide some context/validation for your current position. Plus taking the other side of an argument is one of the best ways to analyze an investment thesis.
Thanks,
Ed
Looking for a career; free education, no student loans, and Guaranteed employment.
Boomers have to stop directing kids to white collar work.
http://www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca/eng/CCG/College/welcome
http://www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca/eng/College/officer_Cadet_Benefits
Even the military is short of Marine Engineers and have a program to get a education with.
http://www.forces.ca/en/job/marineengineer-31
#19 Habs76-79
Get out of my head! +1000. Couldn’t agree more, I have experienced this slippery slope myself most of my adult life, as have many of my Gen X peers. I feel for the Millenials, they have been sold down the river.
On a related note, I’ve heard that the president of the CMHC is going to be making an announcement the employees tomorrow in what is said to be “the most anticipated memo in CMHC history.” Possibly massive ‘restructuring’. This comes three weeks after firing 6 senior management personnel.
Perhaps they can take Poloz’ advice.
Usual kudos to Mr Turner .
Regarding last evenings blog commentary by:
#29 Cato the Elder on 11.03.14 at 8:02 pm
“………….we are slowly becoming poorer as a nation.
“Nothing conspiratorial about it. ”
“That one can only acquire wealth by providing goods and services to their fellow man – in essence, HELPING them.”
********************
Grammatically correct, spelling, coherent thought and bright points all brought together !
Thank you for saying all that you wrote, appreciated.
And in regard to this evenings post, it is also no wonder to me that Steve Poloz is asking that Canadians work for free. Yes, Work for free, hmm howcum , to use Garths word?
My challeng to you Cato the Elder is this: can you answer the bigger question posed, by addressing the United Nations Agenda-21 , And why we are now being asked to push fiscal history/equity off the cliff, and work for (free) by the new Agenda-21 now being forced upon us. I’d much like to read what you compose in that regard.
Big thanks again for your input last evening, and everyone’s input into this would be treasured .
Night all
Work for free and live in a dumpster, holy crap!
@13 vanecdotal you are right. I follow a van outer burb and prices down by 7% since 2012. This is cratering at work. Started in Whistler after Olympics and now at the gates of Rome: Sunshine Coast, Richmond, Surrey, Langley. How long before Point Grey falls?
“The only free labour I can agree with is if one is in school and is being interned as a part of their education.”
I personally don’t even agree with that. After all, if they’re an intern, they’re doing some work of value, ultimately displacing the efforts of a paid professional. At some point, industry, the employers need to step up and take some financial responsibility for training their employees. As employers are not always going to have the luxury of an abundant and relatively “abusable” workforce they can just mooch off of. TFW is really unfortunate, especially in the engineering and medical sectors, because it short-circuits this imperative.
Before people jump down Steve Poloz throat they might consider whether anything he said was true (about the basement dwellers, and we know it is…) and whether some of what he said wasn’t a polite way of telling them to get off their asses and show some initiative . There are a considerable number of people who have not known hard times, whose parents have done everything for them, and whose coping skills in the event of a major economic downturn are absent. Resourcefulness, problem solving, good analytical ability, willingness to put off immediate gratification for a longer term goal. Maybe just putting the smartphone down for as long as it takes to notice the greater implications of what is going on around them. If we are looking at hard times ahead it will be the fit that will survive, and that mean physically fit, financially fit, and flexibility fit. People will need to reinvent themselves and make choices. Garth has been coaching to this on the blog for some time..
You can knock people like Poloz, or the bankers or the politicians, or you can look in the mirror and ask the important questions.
On the picture, Lopez (yes, my fellow blog dogs, Canada is becoming Mexico North) appears to be looking to the heavens for guidance.
If this does not work, then tea leaves or beaver entrails.
Garth, stick to what you know best mano.
200k jobs created in US are mostly macJobs. Unemployment is down because they dropped the ones that stopped looking. Profits may be high for companies but so are their deals we don’t yet know anything about until they pop. We’re again just before 2008 but with the feds left with no ammo.
Deficit brought down to 2008 level almost make me crack with laughter…
..it’s like comparing 20% to 30% mark when failing the grade .
Garth mano, you’ll be amazed :)
Do you know that when there was BLACK SLAVERY in the U.S. the slaves got fed for free and housed for free. If young workers have to work for free and then pay for food and rent, they are economically worse off than the slaves of years gone by
(except they have freedom, the slaves did not have freedom).
When I hear things like that being made by top levels guys, and I hear of banks; the most profitable companies in Canada, letting go of thousands of workers, I know that we are entering a NEW RECESSION right now.
And since we sort of already are in a slow recession-like economy, this next recession just might MORPH into a Japanese like Depression.
Maybe the prison library will give me a job after punch some sense into Stephen Poloz. The gall of him, almost everyone I know at some point has worked for free, we were sold the idea that completely undermining our own labour value as a good idea.
Who cares if I knock some sense into him, it’s just the right thing to do.
Or imagine that all these free working youngsters lower income levels further, because how can people wanting a salary compete with free?
#23 – I agree with your sentiment.
I had a few friends get their kids off the rigs and into the military…best thing for everyone involved.
We need a better “national guard” program in Canada…shovel snow in Winnipeg, fill sand bags in…er Winnipeg…or High River/Calgary/TO.
Military isn’t all about the middle east. Plenty of issues at home a young able bodied workforce can help manage, get educated and learn some discipline.
I often think I should have become a plumber, is anyone looking for an apprentice…?
Yeah, yeah – we’re screwed. What’s new? When the USA loses it’s reserve currency status (inevitable but who knows when), then we’ll truly understand a new reality.
There will be wars, deflation, inflation, oil up – oil down – oil up -blah, blah, blah.
The UN report that wants emissions down to zero basically means they’re expecting industrial civilization to cease and desist by 2100. They may hit their projection but not by the means they think. It won’t be orderly and sensible, all wrapped up in a bow. Industrial civilization will end though, eventually.
More nonsense and bullshit in a never ending torrent.
#13-Vanecdotal
I like the cut of your jib. I too swallowed the kool-aid 9yrs ago in Langley and bought a condo in Murrayville. Location, location, location is what they say and I figured that was the best location as boomers were supposed to start downsizing and that location is next to all 3 services-Fire, Police, and the Hospital. Plus it was a gorgeous neighbourhood. Paid $245,000 at the time, top floor 1100 sq’. Ended up selling 4yrs ago for $269,900 in a market that was still going up. Flash-forward to today and the same units, top floor and all, go for $245,000 asking price. Was lucky I got out when I did.
With our cheaper dollar we are still in good shape with the price of oil.
Oil wouldn’t become cheap if the US was doing as well as advertised.
#9 not 1st
$40.00 filled the diesel at peak prices – 600 + kms. per fill-up.
Stevie should bring the Visa, Mastercard rates from 29% to nothing and why not the student, mortgage and car loans for free !
He could bring the economy into sync with the decade of emergency rate repression that they have been so keen to dish out for their supersized bonuses.
Has a banker ever done anything for anyone for Free ?
Their arrogance is astounding !
“Having something unpaid on your CV is very worth it, because that’s the one thing you can do to counteract this scarring effect,”
Funny this frew weeks ago I went for job fare that was organised by my former plant manager “chukels” and his handy dandy leen six sigma consultant, person that was representing one company that was hiring sad we prefer attitude over skills.
And other guy who i believe that is a head hunter was saying similar thing, people that volontired for an 3-6 months USUALY got a job.
Interesting times we live in.
I have to watch my mouth so I’ll let sponge bob to expressed my disappointment with prozak and his superiors.
Sponge bob sailor mouth: http://youtu.be/IvF5QwVuQes
Kids working for free. Sounds like a good way to funnel the young into the armed forces. We may need them now that we are bombing Iraq.
A motivational poster for all of the basement dwellers out there.
http://s1209.photobucket.com/user/jomc1253/media/Motivational_pics-basement_Dweller-1.jpg.html
I would imagine that a 30 something year old living with their parents is somewhat in the parents best interest as well. They most likely are in their 60s-70s and cannot possibly maintain a house on their own. Plus they will die, then the kid gets the house (when they are themselves in their 50s…).
I believe this is how many new immigrants to canada do things. Other cultures, kids living at home till getting married is normal. Sometimes, after marriage the new family even moves in! How else could you afford a million dollar home, and 4 cars? 6 incomes is the new normal!!!
“#24 Vanecdotal on 11.04.14 at 8:01 pm
#19 Habs76-79
Get out of my head! +1000. Couldn’t agree more, I have experienced this slippery slope myself most of my adult life, as have many of my Gen X peers. I feel for the Millenials, they have been sold down the river.”
and I +1000 your +1000
#19 Habs76-79
OK, you want to get paid smart ass!
Bay Area tech company caught paying imported workers $1.21 per hour
http://www.engadget.com/2014/10/23/efi-underpaying-workers/?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000618
Hard Times call for hard decisions.
1. Consider rolling back your minimum wage rates.
2. Consider a “right to work” idea that does not force anyone into a union shop, or union dues (both private as well as public positions.
3. Consider a higher tax rate on “unearned interest,” or realized capital gains, or even the sale of RE.
If you plan on “screwing people” for more money get all the people, rich and poor alike.
Then, exercise your right to vote next time out.
It is election day here in the United Snakes, and I am not in a good mood based on early results. People would apparently wallow in utter misery than have the improvements of the last 6 years. So, I say screw them, bring on the depression, and invite the neighbors!
I might be a better mood tomorrow, when I sober up.
Thanks, SM for the inspiration!
.. a smart man talking…
http://investmentwatchblog.com/from-march-1-2013-druckenmiller-i-see-storm-coming-bigger-than-2008/
And to those of you extolling the virtues of ‘kids joining the military’ you can just… well, it’d be impolite of me to express myself the way I’d like to.
I wonder what generation you’re from? Perhaps one that doesn’t have any skin in the game? Or maybe you’ve just never heard the term cannon fodder?
If a government needs soldiers they just stop helping job creation. Hmmmmm….
maybe it was poloz who swiped the metal lettering from above the gate of Dachau concentration camp..”Free Work Shall Set You Free.”
gotta feel sorry for young folk in this country. CPP fingered by Harper…OAS diddled by Harper…DB pensions wanked by Harper.
arent most of the BNS job losses in the Caribbean?
Guy from Rotman says Scotia’s lay-offs are mainly about the bank using technology (ahem, Internet?) to replace workers. I suppose I don’t blame them. They are in business to make money, not create jobs. Not nice. But true, none the less.
I suspect the branches they are closing are probably not meeting sales quotas. These days, EVERYONE who works at a bank branch is a salesperson––LOCs, overdraft protection, credit cards, etc. You can’t go deposit 100 bucks without someone assaulting you with a sales pitch.
Today, branches are not a necessary cost of doing business. They are surely included in the P&L. Make enough money, stay open. Don’t make enough money, stay home.
#30 the Jaguar
It is all very well to heap scorn on young people for ‘not having been through tough times’. Sure, many of them could do more. We have a generation of young white males that is almost terminally lazy, being decimated by east asians and women of all backgrounds in academic settings (to take but one instance).
HOWEVER, one should take stock of the sheer number of TFWs taking jobs that used to go to domestic citizens. Students are having a hard time finding PT or FT work, as retail, food service and other employers are using foreign labour instead.
That problem didn’t face the boomers when they were 20-30, and certainly not the postwar generation.
#43 NoName
The Yes Men have your corporate back.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZP_nNemsNT8
#32 M
October jobs report isn’t out yet, so unless you have a crystal ball you are talking about previous reports. If you actually read them, instead of zerohedge, you’d see part-time job growth is slowing, and full-time job growth is increasing, and hours worked/week is higher.
These are not mcjobs.
