income

Wednesday November 3, 2021

November 3, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday November 3, 2021

Doug Ford’s minimum wage move signals it’s election time in Ontario

Here’s what’s happened to the minimum wage in Ontario since Premier Doug Ford took office: 

•2018: 0 per cent increase.

•2019: 0 per cent increase.

•2020: 1.8 per cent increase (up 25 cents to $14.25/hr). 

•2021: 0.7 per cent increase (up 10 cents, to $14.35/hr).

Series: Young Doug Ford

That record is just one reason why many in this province were both surprised by and skeptical of Ford’s campaign-style announcement Tuesday that his government will boost the minimum wage to $15 per hour effective Jan. 1, 2022. 

The date is precisely three years after Ontario’s minimum wage was due to hit $15/hour under legislation brought in by Kathleen Wynne’s Liberal government. Back in 2018, Ford slammed that bill as “job killing,” his government repealed it and also froze the minimum wage for two years. 

Given all that, it’s only natural that Ford was grilled by reporters at Tuesday’s news conference on why a minimum wage hike that he considered such a job killer then is great now. 

January 12, 2019

“Things were a lot different back in 2018,” Ford told the news conference. “We didn’t have the pandemic, a worldwide pandemic.” 

How different were things in 2018? Not only did Ford’s government freeze the minimum wage, it also took away a guarantee of two paid sick days annually for all employees, scrapped an equal-pay-for-equal-work law and eliminated rules making it easier for workers in some sectors to join unions.

None of this was reflected in Ford’s tone or words at Tuesday’s news conference. “This government will always remain on the side of the workers,” he said.

October 15, 2021

I wrote two weeks ago about how Ford and the Progressive Conservatives are attempting a political makeover ahead of the election next June 2 by portraying themselves as pro-worker. Tuesday’s announcement further proves that this is a key piece of the PCs’ strategy for winning re-election.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) didn’t see the minimum wage hike coming, calling it ‘unexpected’ in a news release. 

“The Ontario government’s surprise decision to increase the minimum wage without consultation comes at the worst possible time for small businesses,” said a statement from CFIB president Dan Kelly. (CBC) 

 

Tuesday November 7, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday November 7, 2017

Paradise Papers Are Another Hit to Justin Trudeau’s ‘Middle Class’ Agenda

There is a storm blowing in from Paradise. Documents leaked to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists reaffirmed what most of us already at least suspected: that the wealthiest among us have an elaborate shadow network of financial infrastructure in offshore tax havens to skimp taxes in their home countries. In short, rich people are playing by different rules.

September 22, 2017

The Paradise Papers are noteworthy for two reasons. The first is the magnitude. The leaked documents come from offshore tax firm Appleby, corporate service providers Estera and Asiaciti Trust, and business registries of 19 tax jurisdictions. They concern about $10 trillion (USD) overall, which is quite a lot of money considering that total gross world production for 2014 was about $78 trillion. We are talking about the global high rollers table here.

The second is that they meet CanCon requirements. Over 3,000 Canadians were named in the leaks, and some of them have connections to the commanding heights of the House of Commons. Even our beloved head of state Elizabeth II was named in the papers. Her Majesty’s estate has millions of pounds tied up in a rent-to-buy retailer accused of preying on the poor, which is a shock because the hyperexploitation of unlanded labourers is not something you associate with a feudal monarch.

April 6, 2016

The real meat of the report is how many of our former prime ministers are enmeshed in the financial heart of darkness. Leaked memos reveal Paul Martin’s former company Canada Steamship Lines is one of Appleby’s biggest clients, and Jean Chretien is listed as the owner of 100,000 stock options in an East African oil company ever having a bank account outside of Canada, and says he doesn’t know about the stock options.) And lest anyone suggest this was a Liberal family affair, it turns out that Brian Mulroney sat on the board of the company that facilitated the largest arms deal in British history to Saudi Arabia.

