Noteworthy: Seniors aren’t happy to miss out on $250 but there’s no doubt workers have it rough these days

By Bruce Penton on November 27, 2024.

News reports indicate seniors across the country are upset with the federal Liberal government’s plan to distribute cheques for $250 in April to those who were working in 2023 and earned less than $150,000, ruffling a few white hairs across the land.

It sounds like a Justin Trudeau campaign strategy for the next election, but he might not get the seniors’ vote if I’m reading the latest protests correctly. Still, the Canadian safety net system in place through Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security is decent, and while there are hundreds of thousands of seniors for which an additional $250 in April would be welcomed, it probably wouldn’t be life-changing for the vast majority.

It wouldn’t surprise me if changes were in store for the Old Age Security system, which pays out each month far more than the federal government can probably afford. In 1976, only eight per cent of the Canadian population was over the age of 65. Today, that figure is 19 per cent. Fifty years ago, seven working Canadians, through their taxes, paid the OAS for every retiree. Today, says the Globe and Mail, “there are just three working-age people to pay for every OAS recipient.”

Affluent Canadian seniors don’t need $250 from the federal government. Seniors living in poverty do. Changes to the income levels at which government payments are clawed back could be made so that the rich don’t get richer on the backs of those who can’t afford it. And one group that can’t afford it is today’s working class, which faces higher taxes to pay for monthly payments to the ever-increasing number of seniors who are OAS eligible.

– Elon Musk will play a major role in president-elect Donald Trump’s government, and to say he’s an interesting man is putting it mildly. In a mini profile on Musk, the New York Times said his businesses, including Space X, has about $3 billion in federal government contracts. But the most interesting facts were that he is on record as wanting to colonize Mars and to implant computer chips in people’s brains that will enable them to control devices with their thoughts.

There might be a little pushback on that last one.

– There are two ways to look at former prime minister Stephen Harper’s appointment as chairman of Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo.) and his announcement that he will not draw a salary for his efforts: 1. What a great gesture by the former PM to try to get his home province’s billion-dollar investment vehicle back on track; 2. You get what you pay for.

– It’s pretty hard to bash Canada Post workers during their current strike after their sublime move last week to volunteer to deliver federal government cheques to Canadians. Public opinion is always a factor in these very public labour squabbles, so their move last week was likely a PR win for the posties.

Now, about those letters to Santa Claus…

– With temperatures reported to be moderating during the first few days of December, it will be a perfect time to check out the fabulous Christmas displays at Park Meadows, which has become a Medicine Hat winter tradition.

Residents of the Park Meadows community – just off Southview Drive – go all out to brighten up the Christmas season, decorating their homes, yards and pathways with Christmas displays far beyond the norm.

Not surprisingly, the light show always draws a crowd. It’s free, but donations are welcomed, with all proceeds going to the Root Cellar Food and Wellness Hub or to keep up, or improve on, the great displays.

The Park Meadows Experience opens this Sunday and visitors are reminded that the hours for the public to tour the grounds are 5-10 p.m.

– Short snappers: Fifty-eight-year-old Mike Tyson said he agreed to fight Jake Paul only after “smoking toad venom.” And he said that BEFORE getting his brain rattled by Paul’s fists. … Elon Musk’s mother, Maye Musk, was born in Regina but grew up in South Africa. … Family coincidences: The two NFL-coaching Harbaugh brothers, John and Jim, met Monday night in Los Angeles, as John’s Baltimore Ravens took on Jim’s L.A. Chargers. On the same day, their parents, Jack and Jackie, were celebrating their 63rd wedding anniversary. … Every time I ramp up the courage to look south across the 49th parallel, I can’t help but see President Biff Tannen making plans to take over.