Regarding working for free – unless you are volunteering for a charitable event, don’t. Never undervalue the worth of your labour – the people who want you to work for free are not giving their product away, now are they? They are charging all the market will bear, which is how you make a profit. That ‘gain experience’ mantra has unfortunately been used by far too many to rip off those who are trying to gain employment & earn a living. If the putative employer wants to see what you can do, tell them to pay you minimum wage for the day & get that in writing before you begin. If that potential employer still balks, run, don’t walk away – they are simply looking to rip you off.
Landlords now subsidize renters even more due to global climate change:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-insurance-rates-rising-after-alberta-floods-1.2823587
Not wise to buy a glass wall condo in the age of global climate change:
http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/10/13/canada-economy-condominiums-idINL2N0S70CP20141013
Student interns not only work for free they actually pay a whopping tuition for the experience. Some intern experiences are just exploitation and slave labour, others are pricesless opportunities to do jobs students would never get in a competative employment environment, positions with excellent supervision and professional development.
When I graduated from grad school in the mid 1980’s I was thrilled to get a job that paid $20,000. I think many graduates today expect that right out of school, often with no internship experience, they should be pulling in $80,000.
Perhaps the whole system could be adjusted so students and others could get the experience they require in a supportive environment for less money but not no money. Volunteering is a luxury only those with means can afford. But good quality supervision and on the job training take time and money resources as well. So i guess my point is that it’s important to distinguish between quality on-the-job training which has value, and exploiting people who are desperate for a foot in the door or something to put on their resumes. It’s a slippery slope to exploitation.
DELETED
“Canadians since the GFC have chosen to be house-lusty, debt-snorfling real estate junkies”
——————————
Amen to that, brother.
Holland and Sweden are world class countries, while Kanuckistan is…..
Ugly. Today it’s down to 2.8%.
Incorrect.
US treasury ‘sold’ 1 trillion of bonds in a year.
Canadian QE, here we come.
Tank that CAN $ !
It worked before, It will work again.
You deleted my comment about Poloz?
Oh my,
Be respectful. — Garth
we employ a new batch of these basement dwelling “kids”{most are in their early 20’s}about every month or so,they start strong,then watch their work ethic slowly fall’s off and then the excuss’s start.
Soon theyre no-shows and we have to start looking for replacements.
They been told how special they are by mommy and daddy from day one and now that their 20 something and still in mom/dads basement playing video games it’s sink or swim……Im seeing lots of sinkers out there…
@#12 Randy
“I’m entitled to my entitlements”……..
http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CDgQtwIwAw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DUIo-bEsoMgA&ei=nn5ZVL3aBaGBiwKq6IDwDg&usg=AFQjCNHKPEMvx2BQdTldRu9-8U5CZdFRvQ&bvm=bv.78972154,d.cGE
@#13 vanecdotal
Well stated but I have a one word suggestion…..
Paragraphs
Work shall set you free, or, is that working for free will set you free?
Well, now I totally understand from what S. Poloz said exactly why their is a generational warfare going on. This is a disgraceful disrespect for our young men and women who have worked hard to do everything right, to not only have the door of opportunity slammed in their face at this time, but to be not be shown an iota of sanw thinking, empathy, or compassion by one of the leaders of our Federal Government. Ivory Tower Elitists gain no respect from anyone but their own kind. We all know that.
Poloz. Can you believe this guy ? So he wants inflation which is of course a tax and transfer of wealth to the elite and govt. And you want to generate inflation by having educated indebted kids work for free like slaves ? How are they going to payoff the debt and buy houses at higher prices ? We know what working for free will lead to…. Ever heard of the unpaid internships buddy ? Many gutless companies used this to blatantly rip off many an educated worker who was used and abused.
What a quack
JO
@#33 Waterloo resident
“Do you know that when there was BLACK SLAVERY in the U.S. the slaves got fed for free and housed for free….”
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
O M G
Did you actually compare Poloz’s idiot proposal of ‘volunteerism’ to slavery in the 19th century US southern states?
Ok, ….lets go there.
The 19th century slaves were also hung , shot, tortured, sold, starved, and beaten…………..for free.
Volunteers in todays world can just quit.
#27 Porsche
Work for free and live in a dumpster, holy crap!
_______________________
You have to pick a prime dumpster location, like behind a fancy restaurant where the Bankers eat. At least you will be well fed.
@#37 david
“often think I should have become a plumber, is anyone looking for an apprentice…?”
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Not me but I’m sure that the washrooms in Parliament Hill in Ottawa are plugged full of crap if their debates are any indication of the “State of the Nation”
Work for free! What a great idea! In some quarters, the mere entertainment of such an idea, have people applauding, like trained seals. But, hopefully, the majority will feel repulsed by it. Some people will realize, that particular suggestion, shows the mentality of entitlement of people, in powerful positions. Very close to moral terpitude. And what can be said about banks and bankers, having mountains of profits and paying his higher ups incredible and obscene amounts of pay and bonuses.
Mark #29 “As employers are not always going to have the luxury of an abundant and relatively “abusable” workforce they can just mooch off of.”
Really? When will that be? I find it hard to see labour gaining any ground in the next several decades.
” I think many graduates today expect that right out of school, often with no internship experience, they should be pulling in $80,000. ”
Nurses get that. So do pharmacists. Some engineers get that. That $20k you started with in the mid 1980s — that was roughly 1/3rd to 1/5th of the price of a house, and you were able to get onto the property ladder without blowing the ratios totally out of whack. Today, 1/5th of a house is approximately $80k, so doesn’t seem all that out of line to me for the new grads to be asking for $80k.
As for internships and ‘experience’, highly overrated in many cases. Everyone has to start somewhere, and “the bottom” for a college grad with a relevant degree is much different than “the bottom” for someone with no education/background/aptitude. Too many employers fall into the trap of “one-size-fits all” recruiting when it comes to new employees. Telling someone with an engineering degree that they need to spend the first 5 years sweeping floors (or doing the proverbial equivalent) is completely inappropriate.
I was the only kid in my grad class in 93 that actually majored in the trades. Although I’m obviously a hard nosed cynical member of gen x and not a millennial I had a similar experience. I graduated and went straight to work. All, and I mean all the other kids were off to school again or slamming drugs full time in the basement. My boomer teachers laughed at me for planning to work right away in trades. I laughed at them. Since I graduated I have been earning. A year and a half after graduation I began my 20 year long career in aviation. No student debt. No wasted time, and as a bonus I got free from my mom and dad trying to kill eachother fortnightly. As a functioning member of society that pays more than my fair share of taxes and blood, let me conclude by saying this to the “faculty” at my high school. “Stick your @[email protected]@ing heads up [email protected]!! @”$&& and then $;((& yourselves until you &@@$! the @!!)ing fish paste!” Oh and sorry about your kids debt problems. Maybe you should have stopped laughing at me and done a better job raising those rich entitled little pukes.
JSS #4
Scotiabank: “They’re not richer than you think”
ha ha – good one …
@#43 Noname
“Funny this frew weeks ago I went for job fare that was organised by my former plant manager “chukels” and his handy dandy leen six sigma consultant, person that was representing one company that was hiring sad we prefer attitude over skills.
And other guy who i believe that is a head hunter was saying similar thing, people that volontired for an 3-6 months USUALY got a job.
Interesting times we live in.
I have to watch my mouth so I’ll let sponge bob to expressed my disappointment with prozak and his superiors….”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
While I agree with what you are stating…..and I hate Six Sigma and ISO9000 horsecrap…..
The reason you are not getting hired is your brutal spelling and grammar skills.
Spellcheck( is THAT a word?) and Grammarcheck(ditto?).
Before you send in that resume’
just sayin
Thee c.v. of the future may be filled with all kinds of “intern” experience….
“Food management intern” -studied the feasibility of living off of dumpster diving and optimization of queuing theory at foodbank
“Real estate optimization intern” – lived as homeless in cardboard box while managing an annually decreasing budget
“Climate change/frostbite intern” -studied impacts on human body of rising winter temperatures while wearing less clothing each year
etcetcetc……
The question is who will hire some of these “gamey” smelling hunter and gatherer types….
Millennials are not lazy. They would be happy to take cheesy jobs while going to school or until they find permanent work. But they are no fools. It makes no sense to flip burgers for $10/hr while trying to get your degree and knowing its not enough money to live on or to even pay your tuition.
If employers are so desperate for employees, then let the market set the wages. These guys cry about regulations and lack of free market capitalism until it doesn’t suit their business then they cry like babies to the feds.
Another 285,000 permanent residents have been fast tracked and employers are loving it cause they know these people will live 10 to an apt and put up with endless crap and never quit. Its modern day wahe slavery.
@#52 marquis de sad
Sorry my favourite sadist.
But
The “Mission Statement” over the gates of Dachau was not “Free work shall set you free”
it was
“Work shall set you free”
The fact that the prisoners were essentially slaves is a side arguement that you will have to take up with #33 waterloo resident.
“If that potential employer still balks, run, don’t walk away – they are simply looking to rip you off.”
Exactly. If an employer isn’t willing to pay you, then your work has no value. And there’s no point in life doing value-less work, especially for someone else. My advise to youth would be to get a hobby, go do stuff you enjoy, but for heavens sake, don’t give your labour away for free or the less than your all-in cost of production (including housing). If you still live with your folks, it is completely unfair that you are effectively forcing your folks to subsidize a private business by providing what ordinarily should be paid out of earnings, rent.
The ethics of employers that scam employees are also severely questionable. And there will always be a stigma attached, at least in the professional world, to being willing to work for free. If your next employer in life finds out that you’re so gullible — good luck with the raises. Good luck with exerting any leverage. You’ll be forever marked as a sucker.
#67 takla on 11.04.14 at 9:29 pm
Why don’t you raise your wages to a level that they can at least earn a living on. But I guess its easier to cry to the govt and gets some more TFW to do your crap job.
“The headline currently reported unemployment rate of 5.9% is deeply misleading.” –Paul Singer, Conspiracy Theorist–
I worked in the software department of a big manufacturing company in the 1990’s. We took on engineering students for co-op terms. My supervisor had this to say about them:
“Generally, one student in ten is very competent and produces nearly the same output as a regular, full time experienced employee.
And the other nine? Well… let’s just say that at the end of their terms we simply reformat the hard drives on their workstations and get ready for the next bunch”
My own experience supervising students was that it wasn’t quite that extreme but not too far off the mark either.
I have the latest (AUG – 2 months lagging) earnings data & charts updated now for Canada & Provinces:
http://www.chpc.biz/earnings-employment.html
August 2014 Earnings Release
Average employment earnings in Alberta are:
23% above the national Canadian average,
22% above Ontario,
29% above BC and
37% (no typo) above Quebec.
Since the Pit of Gloom in March 2009, average earnings are:
Up 29% or 5.2%/yr in Alberta,
Up 19% or 3.4%/yr Nationally,
Up 15% or 2.8%/yr in Quebec,
Up 15% or 2.7%/yr in Ontario and
Up 14% or 2.5%/yr in BC.
If the oil price fixing cartel blows up, we are going to see a reappraisal of housing valuations in Canada, especially near the energy grounds – eh?
Every market macro reversal (i.e. bubble burst) really comes down to a single transaction between a buyer and seller, this inflection point is very near in my option probably within the next 6 months. Canadian national housing indexes will be impacted by yearly declines for the the next decade. Thats my forecast folks, we have had the biggest bull market in RE ever in Canada (15 years run), not bad and no this time is not any different. All bubbles will eventually burst.
In 1849, gold miners in California were making $200.00/day. A few of them! Levi- strauss made a killing selling jeans.
Unpaid work should be against the law unless limited in scope and length and required as part of vocational training.
Yeah, some actual training, that qualifies you to do something useful, not office paper shuffling.
