Just wait until the impending sovereign debt crisis happens. Last time they got away with it by slashing provincial transfer payments and letting the provinces deal with the fallout of public services that suddenly started falling apart. I don't think you can do that twice. Let in another 10 million people to dilute the debt per capita and see how much social unrest we can endure.
I’m Gen X. I’ve lived in poverty for a few decades of my life but also used student loans to go to university, get a degree, and now own a house and live securely. I started saving for retirement late and I worry about that - but I am saving for retirement.
I feel like this article misses that when people make plans and are motivated there can be ways to improve personal situations even in the face of challenging circumstances. If Carney’s government manages to last its full 4 years Trump will be out of office already. Overall, I just think there is an unwarranted level of pessimism in this article. We don’t improve our living conditions by enduring.
I would argue that endurance may get you through the short term but if you don’t take action, you’ll be stuck in survival without ever having the opportunity to thrive. It may not be easy to change your circumstances. It does happen on a 5-10 year scale and not in the near future. But it can be done. We need to improve our economic functioning but we won’t do that through endurance. Thriving would go a long way and each of us has the power to contribute to that if we refuse to allow the doom and gloom messages to be the ones that become the dominant narrative.
Trump will be dead. 50/50 that the GOP will remain in power until there's a revolution. Frankly, the governments of the Western world need to take their power back from the billionaires they've sold it to. For those trying to get started now, the hill is incredibly steep...and ice-covered.
I started in 2022. Yes it was steep. But this is my entire point - it’s doable still. Not easy. But doable.
Also I find your certainty about Trump being dead by then interesting. I actually believe the same thing, but haven’t heard anyone beside me say it out loud.
I think his health is terrible. He's Mr Burns from The Simpsons.
It's doable if you can find an employer who will give you full-time hours and some certainty about the future. From my family's experience, that's something of a needle in a haystack.
Yeah,hanging on and just getting by. I’m glad I planned for my retirement,but,things are so expensive. Counting my change,to buy a McCafe and wash the truck. Then go back home. I get why my brother moved to South America,way to expensive to live in Canada
The resiliency of Canadians comes from experience, their own and that of their predecessors. Knowing the history of your country helps but without personal history, one that addresses context not just skin colour, Canadians both new and multigenerational will remain bogged down in grievance politics. A politics that is raging down south of the border and is sparking within Canada. Listening more and lecturing less will help us all get through this challenging time.
Great insights and reminders about resilience displayed in the past. Canadians being hopeful in spite of everything. Not great news for the negative Nellie’s whose doom scenarios speak to those who prefer to look out for them and theirs but not the ‘rest of us’. Hopefully you’ve inspired ‘the rest of us’ with your column.
Just wait until the impending sovereign debt crisis happens. Last time they got away with it by slashing provincial transfer payments and letting the provinces deal with the fallout of public services that suddenly started falling apart. I don't think you can do that twice. Let in another 10 million people to dilute the debt per capita and see how much social unrest we can endure.
You make several good points.
I’m Gen X. I’ve lived in poverty for a few decades of my life but also used student loans to go to university, get a degree, and now own a house and live securely. I started saving for retirement late and I worry about that - but I am saving for retirement.
I feel like this article misses that when people make plans and are motivated there can be ways to improve personal situations even in the face of challenging circumstances. If Carney’s government manages to last its full 4 years Trump will be out of office already. Overall, I just think there is an unwarranted level of pessimism in this article. We don’t improve our living conditions by enduring.
I would argue that endurance may get you through the short term but if you don’t take action, you’ll be stuck in survival without ever having the opportunity to thrive. It may not be easy to change your circumstances. It does happen on a 5-10 year scale and not in the near future. But it can be done. We need to improve our economic functioning but we won’t do that through endurance. Thriving would go a long way and each of us has the power to contribute to that if we refuse to allow the doom and gloom messages to be the ones that become the dominant narrative.
Trump will be dead. 50/50 that the GOP will remain in power until there's a revolution. Frankly, the governments of the Western world need to take their power back from the billionaires they've sold it to. For those trying to get started now, the hill is incredibly steep...and ice-covered.
I started in 2022. Yes it was steep. But this is my entire point - it’s doable still. Not easy. But doable.
Also I find your certainty about Trump being dead by then interesting. I actually believe the same thing, but haven’t heard anyone beside me say it out loud.
I think his health is terrible. He's Mr Burns from The Simpsons.
It's doable if you can find an employer who will give you full-time hours and some certainty about the future. From my family's experience, that's something of a needle in a haystack.
Specifically, what powers have the governments of the Western world sold to "the billionaires"?
Yeah,hanging on and just getting by. I’m glad I planned for my retirement,but,things are so expensive. Counting my change,to buy a McCafe and wash the truck. Then go back home. I get why my brother moved to South America,way to expensive to live in Canada
Our current economic situation has its beginnings in 2008?
Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party delivered a balanced budget in 2015.
Canadians dumped steady, prudent, predictable management for a Baffled Prince who turned the Country into a giant sociology experiment.
Canadians brought the uncertainty unto themselves; we are our own worst enemy.
We tried it your way; your way doesn't work.
Dear goodness; what have you done to The Line?
We ELECTED all of it.
The resiliency of Canadians comes from experience, their own and that of their predecessors. Knowing the history of your country helps but without personal history, one that addresses context not just skin colour, Canadians both new and multigenerational will remain bogged down in grievance politics. A politics that is raging down south of the border and is sparking within Canada. Listening more and lecturing less will help us all get through this challenging time.
Great insights and reminders about resilience displayed in the past. Canadians being hopeful in spite of everything. Not great news for the negative Nellie’s whose doom scenarios speak to those who prefer to look out for them and theirs but not the ‘rest of us’. Hopefully you’ve inspired ‘the rest of us’ with your column.