Juicier still than the has-beens on the list is the revelation that Liberal fundraising bigwig Stephen Bronfman has not only amassed nearly $60 million in a shadowy offshore tax haven, and that the law firm representing Bronfman had been instrumental in lobbying the Canadian government against cracking down on overseas tax evasion. Coming on the heels of two months of a taxation trainwreck—and a grueling few weeks exposing just how comfortable Justin Trudeau is with plutocracy—this is not a good look for the prime minister. Again, we reiterate: the optics certainly make it look like the extremely rich people around the federal cabinet table don’t actually have the best interests of the “middle class” at heart. (Source: Vice) 

 

Tuesday October 4, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Tuesday October 4, 2016 Trump tax records suggest no federal taxes for years, New York Times reports Donald Trump's business losses in 1995 were so large that they could have allowed him to avoid paying federal income taxes for as many as 18 years, according to records obtained by the New York Times. In a story published online late Saturday, the Times said it anonymously received the first pages of Trump's 1995 state income tax filings in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. The filings show a net loss of $915,729,293 in federal taxable income for the year. Trump's campaign released a statement on Saturday lashing out at the Times for publishing the records and accused the newspaper of working to benefit the Republican nominee's presidential rival, Democrat Hillary Clinton. "Mr. Trump is a highly skilled businessman who has a fiduciary responsibility to his business, his family and his employees to pay no more tax than legally required," the statement said. "That being said, Mr. Trump has paid hundreds of millions of dollars in property taxes, sales and excise taxes, real estate taxes, city taxes, state taxes, employee taxes and federal taxes, along with very substantial charitable contributions," it said. Trump initially said that he would make his tax returns public during the course of his campaign but later switched course, citing what he said were years of ongoing IRS audits and the advice of his attorneys to keep them private as those audits proceed. Tax experts say there's no prohibition on Trump releasing his returns. Since 1976, every major party presidential nominee has released tax returns. Clinton has publicly released nearly 40 years' worth, and Trump's running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, has released 10 years of his tax returns. (Source: CBC News) http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/trump-nyt-taxes-1.3787914 USA, United States, politics, taxes, tax, income, Donald Trump, dodger, baseb

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday October 4, 2016

Trump tax records suggest no federal taxes for years, New York Times reports

Donald Trump’s business losses in 1995 were so large that they could have allowed him to avoid paying federal income taxes for as many as 18 years, according to records obtained by the New York Times.

In a story published online late Saturday, the Times said it anonymously received the first pages of Trump’s 1995 state income tax filings in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. The filings show a net loss of $915,729,293 in federal taxable income for the year.

Trump’s campaign released a statement on Saturday lashing out at the Times for publishing the records and accused the newspaper of working to benefit the Republican nominee’s presidential rival, Democrat Hillary Clinton.

“Mr. Trump is a highly skilled businessman who has a fiduciary responsibility to his business, his family and his employees to pay no more tax than legally required,” the statement said.

October 16, 2015

October 16, 2015

“That being said, Mr. Trump has paid hundreds of millions of dollars in property taxes, sales and excise taxes, real estate taxes, city taxes, state taxes, employee taxes and federal taxes, along with very substantial charitable contributions,” it said.

Trump initially said that he would make his tax returns public during the course of his campaign but later switched course, citing what he said were years of ongoing IRS audits and the advice of his attorneys to keep them private as those audits proceed.

Tax experts say there’s no prohibition on Trump releasing his returns.

Since 1976, every major party presidential nominee has released tax returns. Clinton has publicly released nearly 40 years’ worth, and Trump’s running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, has released 10 years of his tax returns. (Source: CBC News)

 

 

