ON ISSUE #28 - 32-per-cent hike in minimum wage rates will cause many small businesses to close

[mosquito]

You do realize owning a company is about making profits. Why do you have a problem with others success.
Seems a lot of the younger generation have a sense of entitlement, and don't get the fact many people work hard an long to create their own success....

Not just the younger one, the left has never been about innovation, success, budgets, openness, accountability and given Wynne and Trudeau it seems ethics is completely dead too. Just look at them buying antique jets, letting Unions and reserves go back to NON-disclosure of spending, admiration of a dictatorship that sent tanks to run over hundreds or thousands of students, etc. etc.

[Species8472]

Yes , I do have a position, spread the wealth. 5% of the population should not have 95% of the wealth, no matter what reason.

Make up numbers much? Take a look at this video prepared by one of your tribe. His study indicated that it is actually 20% of the population controls 70% of the wealth (2:09 mark in the video). I am not saying this isn't skewed and that the broader population does not want it adjusted (his study supports a broad desire for redistribution), just saying that your ratio is not correct. Your ratio of % wealth controlled versus % of population yields a figure of 19:1. The actual ratio (according to your people) is 3.5:1 - that equates to an exaggeration of 543% on your part.

http://www.broadbentinstitute.ca/wealth_gap

I own a small business and while I won't speak for the small business community at large I will speak for myself. I will not hire anyone because of the overhead and hassle associated with it (Matching CPP, 1.4x matching EI, WSIB, health and safety commitees, mat leave, health benefits, liability implications, etc...). I make far more money with far less headache just working 60, 80 or sometimes a 100 hours a week to make up the labour shortage when necessary. If I want holidays I have good relations with other similar small businesses and we provide contract services to each other to cover any time off we want.

If people don't like it that I don't spread the wealth - I don't give a flying F. Between HST remittance, corporate income tax and personal income tax the CRA is already getting 160K+ from me every year. I am putting far more into the coffers than I will ever use. Anybody not happy about it is free to start their own business, spread the wealth and accept the associated costs/hassles and liabilities.

[Bushmoose]

Make up numbers much? Take a look at this video prepared by one of your tribe. His study indicated that it is actually 20% of the population controls 70% of the wealth (2:09 mark in the video). I am not saying this isn't skewed and that the broader population does not want it adjusted (his study supports this), just saying that your ratio is not correct. Your ratio of % wealth controlled versus % of population yields a figure of 19:1. The actual ratio is 3.5 - that equates to an exaggeration of 543% on your part.

http://www.broadbentinstitute.ca/wealth_gap

I own a small business and while I won't speak for the small business community at large I will speak for myself. I will not hire anyone because of the overhead and hassle associated with it (Matching CPP, 1.4x matching EI, WSIB, health and safety commitees, mat leave, health benefits, liability implications, etc...). I make far more money with far less headache just working 60, 80 or sometimes a 100 hours a week to make up the labour shortage when necessary. If I want holidays I have good relations with other similar small businesses and we provide contract services to each other to cover any time off we want.

If people don't like it that I don't spread the wealth - I don't give a flying F. They are free to start their own businesses, spread the wealth and accept the associated costs/hassles.

Kudo's to you! Bravo! Bravo!

[trimmer21]

After working in the auto industry with a very militant union representation,the leftist mantra "Make the rich pay" still drives me half to distraction. Where do these Liberal and NeeDeePer types get off advocating that those people who have been very astute at business and built their companies through excellent business accumen deserve to have their assets "redistributed" (stolen is more like it) to those who aren't as skilled in a business environment? Not everyone can be multi millionaires. That's just not the way life works. There's no excuse for people to not do well using every legal tool at their disposal. The left would have us believe that successful people bear some sort of responsibility to finance the lower economic strata of society. I maintain that there isn't once shred of responsibility and the fact most wealthy people support social programs through donations of time and money speaks volumes to their character,not so the union/socialist/liberal types who advocate theft through excess taxation of the well-to-do's assets. The very idea that the "rich" don't pay their fair share is just NUTS!

[fishermccann]

Using The Beaverton as a reliable news source is as dodgy as using The Onion as one.

Just thought I would inject a little humour, as it was topical.

