The cost of living keeps increasing every day. I’m talking basics like rent hikes and electricity—screw the luxury $200 cable and internet packages. As a single-person household, I cannot keep myself afloat without working two jobs and setting myself nuts. None of the jobs will pay you a livable wage. Employers only offer temp or part-time jobs without any benefits.
The price of food is ridiculous! I bought a pint of strawberries that were marked down 50 percent, some water and some bread, and that alone came to 15 bucks! Working people have to go to the food banks because their wages don’t get them through to the next paycheque.
This is the generation of wage slaves, destined to live below poverty level forever. Boomers at least had the advantage of a housing boom and two-person-income household. If you’re single in this province, or worse a single woman earning an average of 23 cents less on the dollar, life is grim and the future is bleak. Employers need to adjust their workers’ wages and salaries to account for the annual increases to the cost of living. Minimum wage is preposterous and pathetic. Even the educated get peanuts.
The only option to survive here is to sell drugs or ass. Or consciously couple up with some no-good partner who cheats and beats. No wonder people drink in public bathrooms and take nose dives off bridges here.
—Floundering ‘Til Next Payday
This article appears in Oct 31 – Nov 6, 2019.
I miss the days of living single in this fantastic city.
A waterfront two bedroom apartment with indoor pool and parking, for a fraction of the cost of a home in the country.
The easy of commuting, the abundance of inexpensive groceries due to competitive, non fancy vendors, so many restaurant ‘specials’ on any given weekday, I didn’t know where to eat!
$3.99 for a steak? Woo Hoo!
Not sure where you’re buying you organic free range ethically grown strawberries, your San Pelligrino water, or your paleo, gluten free, whole grain, half fat, non GMO, fair trade, bread but $15 is foolish considering you can buy a 5lb bag of potatoes and 8 boneless, skinless chicken boobs on sale for that kind of money.
What you make is only half the equation, what you spend is the other half.
Um, why are you buying water FFS?
Seriously though. I work 48 hours a week, and after paying rent, bills and student loan payments I barely have enough to eat. I haven’t bought anything for myself in months. My clothes are tattering & I can’t afford to go to the dentist. Something is wrong here.
what’s wrong? simple, greed.
Haven’t you heard about the lead problem with the water? Maybe that’s why the OP is buying water – duh!