As for Poloz, out of touch douche bag.
so more head winds ….
banks will find it harder to beat last years profits thus more layoffs from different banks will be coming
Interest rates will remain low for awhile especially the variable rate. 5 year bond yield back to 1.5% and with metals to depreciate for years and oil to remain low Canadian bond yields will remain under 2% for years to come.
Remember is another year mortgages are renewed at 3%
now we wait for the for the telecoms to layoffs
its all about the “unemployment” rate
At least when the communists forced you to work they gave food rations and a place to sleep.
Maybe Puzlovz is trying for a different political system.
What Poloz suggested is illegal in some provinces. In Ontario, minimum wage law applies to anyone who performs productive work including interns (unless they are working under a government approved internship program usually as part of a college or university program in which the intern is currently enrolled.) Perhaps Poloz meant “volunteer” for a non-profit organization but this type of job is not usually called an “intern”.
It’s a sad day when the BOC Governor wants young people to give up their legal rights and employment standards.
#74 crowdedelevatorfartz
Years ago I worked at a city run park that had a campground. You know, 50′ rv’s and all the entitled attitudes…one of my jobs was cleaning the washrooms/showers on occasion. Personally I preferred painting, construction or re-roofing but it was a general maintenance/security gig so it was like a box of chocolates. In any case I would invariably be called to scrape some shit out of the showers once or twice a week. You would have fit right in.
btw, it really was a lesson about whom the most entitled members of our society are. The kids ain’t got nothin’ on them.
@#60 Julia
Well said. Total agreement.
And I thought Halloween was over! This post scared (and depressed) me.
Unpaid internships replacing entry-level jobs is another symptom of a society that prefers to eat their young. Good, short-term, for shareholders, but not in the future when we need taxpayers (not just ones in the lower tax brackets) and consumers (for stores besides Walmart, Dollarama, and wherever the uber-rich shop.)
Worsening general prospects for young people exacerbates the wealth divide, as rich parents fight tooth and nail to secure a good career and life for their children, while regular or poor parents cannot, to the same extent, help their offspring compete for the same, scarce positions of privilege. It’s already happening. Can a Millennial afford to work for free (to get a foot in the door) if mom or dad can’t kick in for shelter and food costs?
Maybe the pitchforks will be coming out sooner than we thought. Stay safe, practice looking poor.
So the USD is humming along great guns. At what point does it’s gain become a serious headwind to their balance of trade?
Their exports are showing signs of weakness, as global growth slows. (The investment narrative is: lower energy costs will translate into increased domestic spending. We shall see but it still leaves business investment sorely lagging.
With the world awash in oil from low demand (slowing growth in Japan, China & EU) and large reserves (think of US shale production increases since 2008) many heavy hitting oil producers are fighting over an ever shrinking market share and refinery capacity.
(Another sidebar from the shale boom is how NG is seriously kicking coals ass. Better for the environment
they say.)
One has to wonder about the oil price impact on both Canadian as well as US producers.
Pointing out a contrarian viewpoint neither makes you a hater, loser or malcontent.
Although it does set you a part from the rest of the herd…
#6 togirl on 11.04.14 at 7:26 pm
Now if we could only get the nurses,teachers,police,doctors,firefighters and paramedics to work for free…
###################################
Amen honey, nicely put!!
#45 Jimbo on 11.04.14 at 8:58 pm
RE: the graphic – ouch. Touché!
UK are doing this too, and have been for a while:
Man working for subsistence level benefits:
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/nov/03/dwp-benefits-electrician-work-placement-labour
Loads of firms are signing up for the govts free “work experience” placements where young people can get valuable experience in jobs like “call center apprentice”. I kid you not.
So now we have all the young working with no chance of financial independence we can remove the pretence of it ever being possible to move beyond living hand to mouth and just institute forced labour for the right to breathe.
The boomers will vote to stop this, right guys? As the young aren’t numerous enough to bring in a third political party that agrees not to exploit the young the next step is an awakening to the fact that we live in a world of policing by consent. Is that where we choose to go next?
Dominoes, I mean, East van # 59,
You seem to have linked to the wrong articles.
Neither one, mentions climate change, in any form.
Nice try though.
“Alberta? Well, at $75 a barrel they aren’t going to be able to bail you out as you and Justin may have planned.
What a sorry state of affairs.”
Add to that more than 20 Billion USD nominated debt that is going to mature during 2015 – 2016 period, just when CAD is luckily to stay low or take additional dive
Anybody who is invested in gold/miners and oil is a fool.
I guess some of the bankers have finally stopped laughing.
As for Poloz, sounds like a US senator promoting war but making sure his kid never goes. He should set the precedent and work for free for 3 years to lead by example.
“So the USD is humming along great guns. At what point does it’s gain become a serious headwind to their balance of trade?”
Already happening.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-11-04/about-soaring-dollar-us-trade-deficit-excluding-oil-has-never-been-worse
And certain to accelerate even further in the coming months. Make no mistake, this recent rise in the USD$ is more like the brief remission of symptoms that an ill person often receives before death. Not an indication of a legitimate economic revival as the propagandists would like to imply. Personally I’m adding to USD$ shorts and to my gold and silver equity position at every available opportunity.
“Anybody who is invested in gold/miners and oil is a fool.”
Anyone who tells you that they bought miners or gold at a long-term bottom probably is lying. But the gold miners are back to their 2009 lows. Oil isn’t far off. The Canadian dollar is back at 2009 levels, highly suppressed in light of the deflationary abyss we’re now staring into concerning the housing sector. You’ll never be able to find the absolute bottom in any asset class, but if there ever was an argument to buy these assets, trading at mere dimes and quarters of their depreciated replacement cost, that time is likely fairly close.
You know the old saying, “buy low, sell high”. The smart money is selling USD$, and picking up the distressed shares. There will be a rebound someday. The long-term fundamentals haven’t changed one iota.
Habs76-79 on 11.04.14 at 7:48 pm
We are days away from Remembrance Day. I doubt those who served/serve and fought/fight for us wanted/want this crap n’ nonsense!
After WWII, there was a new social contract. A cohort of disciplined young motivated men whom were ready to take a bullet; citizens prepared to sacrifice for the nation. They would not settle for and it would be dangerous to attempt to return them to the high inequity of a gilded age.
Presto middle class miracle of the 1950 though 70’s. (Piketty has a more thought out theory on this:) )
But now, there is no need for such a generous social contract.
All I know there seems to be a continued disconnect in our economy. Western Canada Select oil (which is Alberta oil) was $54 a year ago and the economy in Calgary didn’t tank. Houses continued to sell and they still do today.
There is only one explanation for this – Asians continue to buy as well as the Europeans. Canada is opening the doors wide open for immigrants and this keeps the economy going. Harper is a genius. See what happens.
Never trade your labour and sweat for free!
Always look at the people and Corporations who try to get you to work for free as the most unconscionable IDIOTS that they are!!!!
Tell them where they can go with there “work for free crap” and then move on and find meaningful work that pays a decent livable wage.
Will RE industry not say , the lower Canadian dollar makes our real estate that much cheaper to international investors, the only investors that count here in Van as locals couldn’t afford already 15 years ago.?
They will probably says bull-marker all over again….Good grief.
one million families use foodbanks was the news article. if kids work for free to gain experience then we can expect them all to be at the foodbank every month.
the whole foundation of life is upside down now, it used to be get an education, do a low end job, yes worst pay, worst hours etc, but your in the door, then you gain experience and show your worth more and move up. Once you move up, you move out of your parents basement and get a wife and a house of your own etc.
These kids are stupid and dont stand up for themselves and demand a shot, an opportunity etc. the corporations have beaten the kids up and now they are happy with nothing, thinking its ok. The corporations have taken years to get to this point where they have employees who will work for free, but its here. They should be congratulated. If you could get someone to do something for free wouldnt you? This work related social phenomena is a function of kids with low self esteem, coupled with still living off their parents in the basement and a surplus overeducated group of kids is great if your looking for little people to do low end jobs for you. ya ya, with the promise that someday you will be a star, back to the social phenomena.
in europe its not uncommon that you pay 5 to 10 000 euros to buy a job. it could come here.
Leo T. # 104,
“Anybody who is invested in gold/miners and oil is a fool.”
———————————-
You may view these investments differently, once viewing this video.
PS: It’s not what you think.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4X65TYo51U
What, work for nothing? You’ve got to be joking. Meanwhile the U.S economy continues to recover so a good idea may be to go south, young man or woman. Now is a good time to be mobile, especially for younger people, not having the ball and chain of a house.
@Leo Tolstoy, post #104;
Partly agreed. it is not a good time to own gold or gold stocks, and it may not be a good time even now to buy either. As for oil companies it’s a bad time to own them if you bought earlier this year when they were high, but it’s probably a good time to start buying them (or XEG) now while the sales are on.
1500 jobs destroyed while CEO cleared 11 million in salary at the same time.
That is a truly ugly an side of Canada.
You would never have this happen in worldclass Sweden or Holland.
The boomers will vote to stop this, right guys?
Doubt it. “boomers” will just come up with some BS lecture about ‘paying your dues’, and blame the individual youth afflicted by unemployment/underemployment, citing some personality flaw, their haircut and taste in music, tattoos or piercings, or whatever other nonsense they can come up. Not realizing that the broader problem is the economy simply isn’t creating enough jobs to accommodate the available workforce and that economic and monetary policy has been the root cause.
Its kind of the same response you get from boomers when you talk to them about the travesty of the CMHC. They just say, “oh well, that’s just the way it is”, even though the modern CMHC, engorged in subprime debt guarantees to the tune of $900B, is nothing like the CMHC of their era which was only for low-income “welfare” types.
“But, as I said, most people are not paying attention.”
I am.
On another note, I’m happy that you coherently put together a post from three of the articles I posted earlier today:
#130 Kenchie on 11.04.14 at 9:40 am
Good job USA (Regarding deficit falling):
“Back at the end of 2009, the annual budget shortfall equalled just over 10% of the entire economy. Ugly. Today it’s down to 2.8%.”
#160 Kenchie on 11.04.14 at 1:05 pm
Awesome! Poloz lecturing canuckleheads’ adult kids:
“Having something unpaid on your CV is very worth it, because that’s the one thing you can do to counteract this scarring effect,” Poloz said Monday.”
#187 Kenchie on 11.04.14 at 3:23 pm
Stoopud Canuckleheads!:
“On average we’re spending 43% on maintaining our homes, which is surpassed only by the idiots in Holland and Sweden.”
Garth,
Well done and you’re welcome! On a serious note, I’m eternally grateful that I have a great job for my level of experience. I would not have it today unless I got out of my parents house in 2010 and moved my ass to London. It was tough and I was poor for a while, but I persevered. Struggling on your own, with the right attitude about the work, is the best education for young people without experience, in my humble opinion.
It’s amazing how the supposed “help” from parents can actually “hinder” personal growth. Particularly if it’s because of the mindset of “paying rent is a waste of money”. Good luck all dwellers of their parents’ household. Get your ass out and experience the world.
@102 Blacksheep.
GCC already causing more frequent and severe storms. Insurance companies will have to make up for huge claims by charging higher rates. They have been warning us about this for years. Once in a century type disaster like the Alberta flood are now happening regularly. Property owners will have to bear the costs.
Glass walled condos fail after 15 years on average. They are terrible insulators and will cause very high energy bills in the temperature extremes of GCC (for both heating and cooling). Frequent severe storms will mean more failure of glass skinned buildings. Property owners will have to bear the costs.
“Will RE industry not say , the lower Canadian dollar makes our real estate that much cheaper to international investors, the only investors that count here in Van as locals couldn’t afford already 15 years ago.?”
Vancouver RE has been almost entirely driven by locals and intra-Canadian migrants for the past bull market. Doubtful that foreigners would come in and buy unless there was some actual value in Canadian RE. Foreigners with money are not stupid — they won’t pay prices that are super-inflated and just down barely from the top.