[terrym]

After working in the auto industry with a very militant union representation,the leftist mantra "Make the rich pay" still drives me half to distraction. Where do these Liberal and NeeDeePer types get off advocating that those people who have been very astute at business and built their companies through excellent business accumen deserve to have their assets "redistributed" (stolen is more like it) to those who aren't as skilled in a business environment? Not everyone can be multi millionaires. That's just not the way life works. There's no excuse for people to not do well using every legal tool at their disposal. The left would have us believe that successful people bear some sort of responsibility to finance the lower economic strata of society. I maintain that there isn't once shred of responsibility and the fact most wealthy people support social programs through donations of time and money speaks volumes to their character,not so the union/socialist/liberal types who advocate theft through excess taxation of the well-to-do's assets. The very idea that the "rich" don't pay their fair share is just NUTS!

The rich as a group pay far more than their fare share. Consider the Dr. or Lawyer who gross $400k and after employing a good accountant ( who also pays taxes ) get their taxes owed down to say $125k. Do you really think these high income and high net worth people consume 10x the amount of taxpayer funded services that the average middle class person does? Quite often the wealthy don't even use our very expensive education system due to it's mediocrity but they still pay the taxes. They pay more sales taxes on more expensive vehicles and more property taxes on larger expensive homes and cottages, yet they drive the same roads and go through the same doors at the hospital. So yes the rich actually usually pay more than thier share.

[mosquito]

I wonder how good of an accountant the CEO of Ontario Hydro has

Hydro One CEO’s salary is up to 10 times that of CEOs in other provinces

At $4.4 million in salary and bonuses in 2016, Hydro One CEO Mayo Schmidt is well above the Alberta CEO, whose pay package topped out at $2.2 million in 2015.
https://www.thestar.com/news/queensp...n-country.html


Interesting information on WHO the minimum wage earners are.
https://www.fraserinstitute.org/blog...-who-you-think

• 88 per cent of minimum-wage earners do not live in a low-income household, as measured by Statistics Canada’s low income cut-off (LICO).

• 83 per cent of workers living in a low-income household earn more than the minimum wage.

In other words, most Canadians who earn the minimum wage are not “poor,” and most of those living in “poor” households earn more than the minimum wage. For a government policy aimed at helping the working poor, the minimum wage simply does not efficiently or effectively target the people it is supposed to help.

To help explain these results, we looked at some of the other characteristics of minimum-wage earners including their age, education, and more. Here is what we found:

• 58 per cent of minimum-wage earners are teenagers or young adults aged 15 to 24, with the vast majority of them (85 per cent) living with their parents or other relatives. For many youths, a minimum wage job is their first while in school and often a stepping stone to higher paid employment.

• 54 per cent of minimum-wage earners have achieved a high school diploma or less, signalling very low levels of education. If we focus on all workers who hold a university degree, then only 3 per cent earn the minimum wage. This should put to rest the idea that a substantial share of university graduates is working minimum wage jobs.

• 58 per cent of minimum-wage earners work part-time. More broadly, however, part-time workers are much more likely than full-time workers to be earning minimum wage. Consider that just 4 per cent of all full-time workers earn the minimum wage, challenging the notion that a large cadre of full-time career workers is dependent on the minimum wage.

[terrym]

Small businesses have already reduced hours and cut staff. Wynne's trolling for the minimum wage vote will cost people jobs. Economists, boards of trade, corporations have all predicted and warned her yet she does what she wants. Pathetitic.

[sab81]

Small businesses have already reduced hours and cut staff. Wynne's trolling for the minimum wage vote will cost people jobs. Economists, boards of trade, corporations have all predicted and warned her yet she does what she wants. Pathetitic.

Not even just small businesses cutting hours, many Sobey's stores that were once 24hrs are now closing in the evenings. Here is your raise and now you work less hours. A totally blind and clueless government.

[terrym]

Not even just small businesses cutting hours, many Sobey's stores that were once 24hrs are now closing in the evenings. Here is your raise and now you work less hours. A totally blind and clueless government.

Yes but it's a government that exists because of clueless voters.
I think at this point she is at the very best going to get a minority if the Conservatives shoot themselves in the foot again during the campaign and God knows they do that well. She is now in full campaign mode and will be greasing $$$ anybody breathing for votes. It works well for them.