Tuesday June 16, 2015

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Tuesday June 19, 2015 OntarioÕs Ôeye-poppingÕ shift to low-wage work It's one of the most excruciating decisions single mom Jodi Dean has ever made: choosing between the unpredictable, $13-an-hour job her family relied on, and taking care of her chronically ill daughter. "It (made) me physically ill with the stress," Dean said. "I needed that job to provide for my children." Welcome to the new normal for families across the province: low salaries, erratic schedules, dwindling hours, unpaid leave and constant stress. Ontario's low-wage work force has skyrocketed by 94 percent over the past two decades, compared with just 30 percent growth in total employment, according to a new report. 'Clearly, people need more predictability both in their schedules and in their incomes' In one of the few province-wide studies of precarious employment, the research details an "eye-popping" shift toward poorly paid, non-unionized work across Ontario. It shows that 40 percent of low-wage employees are saddled with unpredictable shifts, and the overwhelming majority do not get paid when they need time off. That reality, the report argues, calls for sweeping changes to the province's employment and labour laws, whose many loopholes have been detailed by the Star and are currently the subject of government review. "Clearly, people need more predictability both in their schedules and in their incomes," added Sheila Block, a senior economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and author of the study. The research compiled by the left-leaning think tank shows that the share of Ontario workers labouring for the minimum wage is now five times higher than in 1997. It rose from less than 3 per cent of all employees to about 12 per cent in 2014. The share of low-paid work has also ballooned: almost a third of all employees in the province are no

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday June 19, 2015

Ontario’s ‘eye-popping’ shift to low-wage work

It’s one of the most excruciating decisions single mom Jodi Dean has ever made: choosing between the unpredictable, $13-an-hour job her family relied on, and taking care of her chronically ill daughter.

“It (made) me physically ill with the stress,” Dean said. “I needed that job to provide for my children.”

Welcome to the new normal for families across the province: low salaries, erratic schedules, dwindling hours, unpaid leave and constant stress.

Ontario’s low-wage work force has skyrocketed by 94 percent over the past two decades, compared with just 30 percent growth in total employment, according to a new report.

‘Clearly, people need more predictability both in their schedules and in their incomes’
In one of the few province-wide studies of precarious employment, the research details an “eye-popping” shift toward poorly paid, non-unionized work across Ontario.

It shows that 40 percent of low-wage employees are saddled with unpredictable shifts, and the overwhelming majority do not get paid when they need time off.

That reality, the report argues, calls for sweeping changes to the province’s employment and labour laws, whose many loopholes have been detailed by the Star and are currently the subject of government review.

“Clearly, people need more predictability both in their schedules and in their incomes,” added Sheila Block, a senior economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and author of the study.

The research compiled by the left-leaning think tank shows that the share of Ontario workers labouring for the minimum wage is now five times higher than in 1997. It rose from less than 3 per cent of all employees to about 12 per cent in 2014.

The share of low-paid work has also ballooned: almost a third of all employees in the province are now making within $4 of the minimum wage, compared with less than 20 per cent of the workforce in 1997.

And while more than half of all minimum-wage workers are still young people, most of those making less than $15 an hour are 25 or older. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

 

Wednesday January 28, 2015

Wednesday January 28, 2015Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday January 28, 2015

What is the Middle Class?

Canada’s finance minister insists low- and middle-income families will see two-thirds of the benefits from the government’s contentious multibillion-dollar tableau of family-friendly measures.

By that measure, Joe Oliver is suggesting families with annual incomes as high as $120,000 qualify as middle class.

Friday April 25, 2014The Finance Department’s own internal breakdown of the distribution of relief from the family package shows 68 per cent of the benefits — about two-thirds — will go to families that earn as much as $120,000 in 2015.

The Canadian Press obtained the figures under the Access to Information Act.

“Two-thirds of the benefits will go to low- and middle-income families,” Oliver said Monday while defending the government’s family package during Question Period in the House of Commons.

“I’m proud that our government has presented a plan, a benefit plan for four million Canadian families — every one of them.”

That family plan, including a controversial $2-billion-per-year income-splitting component, is expected to be a centrepiece of the Tories’ re-election campaign when Canadians head to the polls later this year.

It has also become a preferred bull’s-eye for their adversaries.

Political opponents have zeroed in on the income-splitting element, calling it an unfair policy that provides no relief for 85 per cent of all Canadian households and provides more benefits to wealthier families.

Looking at the family tax-and-benefit package as a whole, however, the subjective nature of the so-called “middle class” means who exactly stands to benefit — and who does not — remains an open question.

There is no universal definition of the middle class, a term frequently trotted out by politicians as a way to connect with a large group of voters. (Source: Toronto Star)

 

Published on Yahoo Canada News, the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, and The Ottawa Citizen.

 

 

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By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator - January 28, 2015 feedback