Additionally, while the CAD$ is weak compared to the extremely strong USD$, it is actually strengthening relative to other currencies.
“Oh well. Surplus, deficit, whatever. Most people aren’t paying attention, anyway.” GT
So funny, but ironically, so sad at the same time. I laughed silly when I read that, but on second thought, I should’ve cried.
Another bulletin from Versailles:
Couple of weeks ago from Yellen that all those non-banksters who are poor and unemployed should start businesses and be born to rich parents so they can inherit, now from Poloz that workers have no value beyond offering free labour.
It should by now be very clear that those not well connected in our societies are not the constituents of the veritable institutions of Federal banks to whom politicians farmed us out. Those FIRE constituents are doing just fine – Porter will get a nice bonus! The workers – the boot.
Neo-liberal policies are failing and the masters of our universe got nothing to offer – nada!
I am surprised some of the best connected squillionaires did not mention that we should eat cake.
#39
Why would you care less about living close to a fireball? They have no higher first aid than a lifeguard. Do you plan on your house being on fire?
Speaking of people working for free…. Fire halls should all be shrunk by attrition, paid firemen are a waste of money, new fire codes and safer societies means we can do away with expensive paid firemen and replace then with paid volunteers that are paid she they are actually required.
The fact you feel safer being close to a fireball is a testament to the IAFFs public relations efforts. It has no basis in reality.
Petition your municipal politicians to stop wasting money on paid firemen.
#4 JSS
Oh that was good…i wish I’d penned that slogan ;-)
I say reject CMHC insurance for scotiabank
#6 TOGirl
Don’t forget the politicians…and the banksters and RE agents!
They should definitely be doing their part and contributing to the greater good ;-)
#8 Mark,
Call Poloz up and give him the news. He doesn’t seem to have a clue, and is looking for outside help…
“in response to critics asking if the long period of low rates is simply sowing the seeds of the next financial crisis, he stated: “I might ask in response: What is it you would have us do, then?”
https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/bank-canadas-poloz-highlights-downside-risks-174038253–business.html
Why doesn’t “Stevie Poloz” work for free then??? He isn’t doing anything useful. In fact, he should probably pay, and a lot, because of all the harm he’s doing. Stupid Bureaucrat.
I paid a fireplace guy to service my fireplace, winter is coming and it needed some love. For $158 he fixed and cleaned it. Seems outrageous. Until you realize a$$holes like Steve get paid hundreds of thousands per year to destroy my retirement savings!!! So the fireplace works but the money is burning.
I’ll tell you who should be living in a basement and working for free Stevie….
I’m a Gen Xer who graduated into the early 90s recession with both an undergraduate and Master’s degree and a huge student loan and yet I couldn’t find more than 6 month HRDC job creation work or part time contract work in my field for five years.
In the late 90s I went back to university again at night, switched careers to publishing and volunteered – yes, that means for free – one to two days a week for 14 months at a publisher. As a volunteer I proposed all sorts of ideas to improve the business and the owner gave me every opportunity because I displayed initiative and adaptability.
In 2002, I then moved to London, UK and that voluntary labour and experience was the key to me scoring the job of a lifetime. My first ever full time job at age 31, and poorly paid at that.
A decade later our small company had expanded from seven people to nearly 30. My pay had nearly tripled, I was managing the book publishing program, had a team of editors, a bonus structure for performance and had share options that I was able to actualize when the company sold in 2011 and that that have nearly set me up for life. And now, on the back of that experience I have another killer opportunity back here in Canada.
So if your resume lacks quality experience it’s worth considering volunteering but don’t ask to run the photocopier, instead give it everything you have, look to add value, suggest innovation, propose real projects and if you aren’t learning or being given the opportunities go somewhere else. It will pay off.
Not sure why Poloz is getting bad press for what he said. Find me a guidance councillor at school who would have said differently…
Recently he suggested Europe’s deflation is a real threat and he is more concerned about this in Canada too (vs. inflation). He has also said the Canadian economy needs stimulus (more periods of low interest rates) even if it risks elevated real estate markets. Changes to slow down a re-urging house market is Oliver’s (Finance Minister) job he has indicated.
Vancouver and Toronto are > $1million for a SFH.
What comes 1st: Another round of mortgage or home buying rule changes or the federal election?
Speaking of Canada’s job numbers, Garth what do you think of the new TD LMI indicator? Is it a better tool and will it become a standard for the masses?
#80 crowdedelevatorfartz
considering that i speak with an accent, and i also write with an accent, my cv is actually quite good. you can aks my fromer employer.
#211 EV – Ottawa on 11.04.14 at 10:10 pm
“Great picture of a great electric vehicle today.
After owning and driving an electric vehicle for over 3 years (over 50000km), I can say that I will never buy another gas vehicle again. The range of 100-175km meets our needs 99% of the time, and we simply rent a car or other vehicle for those other times.
It’s more convenient to plug in at home and charge at night. Driving about 350km in a week costs about $8 in hydro. Gas will never be that cheap! Maintenance costs are much lower (no oil changes, no emission testing, etc). I only need to take the car in ONCE per year.
As the world slowly switches to electric vehicles, the demand for oil will drop significantly in the future.”
Great reminder of the benefits of EV cars.
After reading several posts tonight, I find it funny how some people get offended when other people with other lifestyles post about being happy with their purchase of electric cars.
Geez people, there’s a market for everything. If it’s not your thing, then you likely aren’t the target audience. Don’t hate on other people because you live in a part of the country that gets ungodly cold or live super far from the nearest civilization.
PS: I don’t have a car currently (no need for it), but when I do get one, it will likely be a hybrid (best of both worlds). Unless someone has a legitimate better alternative?
Poloz might be serving Goddess Juxtaposition.
But I’m quite sure Goddess Oxymoronica and Paradoxical are the Rulers of the House.
Perhaps Poloz could send a Memo noting the utter lack of meaningful (or paid?) employment for the country’s young people to the rigidly right Minister Kenney whom has been bugling a caterwauling call over far and foreign lands to send their multitudes of people (often known as tfw’s) because we are so short of workers, we are likely to fall in a catastrophic way.
And, in case anyone thinks too much or even notes the juxtaposition in the caterwauling for more workers as somehow-maybe-just-a-little-bit ‘false’ – well, take note that just prior to actually getting elected, our Not-Yet-Premier of Alberta had a Very Important and Much Publicized Meeting with the Prime Minister of the House to add his voice to the Symphonic Cry for More Workers. Just a few week’s ago. So it must be true?
Similar to yesterday’s post – paradox abounds – makes my head hurt.
RBC Dominion Securities moving clients from Clarkson and Brampton offices to Robert Speck at Square One as they can service all from there.
Also offering lower fees to sign up for automatic trades without broker confirmation, one team can manage portfolios for tens of thousands of clients. For non-registered accts its like a mutual fund but with tax deductible fees.
Similar consolidation to BNS? They’re able to cut lots of heads and compete with ETF’s! They’re so smart over there.
Poloz is another pawn in Corporatism.
New boss same as the old boss.
Prepare for the Petro Yuan.
We are losing.
#72; crowdedelevatorfartz:
Perhaps you did not read the part when I said
” (except they have freedom, the slaves did not have freedom) ”
With that lack of freedom I meant that the slaves were killed, skinned alive, tortured, sold, hung, shot, beaten, and every other horrible thing that happens to a person when they have no personal freedom or rights, its just that I didn’t want to be so over-dramatic and say all of that, I wanted to keep it short and sweet.
But there you go, you wanted it so here you have it, I already did cover the point that you made, but not in so many words.
God, now I understand what Garth has to go through every time he makes a small point to the public here on this post.
Garth, I pity you; you have to put up with these guys?
And thanks for keeping up this blog and trying to help the intelligent people reading your words of wisdom.
@#44 Inglorious Investor
I think you could be onto something.
“Youth unemployment in Egyptand Tunisia was a ticking “time bomb”, IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn told CNBC Tuesday, adding that he had warned of such a situation developing back in the summer.”
older but interesting article
http://www.cnbc.com/id/41363921#.
I say lead by example, Poloz and all the other leaders.
Our youth are too smart for that. When our leaders are using desperate measures it is time for the youth to go into desperate measures. Youth, strength and will.
If I had to buy into a job I would probably take that money and buy “dirt.”
CBC reported that the Scotia branches they are closing are in the caribbean, not in Canada, but that they are down-sizing in Canada by 1000 employees.
Interesting strategy given they made $7 billion last year.
#117 – Mark, thank you for eloquently articulating what I’ve been suspecting for the last ten years or so. If your assessment is indeed accurate, then I look forward to hearing a solution to the problem of too many people for the number of jobs available.
East van,
Come now, any body that builds RE in a place called High River and then gets flooded or buys a glass sky box, only to find it inefficient to heat, needs to take some responsibility, for their choices.
Thanks for confirming, neither article you supplied, makes any reference to climate change.
It seems to me the US made a wise decision and dealt with their problems swiftly which made room for a solid recovery. My belief is by keeping housing puffed up we kicked the can down the road and now our economy is paying for it because everyone pumps their money into bloated real estate. Even here in Victoria they keep pumping real estate. The guy from ‘Flip this House’ has an ad running every half hour on the local radio station for upcoming seminars on how to get rich flipping houses in Victoria (website: http://www.findandflipevent.com/facebook6/index.asp). I know lots of tradesmen and a few builders and it seems the flipping boat has sailed. I’d love to buy a house as much as every other young adult, but I can’t bring myself to put every penny I make (and it would take that to buy anything worth living in here) into something that I’ll end up paying more for in 5 years when its time to renegotiate.
Garth, I have question. I know you’re big on the risks of deflation/stagflation/low inflation etc., but when economists look at inflation, do they consider the seemingly endless downward spiral of quality of goods? Tools, electronics, equipment, building materials, cars – all seem to have shorter lifespans, poor quality materials, and terrible fit and finish (even the new Johnson Street Bridge ordered from China).
#123 Kenny:
Kenny, if you feel so hard done by and that firefighters, nurses, police officers, teachers, bankers, strippers, or members of any other profession are overpaid, why not take some accountability for your life decisions and get to where you want to be? Big assumption here, but chances are that you earn more than at least half of the occupations I just listed, so what gives you the privilege of deciding who should make what wage? I will never understand how a person can have such a feeble mind that they need to hold other people back to feel as if they are getting ahead.
Re: #22 Northman on 11.04.14 at 7:59 pm
Most prudent Americans who have some savings left are spending most of it stockpiling food, guns and ammo for the future. The guns and ammo are for keeping the pillagers away. This is the future for America. I’d hate to see what a non-recovery looks like.
Just wanted to add, on a more important note today, while our head bankster was going on record to sell out a 2nd generation of Canadians into servitude, and our resource-based economy continued its slo-mo implosion, Glowball BC News’ top trending story today was Starbucks’ refusal to sell Gingerbread Lattés this holiday season on the West Coast.
Build the bunker!
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-racks-up-710m-trade-surplus-in-september-1.2823231
“Poloz said there is a significant “output gap” – the extent to which the Canadian economy is not showing its full potential.”
Claiming that there is a significant “output gap” is basically central-banker speak for “policy interest rate target cut ahead”.
The question is, will it be 0.25% at the next BoC meeting, or will they do a bit more on the shock-and-awe front and drop 0.5% or even the full 1%?
With Poloz’s comments, one must conclude that policy rate hikes are now completely off the table. I feel that a program of Canadian QE may even be necessary to drive rates effectively negative to revive this economy that has spent so long hanging around the morgue.
