Thanks Dexter Government.
Just when I was able to sit down you decide to give it to me again.
For 5 days I reveled in the minimum wage increase, dreaming of how I may be able to get ahead or even BREAK EVEN. Then you increase the GST, squashing my dreams and making my ass too sore to sit again. I hope you enjoy all the perks you get while the rest of us politely bend over for you.—Sore citizen
This article appears in Apr 1-7, 2010.
There are two increases planned this year, one to $9.20 on April 1, and one to $9.65 on October 1.
Therefore, if your “extra” 2 cents on the dollar spent is going to break you for the 4 months they overlap until your next raise, I suggest you stop spending on unneccessary/useless items, like credit card insurance, and internet access…
it only adds up to about a fucking large tims a month. get the fuck over it will you.
Minimum wage at almst $10/hr….man these people are cashing in. As for the GST hike, just spend less locally and shop online through the USA to avoid taxes.
This bitch actually turned me on quite a bit…
At minimum wage you probably make about 20K/year. Your income tax is probably only about 10-12% of your total income if you only claim the basic personal amounts. I’m guessing about 2,600 in federal and provincial taxes. Lets say you spent all your income on goods and services subject to the HST, that would be another 15% of 20K ($3000) for a total of about $5600 of your income to the government this year. In reality it’s probably a lot less since your income would qualify you for several other tax benefits.
The provincial budget is about $8 Billion. Your contribution to the pot is: 0.00007%. I’m sorry if you feel bent over by a 2% increase in the HST…but try and keep perspective. You’re a net user of government services that you BARELY contribute to. I lived in my own making less than 20K for over a decade and I didn’t complain about taxes because I figured I got my money’s worth with the roads I used, the doctors I visited and the subsidized education I was receiving. And now that I’m making a decent living I still don’t complain because I’ve been a user for so long, I figure it’s my turn to start contributing. I’m sure if you really think about it you will see your’re getting your money’s worth.
And about the “perks” the government is getting. Consider too that they aren’t pocketing the money personally. Even if they were, they still pay taxes. And since they make 3-12 times more than you do, they are paying much more of their salary than your are. If you want “perks” too, run for office. The job is open every few years.
It could be worse: a 2% increase on the lowest income tax bracket, or the middle income tax bracket. Or if you were a higher income earner, you’d see a 5% increase on the highest part of your income. I’d be more concerned about those taxes, than a nominal increase to sales tax. It’s about $530 bucks for an average Nova Scotian. In the grand scheme of things, it’s not that big a deal. Cut back on your Tim’s every day at work, and you’ll save that at least.
And there it is again, the budget is just out and we have people settling for, and justifying the tax increase. Yes, it’s a minimal amount, but really, have we ever seen the black ink in this province? No, and we never fucking will, so what’s the point of putting more of a tax burden on the citizens if the result isn’t going to change. The big fucking push has, and will always be, to pay down the deficit. The NDP says that they’re finding more and more hidden bills that were the previous govt’s mistakes. I’m sure if you asked the Tories, it was the fault of the previous Liberals as well. Seems pretty fucking simple to me, if you’re going to tax people with the intent of making this place a better place to live, take HALF of the tax money for this purpose and pay on the debt. Take the other half and invest the goddamn money. Whatever you make on it, apply it to the debt until it’s paid. What’s the fucking problem? Tell the unions to fuck off and freeze govt wages until the spending and taxation is sustainable. If they aren’t happy, go on fucking strike pay for a while, you’ll appreciate the pay and benefits you get that much more. Highest taxed people on the fucking CONTINENT!.Fantastic.
Then what do we do Bullet? Really? What happens when the province can’t pay it’s own bills, or “invest”?
You need to get a handle on what would happen if we failed to meet the financial agreements that the province has agreed to. The province fails. Pretty simple.
It’s a 2% increase. Cut out your own spending and save more. Funny, that might actually help when these tough times come, and worrying over a 2% increase in sales tax won’t be such a problem, huh?
I just bought a case of vaseline.
Seems simple to me, what happens when you can’t pay your bills? Just keep digging? If the province fails, it fails, but throwing money at a never ending problem isn’t getting us anywhere, other than a worsening credit rating, higher debt service fees, taxes and people leaving. It has to end sometime, regardless of the government. Or we need a government with some balls to get a deal from the feds. Maybe we should hire a certain premier that isn’t preoccupied with lining his pockets from the public trough. This current system isn’t working. What’s next, another “measly” 2% increase? Cuts in services to help pay down the debt? That’s a slippery slope just to tackle an ever increasing debt.
That’s it! I’m running for office. Vote for Pedro!
Fifty bucks here, fifty bucks there. Next thing you know its millions.
Why should I give up my daily coffee to bail out somebody else’s pension plan, which just happens to be much better than anyone earning minimum wage or a little more.
Trickle down ecnomics, the socialist hordes used to complain about it, now they are on hear saying ‘Don’t eat cake’.
One thing that doesn’t quite sit well with me is that the increase in HST will be offset by a tax credit to the lowest bracket ($240 I think). No, I agree that they should get it, what I don’t agree with is the fact that they’ll get it all at once. Low income earners tend to spend money the moment they get it, and then live broke until the next cheque. Once the annual onetimer is gone, they’ll be stuck paying that higher tax on the same wage they were making.
Now, if my tax money paid for budgeting courses for anyone who wanted them (poor, rich, government, etc…), I’d be quite happy to dole it out.
Bullet: I heard someone on a talk show say it quite succinctly. He recalled that the last few years have been served by minority government, hence how could the NDP blame the previous trough-feeders? The irony is hysterical.