[Expatriot]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', 'I')n spite of being pushed down by all those taxes.

[dsula]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Expatriot', '
')How can those numbers be viewed as anything other than the "rich" carrying the lion's share while the "middle class" and "poor" skate with extremely low taxes?

[Expatriot]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('HeckuvaJob', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Expatriot', 'S')orry to break your heart dude, but by any measure of net worth, I am part of the top 5%.
Regarding income, I was part of the top 1% until I begged out of the system.

And no, I don't take much personally, so no worries.

[Expatriot]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dsula', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Expatriot', '
')How can those numbers be viewed as anything other than the "rich" carrying the lion's share while the "middle class" and "poor" skate with extremely low taxes?

[Sixstrings]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('SeaGypsy', '[')b]I would rather live in a teepee. Or a groovy housebout made from recycled stuff. Or a salvaged yacht. etc. etc. The appalling thing here is the lack of imagination, IMO.

[Sixstrings]

Little update..

I heard on the news that the last waiting list open call was in 2002, and at that time 2400 people came out. Now in 2010 30,000 people showed up. So clearly, what's going on now is NOT the usual generational poverty. We're in an economic Depression, the lower classes are devastated and facing homelessness, and nobody wants to admit it.

Also heard on the same news story that this 30,000 person long waiting list is for only 500 units! And those are occupied, remember this is just a waiting list so people will have to wait years and years as other families live out their lives and eventually move out.

[Expatriot]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', 'L')ittle update..

I heard on the news that the last waiting list open call was in 2002, and at that time 2400 people came out. Now in 2010 30,000 people showed up. So clearly, what's going on now is NOT the usual generational poverty. We're in an economic Depression, the lower classes are devastated and facing homelessness, and nobody wants to admit it.

Also heard on the same news story that this 30,000 person long waiting list is for only 500 units! And those are occupied, remember this is just a waiting list so people will have to wait years and years as other families live out their lives and eventually move out.

[Expatriot]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', 'I')t's not that easy, SeaGypsy. In most communities . . . [t]here are zoning restrictions and building codes regulating what passes as a "habitable" dwelling (the government would rather you be on the street than live in a house that's not up to code).

[MarkJ]

With about 13,000 applicants, and future closures, their chance of finding a public or private opening is slim to none.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')here are a total of 655 housing spots available -- 200 public housing units and 455 vouchers for rent assistance in private housing. East Point currently has five housing developments, but three of them will be closed or sold.

[FairMaiden]

I am direct recipient of Canadian housing support. This generational poverty drivel is complete bull.

My mother has a Grade 7 education bc her old world parents didn't think women needed an education. They also threw her out at 14 (for playing baseball, how unlady like). She worked FT at 14 to support herself and without any gov't assistance "pulled up her bootstraps". She married at 18 to an alcoholic. She found herself at 30 yrs old unemployed, uneducated and with 3 children.

She found a low paying job (what else could she find in her situation). They condemned the house she was renting and she needed to find a place for her and the 3 kids. She found a crappy 1 bdrm apt. My brother & sister shared the room, I had a crib in the corner of the living room and mom slept on fold out couch. We lived there 5 yrs. Within 1 year we had qualified for housing assistance and were given an apt in another town. The hard part was moving away from all our friends but my brother & sister were old enough to go back to our other town (in fact, my brother and I currently live there). We lived in a gov't sponsored apt for 3 yrs. My mother saved every penny - even walking 45 mins to work when my brother or sister needed the car. She saved up enough money to buy into a coop. During the 3 yrs, I developed severe breathing problems bc there was mould growing on the walls in my room.

But we got the chance we needed and we made the most of it. In Canada, it is relatively easy to find gov't sponsored housing. Harder in the city where 600 sqft condos sell for $600-700K...but in the suburbs it's easier. You in live a gov't owned apt or t/home and pay 25% of income as rent.

I am happy to say that all of my siblings and I have post secondary education and are home owners.

My 2 best friends from the housing project also have post secondary education and are home owners. One of them had a drug problem from age 18-22 but she got it together and has had no slips for 16 yrs.

My husband lived next door to a housing project and he had 2 friends from there. 1 has post secondary education and is a home owner. The other lives in a rented house and has a blue collar job w/only a HS education.

Our housing projects are mixed into regular suburban neighbourhoods. Sometimes you might even have an apt in buildings or complexes that are privately owned but the gov't purchased units. In our case, we lived in a building that was gov't owned in a complex w/privately owned buildings.

The reason a lot of ppl on reserves live in property is primarily bc there are no jobs on the reserve. Also, the band leaders do not equitably distribute the band's wealth. My father was First Nations so I also have experience with that...but my post is long enough.

My mother now owns a modest home in a retirement town. I am happy to report that she is very happy

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('FairMaiden', 'I') am direct recipient of Canadian housing support. This generational poverty drivel is complete bull.

[HeckuvaJob]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Expatriot', 'J')ust trying to make the following point - - -
It's a complete fabrication that "poor" people are getting raked over the coals with regard to taxes.

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('HeckuvaJob', '
')Buffett cited himself, the third-richest person in the world, as an example. Last year, Buffett said, he was taxed at 17.7 percent on his taxable income of more than $46 million. His receptionist was taxed at about 30 percent.

[HeckuvaJob]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', 'I') don't think anyone is arguing the poor are paying too many taxes.

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('HeckuvaJob', 'm')aybe his point was that the poor were paying too little.

[Tyler_JC]

There are many kinds of taxes.

If most of your income is in the form of paid salary, you pay MUCH higher taxes than someone whose income comes from investments and dividends.

The top dividend tax rate is 15% so if you collect a million dollars a year from the dividends on your investments, you'll pay $150,000 in federal taxes (15%).

If you earn a million dollars a year in salary, you'll pay $327,644 in income taxes plus $21,122 in payroll taxes, for a total of $348,766 in federal taxes. (34.88%)

So there's a huge gap between the old rich and the aspiring rich.

The reason Warren Buffet pays so little in taxes is that virtually all of his income is in the form of dividends, capital gains, and interest.

The solution isn't to raise income taxes, that would just make the gap between professionals and the Warren Buffets of the world even larger. The solution is to raise investment taxes so they more closely match income tax rates.

[Expatriot]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Tyler_JC', ' ')The solution is to raise investment taxes so they more closely match income tax rates.

[Tyler_JC]

Expatriot,

Considering that interest payments alone are around 7% of federal spending, a 95% reduction in federal government spending means debt default and anarchy. Lovely.

As for replacing taxes with import tariffs, we only import $2.2 trillion worth of stuff a year. You would need an 80% tariff just to replace current revenue, to say nothing of the impact on trade that kind of tariff would bring.

[IslandCrow]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Tyler_JC', 'T')he solution isn't to raise income taxes, that would just make the gap between professionals and the Warren Buffets of the world even larger. The solution is to raise investment taxes so they more closely match income tax rates.

[Pretorian]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Expatriot', '
')
How can those numbers be viewed as anything other than the "rich" carrying the lion's share while the "middle class" and "poor" skate with extremely low taxes?