We are going to get a multi-hits
– canadian dollar down from 1.04 to 87.5 and will probably go down to 85 in the nearby future that is 19% loss on Real estate if your a foreigner
– We are a petro dollar and as long as the US instructs SA to pump more then prices are going to continue down. Remember it wasn’t long ago when Opec kept on undercutting each other and Oil was at 25 dollars a barrel
– Low dollar and high real estate mean its harder for companies to expand. Notice alot of companies moving to the States and elsewhere. Yep fix expenses like high real estate can cut into the bottom line. Eg if a entire city block cost a company in detriot 50,000 dollars whereas in Canada it cost 10 million, imagine the savings (bottom line) for these companies to pack up and move.
– huge unemployment coming our way less revenues for the government to support the PIG (CMHC)
– a stream of defaults ripping into CMHC revenues forcing them into the RED
@78 Steve, well said. Kids were sold a terrible idea, liberal academia telling them that advanced degrees in basket weaving would give them 100k jobs falling around them.
We will all pay the price for the stupidity of those running education.
@81 Intoin, no one will hire them.
@82 not 1st you contradict yourself.
Kids are not lazy, but won’t work for $10 an hour ?
It’s exactly why the TFW program is now our of control,
kids who won’t work.
If the degree was too expensive, then go do something else.
@113 cbs, you are correct about buying a job in Europe, it’s because there are so few of them.
@116 Kris
You’re right, far better for the Euros to just close everything, as Europe is about to enter its’ third recession in 6 years.
So close it up, the big fat CEOs get nothing, and the workers, they get nothing too.
Better for everyone.
I did not work for free but I did work cheap. I am 34 currently but when I was 20-24 I worked for 10 dollars an hour with no OT, I worked weekends, I worked long hours. I wasn’t worth much when I started but after a few years in, I was most a bargain. I learned my trade from a master and I watched and I learned how to run and not run a business. I did my time in the trenches and I appreciate the hard fought success I have gained. So i have to say that there is value in working cheap for the right person.
To whichever ignorant folks wistfully expressed their dream of teachers, nurses, firefighters “also working for free” :
They are people just like you, with bills to pay and mouths to feed. They work long hours and train long hours, sometimes in dangerous jobs (police, nurses, firefighters). For you to suggest they “work for free” because you are all about union busting shows your ignorance. Why don’t you trade places with the nurse or teacher for a week, and then see if YOU want to “work for free?” Let us know how that all works out for you.
Am doing my own Smoking Man tonight watching the results of propaganda, obstruction of the president and the gutting of the US Voting Rights Act, among other nefarious tricks.
Now that the neocon Republicans who don’t believe in science, any sort of national healthcare, or global warming control science committees, environmental policy and the world’s most dangerous
military, the fun is about to begin!
And getting back to any of those salivating about nurses and others working for free, there is an old saying:
“The only time you should look down on someone is when you’re reaching out a hand to pull them up.”
Much discussion yesterday about crude oil and Saudi Arabia’s pricing strategy
For example
“the Saudi government can crush Canada/Alberta with their pinky finger. Cow town is going to face a world of hurt. Those who are buying RE will go bankrupt and lose it all.”
Just wondering why the Canadian air force is flying sorties in the Middle East. Turfkey is a Nato ally and has a very substantial army and air force. Saudi Araba is well supplied by the US. Let them fight ISIS . Of I forgot.
Who are they helping again?
Garth, although the prospects for the US are better than Canada, the unemployment rate there is not really lower.
From last month’s Statscan release:
“Adjusted to the concepts used in the United States, the unemployment rate in Canada was 5.9% in September, the same as the US rate.”
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/141010/dq141010a-eng.htm
The US rate may be lower in the future, but they are comparable right now.
Not exactly the point. Ours has increased over the last two years and theirs has plunged. US job creation is gaining strength, ours is sporadic and anemic. — Garth
The US elections may prove to be the start of changing everything in the US for the worse.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/an-unhappy-electorate-is-toughest-on-obama-and-the-democrats/2014/11/04/919884a6-6465-11e4-9fdc-d43b053ecb4d_story.html?hpid=z7
A major economic depression is coming.
Bull. When was the last time mid-term results supported a sitting president? — Garth
your stats on the us are right but you fail to mention the number of americans who feel they’re worse off since the crash…most of the gains in this recovery went to the already well off
Of course they’re worse off. They made the same giant real estate mistake we’re making. — Garth
How about the Government allocates some of the 7-800k that certain new Canadians to be have to fork out, to be used towards training or reeducation.
Yes, blame the newcomers. Always a popular strategy. — Garth
140 years – that’s right, no typo – this is the “plain vanilla” amortization period for typical mortgages in Sweden. In comparaison, 40 yrs amortization period may look like a walk-in-the-park for the uninitiated and unsuspecting.
http://www.dn.se/ekonomi/140-ar-for-att-amortera-av-bolanet/
I thought that article was about Swedish life expectancy. — Garth
At #40: US Ymonoce, ummmmmm, have you picked up a newspaper in the last four years or so? The U.S. is reducing its dependency on foreign oil, and that includes Canada. The U.S. is finding out she has greater oil and natural gas reserves than even Canada. So, when you believe the U.S. isn’t doing so well because the USD is much higher than the CAD, your logic baffles me. The U.S. is not purchasing Canadian crude nearly to the degree of even just a year ago. And the U.S. is only going to purchase less and less as we move forward. Get used to it.
Ummm… work for free? Only Canadians would think that if you can’t find a job then you should try working for free. How about starting a business and working for yourself? Difficult without capital you say? With all these boomers (allegedly) sitting on massive piles of home equity it shouldn’t be hard to find some funding. But I don’t blame the kids. It’s the parents that misled them into thinking that the only way to be successful in this world is to go to school and GET a job. No mention of creating jobs.
@#95 Godth
“I would invariably be called to scrape some shit out of the showers once or twice a week…..”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sooooo, You’re saying you “peaked” in your career years ago?
@#132 NoName
“i also write with an accent, my cv is actually quite good. you can aks my fromer employer….”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Spellcheck will clean up that “accent”.
@#137 Waterloo Resident
“Perhaps you did not read the part when I said
” (except they have freedom, the slaves did not have freedom) ”
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Thank you for explaining “slavery”.
My statement was your COMPARISON of Slavery (and all its inheirant horrors) and Volunteerism.
Quite a stretch from a slave labourer in Hitlers’ prison camps to a food kitchen volunteer worker at Christmas time…….
But no, I guess you’re seeing “the big pic” and I’m just nitpicking.
Mark #77
I don’t know about other provinces but in Ontario nurses do not start at $80k right out of school.
See page 76 http://www.ona.org/documents/File/pdf/cas/hospitals/HospitalCentralAgreement-English_March312016.pdf
Plus nurses aren’t a great example because they get a lot of work experience in school. I was talking about those who graduate without internship, coop, job placement, as part of their degrees.
Finally, if a new grad’s salary expectations are based on real estate prices in Toronto or Vancouver, well, that’s the problem isn’t it?
I did voluntary work for 6 months at a company that many Ivy League graduates would dream to work for.
This has catapulted my career to such heights that I consider this the best investment I have ever made.
I know several people who worked for free as well. They are all doing quite nicely financially and career-wise.
Here is a good read for you Garth…
http://www.firstrebuttal.com/2014/10/03/interest-rates-cannot-rise-and-heres-why/
The author is wrong. — Garth
I don’t know why people are so against internship or free labour to gain experience. Most of these people are probably either boomers who had it too easy when they were looking for a job, or entitled kids who think they deserve $75k the moment they walk out of college.
When I first graduated, it took me 9 months to find my first job. I was so desparate that, at one point, I forced myself to send 10 applications everyday. 90% of my friends left the country because they couldn’t find a job. One day, someone from a local forum offered me an internship, I happily took it. The only reason I was even accepted was probably due to 3 other jobs I did previously for FREE, which I was able to list them on the resume.
Fast forward to today. Myself along with the other 10+ people who started with me on the internship are doing well. Most of us are making 6 figures. This is not the early 90’s any more. You don’t get hired straight out of school.
How can you compare us with the US? We do not have a printing press!!
Of course we do. How do you think we achieved the greatest deficit in Canadian history, under Mr. Harper? — Garth
#158 Long Time Lurker on Here on 11.05.14 at 10:32 am
—————————————————————–
It depends where the internship is…job shadowing or volunteering at a bank or credible institution will look good on a resume and could help bridge the gap….mowing lawns or greeting at walmart may not quite be a step in the right direction to getting that $35,000 student debt paid.
I believe graduates these days need to be mobile….consider taking a job anywhere in Canada or USA to start rather than limiting yourself to your ‘home’ city.
As far as I’m concerned, internship is just another way the ruling class preserves the class structure – their offspring can afford to do internships before and after graduating with the support of their parents, while those of lesser means typically need some income. And what types of jobs are particularly likely to have internships? Exactly the type that might lead one on the path to taking their place in the ruling class.
And yes, I realize that sounds like the rantings of some wide-eyed Marxist loon.
Because then it becomes institutionalized and pretty soon it becomes expected that you SHOULD work for free for the first few years out of college. Thus implying that you provide no value to a company.
But that’s not true. What young people lack in experience they make up with their energy and their naive ideas that they can change the world.
This provides value to any company. But, especially to those filled with people that are opposed to rocking the boat, or new ways of seeing things because they have given up on life and are just taking up space while waiting for retirement age.
And that’s worth money.
Silver $15.37, down we go, single digit here we come!
CBC: “…And homeowners faced with a hike in rates can expect to be hit twice — as local businesses pass on the cost of their own higher premiums by pushing up the prices of their goods and services.
Richard Truscott with the Canadian Federation for Independent Business says his members are feeling the pinch….”
******************
So the solution is for businesses to pass along their increased costs to the consumer by raising prices for goods/services the consumer is already not buying?
That’s because the traditional white collar corporate slave job is disappearing. Don’t even waste your time applying for jobs on corporate web sites. That’s a sign of desperation.
Instead, have people come to you on LinkedIN when they need your particular skill set. (Thus, having an actual skill is important)
You should be able to develop most skills of interest to you since information is now freely (or almost freely) accessible. The more specialized the better of course as you’ll have less competition. You can always up-sell your other skills later, once the relationship is established.
So why would you want to sign up with a soulless corp?
Instead, charge them a bundle when they come to you, deliver a good product so that they come back, and then move on to other customers. Or take a 3 month vacation. Whatever. You’re a free man. You decide.
I would never accept a ‘full time’ job offer from one of my clients. That’s like throwing myself into a jail cell.
Exactly what Long Term Lurker says. I’m a millenial and I started my career by doing an unpaid internship, and I didn’t have the priviledge of living in my parent’s basement. I was also a full-time undergraduate student and worked a paid retail job 20 hours a week during my internship. From that, I got a paid job in the field and when I graduated, had several years of pretty solid experience on the CV – no “entry-level” job searching for me (not to mention all student loans paid before graduation.) Fast forward four years later I earn in the high 80’s (with a rather artsy degree.) Now I can actually help out my lower-earning parents instead of being an adult leech like so many other 20-somethings feel is acceptable.
@$82 it’s way better to have a $10/hour job than no job at all. Assuming a student pays no tax due to low income and tuition tax credits, that’s $200 extra a week which is $800 extra a month. That’s $600 for rent and $200 for food. Push it to 30/week and a frugal student can cover all his expenses on $1200/month.
Making trades more popular:
http://www.cardus.ca/research/workandeconomics/buildingmeaning/
Joining Crawford in a panel discussion will be:
Robert Blakely, Director of Canadian Affairs for the Building and Construction Trades of Canada, and
Sarah Watts-Rynard, Executive Director of the Canadian Apprenticeship Foundation
You have been “commoditized.”
Yes, you young people, with or without your university sheepskin. With, or without your trade school education.
YOU are a commodity, to be selected, used, and priced just like any other commodity.
Poloz has just suggested that even with presumable “value added” that you should work for “FREE”
I don’t see the value in that. Working for the minimum wage is understandable, until you bring added “value” through your knowledge, skills, and abilities. If you believe you have it all from your degree, you have missed the point of education it is not an end, but rather a beginning.
Uh-oh, les media de mainstream is acknowledging what le Garth has been saying for quite a while…
“Bank of Canada Seeks Change”
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/top-business-stories/canadian-government-overexposed-to-housing-market-bank-of-canada-official-warns/article21452673/
Every time macro-economic factors threatened the indebted majority the last 6-7 years, the Govt has stepped in.
Like 3 weeks ago, they said rates are not going higher any time soon.
We can talk about economic fundamentals till the ‘cows come home’ but it means nothing unless the Govt is guaranteed to not interfere. And such a thing is almost impossible, given the majority of the voting public are in the indebted camp.
This is not speculation – This has happened again & again & again in the last few years.
“I don’t know about other provinces but in Ontario nurses do not start at $80k right out of school.”
I go by what I see on the Sunshine lists in the various provinces. And they’re definitely starting in the $80k range right out of school. Pharmacists even more with the hourly rate (although pharmacy wages do not generally rise much).
And $400k is a national house price average, not just Vancouver/Toronto. Divide by 3-5, as historically has been the case for new grad starting salary, and $80k really isn’t out of line as an expectation. Of course, most employers don’t meet expectations, which is why the youth have been mostly screwed. Prices must deflate to the ability of our young to actually afford them.
“canadian dollar down from 1.04 to 87.5 and will probably go down to 85 in the nearby future that is 19% loss on Real estate if your a foreigner”
Not really. Foreigners tend to be highly leveraged when they buy Canadian RE. The credit, denominated in Canadian dollars, tends to be a hedge against CAD$ currency loss. Additionally, the CAD$ isn’t really losing against currencies other than the USD$. The story in currency these days is really about the USD$ strengthening so much compared to everyone else, rather than the CAD$ being weak relative to the world. While some US citizens own RE in Canada, I don’t think anyone would identify them in any way as a driving force behind the past decade of Canadian RE appreciation.
I’ll say it again. Please stop equating single family homes with detached houses. They are not the same.
I believe graduates these days need to be mobile….consider taking a job anywhere in Canada or USA to start rather than limiting yourself to your ‘home’ city.
Unemployment/underemployment of new grads exists pretty much everywhere in the Canadian labour market. New grads are often willing to move places, but good luck getting an interview as a new grad in another city, unless there’s extremely voracious demand out there (which there is not, except in vary narrow fields). It is rather naïve to suggest that if only new grads would just move around, or move to the USA, that the new grad unemployment problem would be solved. I’m sure practically every mother or father of a basement dweller would gladly fork over a few thousand to their airline of choice to get their kids to a job interview in a far-off place if it were really that simple.
A few people can ‘beat’ the system by being in the right place at the right time, but it is clear that the problem is not with individual new grads not being willing to move, but rather, with a greater systemic problem of the employers not being willing to, or actually being unable to simply pick up the phone and start hiring.
72 crowdedelevatorfartz on 11.04.14 at 9:40 pm
Volunteers in todays world can just quit.
**********************************
My reply:
Great points your post made. I’d also add that “paid internships” in the current workplace can be a living hell for the young.
I’ve witnessed ” interns” in a construction office setting:
Abused verbally, yelled at in a tirade & belittled.
If the intern quits, it carries negative consequences, because “internships” come with a written contract, with a duration of time. Basically what smokingman (on this site) calls slavery, or indentured servitude.
In addition, the employee ( who pays jack all) Reports suitability of the ” intern” back to the school or placement agency ! It goes on their record!
The poor kid can be stuck in a tortured position.
I took a bright, young, effective young intern out for a mentoring coffee, off the record, and he cried at the abuse he had in an apprenticeship/internship .
I guided him into a far superior career entry position, and No reference or report was needed. It gets uglier when you realize this youngster has paid for a life and school for several years, out of pocket!
The ” interns” cannot quit or leave. Its a far reaching, and growing problem in the global economy.
BoC report on housing
http://www.bankofcanada.ca/2014/11/article-lawrence-schembri-04-november-2014/
“Personally I’m adding to USD$ shorts and to my gold and silver equity position at every available opportunity.”
USD short in Canadian currency? Seems highly risky. I hope it is a small position and you understand what you are doing
Let me ask you a question. Why resource prices are falling? To simplify let’s leave the gold/silver/oil out (as they are extremely complex)
Let’s take Iron ore for example, why did it fall? where is it going next?
“it’s way better to have a $10/hour job than no job at all”
Actually what I saw, as an undergrad, was the less well-off kids trying to work those $10/hour jobs (well $7/hour when I was in school!) — at the expense of their studies. So they took 5, often 6 years to complete a 4 year course (most students are taking 5 years, if not 6 years to do a 4-year degree these days!). While the kids who didn’t work could get done in 4 years putting 100% of their effort into work at school. If you do the math, the 4-year, no work kids, if they could get a job when they graduated (which when I had to make these decisions for myself, wasn’t a problem), were far, far better off financially. Even doing a fully paid internship made no sense for the same reasons.
Now, the calculus is a bit different today. But the whole “need” for an internship these days is a reflection of a very, very sick labour market, and nothing to do with the training (or lack thereof) of new grads.
#158 The American
“The U.S. is not purchasing Canadian crude nearly to the degree of even just a year ago. And the U.S. is only going to purchase less and less as we move forward. Get used to it.”
———————————–
I’d like to see the Yanks frac up some more lumber.
“#117 – Mark, thank you for eloquently articulating what I’ve been suspecting for the last ten years or so. If your assessment is indeed accurate, then I look forward to hearing a solution to the problem of too many people for the number of jobs available.”
Policy makers need to create a legitimate growth environment for the economy. Cut the size of the public service and the role of government dramatically so Canadian businesses can be competitive. Eliminate the CMHC, especially its operations in the subprime lending market which artificially direct capital towards consumer consumption in RE, rather than letting capital be allocated through free market principles. The BoC should also be running very accommodative monetary policy with the view of creating an equity risk premium, so there is actually venture capital available in the Canadian economy (the past 35 years have been without an equity risk premium, so risk-takers/stock investors have been paid *nothing* for their efforts!).
The US President is killing it. Under Obama the unemployment rate has been almost halved. The stock market has gone ballistic. Healthcare has been expanded. Two wars have been stopped. Bin Laden was killed. And he has done this without the Senate or Congress. Oh, he also won the Nobel Peace Prize! And he has an amazing spouse. What is more incredible, he has accomplished this in the most dysfunctional and inneffective congress and senate in history, not to mention the wingnuts in the state legislature. He is basically the only bright light coming out of the political sphere in the US.
#93 pitfield on 11.04.14 at 10:18 pm
‘At least when the communists forced you to work they gave food rations and a place to sleep.’
I would suggest to you that a bit of research concerning the soviet gulag is in order.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulag
personally I will take the volunteer work while living in my parents basement….
All IS as it SHOULD BE.
SHIFT happens as equilibrium is sought by natural market forces. It’s as sure and natural a force as gravity.
Learn to ride the tide…
};-)
“Let me ask you a question. Why resource prices are falling? To simplify let’s leave the gold/silver/oil out (as they are extremely complex)
Let’s take Iron ore for example, why did it fall? where is it going next?
“
The worldwide economy is slowing dramatically. Even in the United States as they slip back into another round of deflation (albeit far less severe than what Canada is about to experience!). Supply additions to oil are not meaningful enough to move the price as much as they have, hence, its almost entirely a demand issue.
I wouldn’t put oil and gold in the same bucket. One is a commodity that is highly sensitive to the state of the economy. The other is a form of money, inversely correlated to long-term bonds and the whole “fiat” money system. As the consequences of a failing world economy are increasingly recognized, the fiat money system is likely to come under increasing attack, which should be helpful for the price of gold. A weak global economy also implies falling input prices for gold mining firms, which eventually will make their shares go up.
As for iron ore, that’s mainly a China play, and I believe its likely rough times ahead there for a long time to come. There was a nifty chart on Zerohedge recently stating that China consumed more concrete (and hence, iron rebar) in the past 5 years that the USA has consumed in the past 100.
#158 The American.
I dunno.
http://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=W_EPC0_IM0_NUS-NCA_MBBLD&f=W
@ Mark184 – I’d rather take 5 years to graduate without debt than 4 years with (significant) debt.
I was one of those less well off kids. Some weeks I worked 40 hours on top of five classes. (I had friends living at home for free and getting their tuition paid for, who would only take 3 classes.)
Could I have gotten higher grades if I didn’t work? Probably. (Or maybe I would have just gone out to the bar more/ at all.) In many fields, however, experience trumps grades. I can see why working while studying might be impossible for the kids in STEM fields, but an arts/social sciences/business student might be better off trading that A for a B while adding in some solid work experience. (Being a Team Lead at Starbucks gives you tons of conflict management and team management examples to draw on in interviews.)
cash for clunkers the engines were destroyed! This was a clumsy program – a great many vehicles with useful service left were simply destroyed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_Allowance_Rebate_System
Julia : Volunteering is a luxury only those with means can afford. But good quality supervision and on the job training take time and money resources as well.
I picked up last week’s election signs on McCarthy Road – in Ottawa. That’s a luxury I can afford.
and I do agree that “good quality supervision and on the job training take time and money resources as well.”
Vanecdotal : good post!
It alters buyer psychology. I observed a similar phenomenon when researching Los Angeles real estate for a project back in 2006. This is the how the market can turn on a dime
that’s what happened in the US. buyer psychology is like a school of fishes they turn in sync.
How would you like to be one of the original buyers into this development? With that one ad, literally overnight, your unit just lost 20% or more of it’s value, but your mortgage obligation is the same. That is IF you could sell the unit today
pretty funny, by the time you realize that your unit lost 20% you realize that you would still have to sell just to realize a loss!
Gold falls, Oil falls, Jobs fall in commodity driven Canada, but real estate keeps rocking on up.
http://www.thestar.com/business/real_estate/2014/11/05/toronto_house_prices_up_9_per_cent_in_october.html
“As for iron ore, that’s mainly a China play, and I believe its likely rough times ahead there for a long time to come.”
Also the supply side was increasing very significantly in this case, betting on optimistic assumptions on future demand
As demand in China continues to weaken (They simply cannot continue at the current rates of development, How many railroads, highways and condos they really need?) all bets are off. Who knows how is it going to play out?
China is a wildcard and if/when they going to show a significant weakness the investors will do what they do best, which is going to the safety of the USD (It doesn’t matter if this is a correct decision in the long run or not).
So I wouldn’t be shorting the USD just yet
Uh oh for Chiner (China in a Honger accent)
40% of arable land is polluted… Tough to feed such a large population with less and less domestic farmland.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/04/us-china-soil-idUSKBN0IO0Y720141104
#34 Soused on 11.04.14 at 8:29 pm
Maybe the prison library will give me a job after punch some sense into Stephen Poloz. The gall of him, almost everyone I know at some point has worked for free, we were sold the idea that completely undermining our own labour value as a good idea.
Who cares if I knock some sense into him, it’s just the right thing to do.
—————————————————————–
This did make me laugh, but it is sad that people feel this way. Steady hand on the wheel, what if the ship is sinking? It sad to see how everything is starting to line up for Agenda 21 and a total police state. Take away the peoples right to earn a descent living and they become very desperate, and desperate people will do things they would not normally do to feed themselves, they will fight for food.
Oh and about that slippery MP who is criminally charged? Whether or not he gets his pension should not even be a topic of debate
—————————————————————-
#78 Steve on 11.04.14 at 9:50 pm
I was the only kid in my grad class in 93 that actually majored in the trades.
—————————————————————-
Same deal here only in ’94 I was generally laughed at after graduation while most went off to complete a few years of university before taking some simp job driving a forklift or something unrelated with a bunch of student debt and useless credits. Oddly enough the year I started my apprenticeship was the last year the government picked up the tab for the schooling. No out of pocket money paid be myself, good thing they cancelled that program, things are working out real good in the trades now hahahha, TFW’s are a joke
—————————————————————-
Godth, yes you do know me and it was nice to meet you. Let me know when you want to drive out to the mountains to find some pristine yellow cedar, one mans junk as they say. I am sure we can converse about just where we are in the collapse of a civilized society
It goes both ways. Good times can’t last forever nor will the bad.
Like you said in a previous editorial Garth; “…you can moan and dribble over things you cannot control. Or you can cede life is to be confidently embraced. You only get one.”
SHIFT happens. Learn to ride the tide.
@ #123 Kenny
Allow me to come to the defense of my brother, the firefighter. Were you aware that the formation of fire departments was the brainchild of insurance companies? And, initially, firefighters were paid by the insurance companies. Reason? Fire departments saved insurance companies money by limiting property loss. Ask your insurance broker what happens to your house insurance if you live more than 5 kms from a firehall that is staffed 24/7. The taxes you pay to operate a firehall is saving society, and you, in reduced costs for goods, services and insurance.
As to being overpaid, you’ve got to be kidding. It cost my kids less than $20,000 to get their B.Sc./B.Ed. degrees over a 5 year period. And most universities close to home offer those degrees so kids can live at Mommy & Daddy’s for free. Firefighting? One school in Manitoba. In small town Brandon. Takes 9 months and $23,000 plus room & board to get your certification. http://www.firecomm.gov.mb.ca/docs/pfpp_brochure_2015_16_oct14.pdf
And what skills do they have? Firefighting, LICENSED Paramedics, Haz-Mat, water rescue (was that your feeble reference to lifeguarding?), Fire Safety Educator, Fire Prevention accreditation. And their pay scale? Less than $50k to start. Takes 5 years to get to $80k. Comparable to a teacher that never has to risk life or limb. http://winnipeg.ca/fps/Careers/Career%20Information/Qualifications%20Required%20-%20Firefighter%20Paramedic.pdf
What would you pay your neighbour to run into a burning building to save your child (my brother has done this on more than one occasion in his 25 year career) or have a firefighter/paramedic at your side with life-saving drugs within 4 minutes when the heart attack or stroke hits you?
I would suggest you limit your vitriol to subjects of which you may not be so ignorant.
“@ Mark184 – I’d rather take 5 years to graduate without debt than 4 years with (significant) debt. “
But really, how much can a student really make at $12/hour realistically? Even 20 hours a week * 40 weeks * $12/hour is $9600/year. Figure that some of that is going to be spent on incremental transportation and incremental convenience food, so net of $6000 say. Multiplied by 5, so say, $30k.
In one’s first year after a 4-year degree, most grads ordinarily would earn between $40k and $60k/year.
Does it make sense to you to receive $30k in net salary, not have debt, but graduate late and forgo a year of making $40-$60k?
And besides, what sort of high-spec student really wants to be an intern or work a part-time job anyways? Interns or part-timers will never get very good assignments. They’ll never be tasked to do anything integral to the operation of a business. At best, they’ll be given small projects at the absolute periphery of a business, while entering the full-time workplace after graduation should get them relatively quickly into serious line-of-business and relevant work.
When I was going through, internships were pretty much only targeted at those who were “worn out” of school and had financial difficulty. For those students so afflicted, it gave them some focus and some bucks. But they were never intended for, nor targeted towards the upper quartile of the class for which the calculus, as above, applies.
Unpaid interns:
http://www.vancouversun.com/HootSuite+faces+online+backlash+over+unpaid+internships/8209279/story.html
Hootsuite got raked over the coals for pulling this stunt last year.
“Gold falls, Oil falls, Jobs fall in commodity driven Canada, but real estate keeps rocking on up.”
Yeah because only the high end stuff, sold to bankers, rockstars, etc., is actually moving. Of course the averages will be higher in light of the substantial change to the sales mix. Doesn’t mean that individual houses are going up in price though. They haven’t been.
Now that people, talented, or talentless have been “commoditized” like oil, wheat, pork bellies etc. and since their is a glut of talent in moldy basements up north, why not cut that minimum wage back to a level even Cato the Elder would approve?
While we are at it, let’s advertise government openings at reduced starting wages? Maybe we can replace Poloz for half of his salary? Gee, it works in the commodity markets?
When all those financed KIA’s start being repoed, how far will the used value of a KIA drop? Ditto for all the other nameplates.
After you have beggared the populace, let’s see where the ‘value’ of Real Estate stands? Can’t eat that now can you?
DELETED
Dollarama stock in hockey stick mode. Exit into liquidity imo.
For Congress & the Q: “What next?”- 46 jobs bills didn’t get a vote in Senate no longer have Reid in the way:
http://investmentwatchblog.com/for-congress-the-q-what-next-46-jobs-bills-didnt-get-a-vote-in-senate-no-longer-have-reid-in-the-way/
People don’t have jobs here. What TFSA or retirement saving? You only save when you have extra.
Inflation took all the savings
I bought the same grocery bag year after year. The receipt $ is not the same. Don’t tell me there is no inflation. 2% is a big myth.
and oil should be falling, it’s too high to begin with.
It caused everything to go up
#181 Spectacle…”I took a bright, young, effective young intern out for a mentoring coffee…” You touched my heart and wish more people like you. I bet the young man thought he was toast?
We are in a mess but can be on the right path with #188 Mark’s remark, cut down on government, public service, eliminate CMHC and BoC policy.
I think the main problem is government which should lead by example and start cutting or eliminating their salaries, pension, then overloaded management in public service. I think start at the top first, set an example. People will follow and will be more accepting to the downward trend.
Small business play such an important role for our communities and when our communities are strong then a stronger province/country. Checkmate.
#WickedWednesday’sPotPourri’OMischief…
#NoCherriesForYou!… #Or,”You’ll’Intern’&You’llLikeIt!”* [*”OrElse”]
[SCMP] – Top chefs and tight security for Apec meeting of world leaders in Beijing: Region’s leaders to be wowed by the menu…
…”Some 2,000 volunteers from 23 universities will work 20 hours a day during the event. One volunteer from Peking University said screening had been rigorous, with candidates weeded out by three rounds of tests. “Only some who applied were selected to attend the interview by the Communist Youth League at school, and then we were interviewed by city officials.”…
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1633060/top-chefs-and-tight-security-apec-meeting-world-leaders-beijing
#SmokingManStaysHome… #MacauRevenuesPlummet…
[SCMP] – Revenue at Macau casinos falls by a record 23 per cent in October: Revenue in Macau’s gaming halls falls by record 23pc in October as war on graft, smoking ban and Occupy protests in Hong Kong bite
http://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1632170/revenue-macau-casinos-falls-record-23-cent-october
#ParadiseLost…. #Or,”WayScarierThanSmartBombs:Peshmergettes”…
[AlArabiya] – ‘Death by woman’ equals ‘virgin-less heaven,’ ISIS fears
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/variety/2014/09/21/Why-ISIS-fighters-prefer-to-be-killed-by-men-.html
#DoggyStyle!… #Or,DoreamonDissesDictator?
[UK Telegraph] – Kim Jong-un photobombed by stuffed animals in compromising position
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/11209673/Kim-Jong-un-photobombed-by-stuffed-animals-in-compromising-position.html
[NoteToGT: Strictly between the two of us… No more cigars. It hasn’t been easy though: http://youtu.be/VmW-ScmGRMA ]
“40% of arable land is polluted… Tough to feed such a large population with less and less domestic farmland. “
That won’t and hasn’t stopped the Chinese from simply feeding their population polluted food. Or exporting it abroad (walk into a contemporary “Dollar” store, its amazing how much manufactured food we import from China!).
But on a more serious note, developed nations should be enacting tariffs on Chinese made goods until they clean up their act. As being allowed to pollute without consequences is a de facto subsidy of their domestic industry. Not to mention a human tragedy of epic proportions.
So, after Poloz told the berated youth yesterday that they’d better get used to the idea of working for free due a slower-than-expected economic recovery, yet today the government elitists announced they’re revising their second-quarter growth estimate up from 3.1% to 3.6% as part of “annual revisions going back to 2011.”
http://www.bnn.ca/News/2014/11/5/Canada-boosts-second-quarter-growth-estimate-to-36-from-31.aspx
Are they on crack-cocaine, severely schizophrenic, or just playing a revise-the-numbers game they learned from the RE association we can’t name?
And is this Canada or some sort of Banana Republic under despotic rule?
At #185, Mister Obvious: Do you honestly believe no other countries would export their woods to the U.S.? Do you believe Canada will be the only country willing to supply this resource? Besides, building with wood has DECREASED in the U.S. by 40 FREAKING PERCENT in just 6 years! Construction starts are increasing using concrete, steel, and other materials. Canada is more convenient for this resource, sure, but there’s other fish in the sea. No need to get upset by it. Many are lined up in the que to strengthen their exports of timber to the U.S., such as Chile, Brazil, New Zealand, Germany and Sweden. Five percent of the earth’s remaining forest cover is in the U.S., and Canada has another 10 percent.
At #193 Rusty Venture: Hmmmmm…. U.S. reliance on foreign oil is absolutely diminishing. In fact, the U.S. is exporting its oil to your homeland, Canada, has skyrocketed to an all-time record high. In fact, the U.S. is a net exporter of petroleum products. Bet they don’t teach you that up there, do they?
http://globalnews.ca/news/1464682/u-s-oil-exports-spike-and-most-of-it-comes-to-canada/
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/07/15/us-oil-exports-canada_n_5587730.html
http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=32&t=6
http://www.eia.gov/energy_in_brief/article/foreign_oil_dependence.cfm
Poloz made his remarks without a shred of supporting evidence. Apparently internships are now a vast unregulated and unreported part of the labour market.
Why Poloz would praise internships is completely beyond comprehension.
There are some legitimate practicum requirements associated with degree programmes like nursing or social work. But otherwise internships are pretty much a work for free scam.
I am starting to get misty eyed for Carney.
This economy is horrible for working people.
The businesses want cheap labour, so they are pressuring the government to open the flood gates to immigration.
Immigrants drive up housing demand thus costs, couple with ZIRP you have a housing boomble. Wages are being driven down by highly exploitable immigrants. Our productive farmland is getting destroyed, the environment is having more strain put on it. The existing infrastructure cannot handle the millions in immigrants, so we go broke trying to expand it.
This whole situation is horrible. I see no benefit to Canadians with these policies. Canadian kids have to work for free, but we now have fast track skilled trade training for immigrants.
Even the first/second generation immigrants are getting angry, it is something to see an indian guy cursing immigrants for overwhelming the system. Chinese are even getting angry at these idiotic policies.
@Nuke, post #189:
Quite right, the critics of Barack Obama conveniently ignore that he and his administration came into power during the worst financial crisis since the depression, and it could have become the next depression if not handled properly. Fast forward to the present, not only is the U.S. economy recovering but is one the best performers in the world these days. How’s that for a track record? When his 2 terms are finished, his services could be used elsewhere. Would you be interested in coming to Canada, Mr. Obama?
In a race to the bottom the outcome will be guaranteed. WE SHALL ALL GET THERE!
Regardless of being rich, not so rich or poor.
Regardless of being old, not so old or young.
Regardless of being male or female.
Regardless of one’s ethnicity.
Regardless of one’s politics.
Regardless of ones religion or lack there of.
Get on and ride the proverbial bus (so named and dedicated to the race to the bottom) off the torn down bridge and none of us shall escape the crash to come no matter how freaking smart one thinks they are of themselves.
Sad story to events that need not happen if we as humans actually applied our greatest resource, the collective intelligence of us all along with a good dose of compassion and not fall victim to our dogma, greed, arrogance, selfishness, myopia and sorted misplace mythologies on life and living.
“Are they on crack-cocaine, severely schizophrenic, or just playing a revise-the-numbers game they learned from the RE association we can’t name?
And is this Canada or some sort of Banana Republic under despotic rule?
“
I went to the BoC website last night and was shocked that, in the “Rates and Statistics” and “Economic Indicators” portion of the site, they were actually quoting Royal LePage as a source of housing prices! Pfft, talk about having completely sold out to the housing industry and being separated from reality.
Even Poloz admitted the other day (see my comment above) that there was an output gap in the Canadian economy that was extremely large. Yet the BoC’s own internal indicator of output gap and capacity utilization remains low and high respectively. The ‘economists’ at the BoC really are out of touch these days it seems, and the nonsense is obviously flowing right up in the organization.
” In fact, the U.S. is exporting its oil to your homeland, Canada, has skyrocketed to an all-time record high. “
But an insignificant portion of Canadian demand.
In fact, the U.S. is a net exporter of petroleum products. Bet they don’t teach you that up there, do they?”
No they aren’t. They are still a prolific net importer of oil, although quite a bit less so on the gas side as of late.
@ The American
You said that the U.S. is not purchasing Canadian crude nearly to the degree of even just a year ago. EIA data indicates otherwise, at least up to the present.
As for imports of U.S. oil, most Canadians are certainly aware of it at some level, given the Lac Megantic accident. In eastern Canada, Bakken light is displacing more expensive imports from outside of North America. This is a good thing, until we can build the Energy East pipeline…
#211 Entrepreneur on 11.05.14 at 3:26 pm
#181 Spectacle…”I took a bright, young, effective young intern out for a mentoring coffee…” You touched my heart and wish more people like you. I bet the young man thought he was toast?
************************
Thanks for reading & comment regarding my post.
I just got off from a phone call with the young gent , that I took for that “coffee” mentoring.
He is now married,
moving into a newer rented house,
huge career learning curve and doing very well.
I think I ended his misery in a decent, positive and compassionate way……….ultimately he did the heavy lifting!
#CiCi’sQuestionAnswered…
http://youtu.be/NZZqnVYB4UA
@Mark202: If that 40-60k job right after graduation is a certainty even if you have no experience, then most certainly graduate as fast as possible and pay down your debt with your decent salary. (Of course this also assumes no extended travel after uni.)
I’m 26 and not too many of my peers outside of Alberta earn in that range yet. The ones that I know who do are in the STEM fields, federal public servants (all of whom worked for the GoC while in uni, since there are fast-track hire your student schemes) and teachers who were willing to relocate to small towns or could teach in French. The rest…well, they’re not earning much more than $12/hour as graduates, slowly trying to build their resume with anything.
Also it’s very possible to work 20/hours a week and graduate in 4 years. I graduated in 5 years working 35 hours/week. It just means not having enough time to go to the bar. (Of course this assumes a “typical” student who does not have caregiving responsibilities.)
One thing to remember is that in Saudi Arabia at least 50% of oil goes to fuel desalinization plants. This is peak water at its worst. When they run out of oil, which they will, they are going under. Maybe not today, maybe not next day, but take comfort in the reality that besides oil, THEY HAVE NOTHING. There isnt enough water to sustain their lazy lifestyles. What are they going to do, start nuclear power plants there? Where will they get the water to cool the reactor? BIG BIG long term problems in Saudi….the religion, the dysfunctional society, the end of oil…..They may be a power player for the next 100 years, after that, not likely.
At least in Canada you can turn on your tap water and get clean drinking water. There are locally grown crops. There are farms. None of that exists in Saudi Arabia. ZERO. And they know it.
It will only be a matter of time before the Middle East is cut off forever, as it should be.
Hopefully Poloz’s statements were taken out of context. My daughter did a 6 month stint in New Brunswick as part of her curiculum (I call it an upaid Internship) for a Lab Technologist.
Not happy about the 6 month unpaid part but very happy about the launch in her much in demand, well paid career choice.
“What are they going to do, start nuclear power plants there? Where will they get the water to cool the reactor? “
From the Persian Gulf, among other places. Or run a setup similar to that used at Palo Verdes in Arizona, in the middle of the dessert — large cooling towers that are fed with Phoenix’s sewage. And yes, various Middle Eastern oil producing countries have nuclear power plans in the works, including Iran and the UAE, amongst others.
Additionally, the claim made by another poster than “50% of Saudi’s oil output goes to desalination” is simply not true.
“I went to the BoC website last night and was shocked that, in the “Rates and Statistics” and “Economic Indicators” portion of the site, they were actually quoting Royal LePage as a source of housing prices! Pfft, talk about having completely sold out to the housing industry and being separated from reality.”
At least CMHC head understands the risk:
“With some 48 per cent of Canadians’ net worth now tied up in real estate, and some of it overvalued in key markets, homeowners could find themselves in a real financial bind if “external risks,” such as deflation now hitting parts of Europe, were to lead to job losses here, says Evan Siddall, present of the CMHC.
Still-elevated levels of household debt remain the top concern for the federal housing agency, but few are talking about the other major economic risk from that — Canadians’ lack of a financial cushion if they are hit by a prolonged period of unemployment caused by offshore events such as a deepening downturn in the Chinese economy, Siddall said during a noontime question-and-answer session Monday organized by the Canadian Club of Toronto.”
Things that tick me off.
People who always quote salaries in gross amounts.
Time to start stating your after tax salary, I guess people just like pretending they make that much. I guess 80k sounds better than $51003.97?
Also these economic action plan signs I see around. Is one of these signs needed when they are just repaving a road?
#87 Mister Obvious
I wouldn’t say 1 in 10 are useless, maybe we just had some good luck; we ended up hireing a bunch of them, the program has been the largest and best source of new hires. Actual interviews for open positions are no better, I’m afraid; 4 out of 10 failed to read the job description and are totally unqualified, another 4 in 10 are just bullshitting their way through with no clue what they are talking about (these are not usually entry level jobs we have posted), the other 2 we can work with maybe. And those are the people who make it through the HR resume screening process.
It’s not a question of training, we expect people to have relevant experience for these high level jobs, and they are specific enough that already we expect MONTHS of on the job training until the person gets up to speed.
We often wonder where these people end up at, hopefully with jobs more closely matching their skills.
#227 Nuke the middle east on 11.05.14 at 5:25 pm
—
They have nothing? Seriously dude, can you not see they are sitting on the biggest solar farm in the world. Waste desert land, no people and endless daily sunshine.
So Poloz says if you can’t find work, then work for free.
I would rather work for Jian Ghomeshi that work for free.
And years ago, Harper told some unemployed types from eastern canada to move to Alberta. Seems like that advice isn’t going to hold much longer.
The Gov is getting scolded in the Globe today.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/poloz-should-push-to-end-unpaid-internships-not-promote-them/article21453030/
@#181 Spectacle
“I’ve witnessed ” interns” in a construction office setting:
Abused verbally, yelled at in a tirade & belittled…..”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Valid points about “internships” but bullying occurs everywhere (especially in the trades!) and if apprentices or interns think it will end in school….they are sadly mistaken.
Most work places have antibullying rules and HR should (in a perfect world) should be able to deal with it.
However, we don’t live in a perfect world do we. There are some truly evil, nasty people in positions of authority.
I have worked in some truly unbelievable places that defy description( yes Godth, I too , many years ago , have scraped feces off floors).
I don’t get mad, I don’t cry. I remember and wait….
And when the time is perfect for me and hopefully as inconvenient for my employer as possible, I resign. Taking my work skills, knowledge and expertise with me.
And I explain my reasons for leaving in my exit interview. I also inform my coworkers exactly what I’ve done and why. More than one incompetent , vindictive, petty, corrupt manager has been punted down the road after I have left the company.
Sometimes the “Peter Principle” needs help.
DA;
You are still tiresome. Get a new tagline, eh. Your posts are eye-roll inducing pablum.
“I wouldn’t say 1 in 10 are useless, maybe we just had some good luck; we ended up hireing a bunch of them, the program has been the largest and best source of new hires. Actual interviews for open positions are no better….”
Unfortunately, what’s been happening out there is that employers just haven’t created enough jobs for quite a while now. So sending out lots of resumes, even for positions that a person isn’t fully interested in (or qualified for) is seen as the way of overcoming such. Its a real problem that won’t go away until the labour market really tightens up.
In a properly functioning labour market, it shouldn’t take a professional, especially in software or engineering, more than 5-10 job applications to score something. Not the situation today where in software engineering, even top grads can shop their resume around to hundreds of job postings and not even receive the basic courtesy of a response or feedback. And new grads should be focussed on keeping/growing their skills, not navigating a completely dysfunctional HR system that we have out there today. I mean, have you seen some IT job ads? Demanding “10 years of ‘experience’ on Windows 2008 + SQL development + CCIE”, and a gazillion other random but mandatory “skills”? The sector is largely the author of its own misfortune when it comes to recruiting people, and there’s a lot of talent that is completely misallocated.
Mark : But on a more serious note, developed nations should be enacting tariffs on Chinese made goods until they clean up their act. As being allowed to pollute without consequences is a de facto subsidy of their domestic industry. Not to mention a human tragedy of epic proportions.
a much more serious note.
Chinese drywall was used in southern US. It was found defective and caused a lot of grief
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_drywall
So that sfh is now at a million eh Garth? What happened to it all bouncing of in April and falling from there?
The average SFH in 416 is cheaper now than it was in February. — Garth
Im 26 and it took me a month to get my truckers license 2 years ago and have been working like a madman ever since, making close to 80,000 grand a year. So fret not basement dwelling intellectuals there’s hope for you yet! we’re hiring!
Re: #219 Doug in London on 11.05.14 at 4:44 pm
Lucky for us he wasn’t born in Canada and to my knowledge speaks no French.
#241 Hammer_down on 11.05.14 at 8:07 pm
Did you find you needed experience to get a job?
I’ve seen recruitment efforts from trucking companies but an acquaintance (who worked in placing people into second careers) said many found the course wasn’t enough to get hired (in Ontario, at least.)
#224 Spectacle on 11.05.14 at 5:00 pm
Thanks for the reminder that we should all mentor a young person who could benefit from our experience or connections.
Post blog! Post Blog! I’m dying here.
No work?
End. All temp immigration programs: especially the IMP program.
It’s your country
#155 billybill: “your stats on the us are right but you fail to mention the number of americans who feel they’re worse off since the crash…”
Of course they’re worse off. They made the same giant real estate mistake we’re making. — Garth
******************
And our feds made their stupid decisions following the USA stupid mistakes….
@Tony, post #242:
Too bad really, as we could use some of his expertise. Of course we, with the possible exception of Stevie Poloz, won’t expect him to work free of charge.
mobiling into a downsized future..
“yeah that’s right.. living in a car is fun!”
that’s terrific.. so I got the CEO job in Vancouver?
if I drive 2 thou a day I can be there in 3 days.
That is the most ridiculous statement ever. Does the Governor of the Bank of Canada work for free? Maybe he should volunteer for free. And now the basement dwellers have to work to till 67. They can’t get a job now.
This Grade A asshole, with little political skills will get a massive pension. No one else will.
I sent my sons for Electrical Engineering each, first year onsite, with dinner privileges, living offsite for 2 years. Now that is a racket in itself. They have no student loans. Because of me. And are both employed.
Imagine studying all those years and some turd says work at Timmies for meagre bucks, then work for free. After that internship, you are turfed for more free labour. Ignorant. One must study something that is required though. My sons did not have a choice. This is free, don’t like it, do something else, pay for it yourself.
By the way what happened to the bottom part of the site, were you can punch in names and the comments come up?