Mark H.
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Posts posted by Mark H.
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On 2017-5-22 at 11:17 AM, nate007 said:
My problem with looking at current raises is that you have to put them into context with past raises. If you consistently give someone raises that are above the rate of inflation, not only will they eventually end up with salaries that are well above the average worker whose wage only rose with inflation during that time, but you'll also create expectations for those increases to continue in perpetuity. In the case of police officers and fire fighters, the arbitration problem is well documented. But other public-sector jobs? In the case of teachers, you can compare their salaries against teachers in other provinces, but also against non-unionized teachers in private schools, and against the thousands of Education grads out there who can't find teaching jobs.
Then you've also got the many people in the public sector whose titles don't fall into the 'professional' categories. People with words like 'clerk', 'co-ordinator', 'technician', or 'analyst' in their job titles, all of whom make 10-20% more than they would for similar roles in the private sector (I am one of them, and would probably have to take about a 10k pay cut to move to the private sector). Then there's the fact that in many cases, these wage increases apply to everyone at the same rate, which further compounds the problem. A 2% raise to a clerk making $40,000 is $800, but that same 2% gives an analyst making $80,000 a $1,600 raise. Compound that over ten or 20 years, and you've got a massive difference between those at the top and bottom of the same union contract.
In reality, you could probably freeze the wages of all public sector workers for about ten year before they even came close to the salaries of their private sector counterparts. Toss in the benefits, DB pensions, lack of accountability/performance standards, and (by comparison to the private sector) the vast majority of public sector workers have absolutely nothing to complain about.
1. Other provinces: we are, on average $$ per annum, behind Alberta and ahead of BC and Sask. Overall, we fit right in the middle of the pack.
2. Private schools: they look at public sector collective agreements and pay the same wages or more, as well as giving similar benefits. I know this for a fact - I'm in a unique situation where I work for both public and private schools - the good ones pay the going rate or more.
3. Education grads who can't find teaching jobs: are you suggesting more of them would find work if wages were lower? Hardly the case - there are fewer teaching jobs because family size is shrinking. Also, I find it depends a great deal on the education program from which they graduated (eg. BU grads had a 94% hiring rate in 2016) and also the experience they acquire while they're in University. I advise teacher candidates to take more courses in summer, so they can spend a couple of terms working as an Educational Assistant, and work their tails off during their teaching placements. You have to do something to promote yourself - otherwise that degree is just a piece of paper. School Divisions have the luxury of hiring the cream of the crop. Oh and - be willing to work absolutely anywhere.
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On 2017-5-22 at 11:05 AM, Brandon said:
It would solve a lot of it, you can't cause ten crime sprees while behind bars.
Also did you know that once someone has a record, they really don't care about paying $25 dollar fines for selling drugs and having to promise to stay away from drugs/weapons and to not stay out late.
The punishment for red light cameras , driving in the bus lane and rolling a stop sign are way more severe then most punishments given out to people with real crimes.
If only you knew what the average "punishment" is it would make you sick to your stomach.
Oh sure, you can't cause crime sprees while you're behind bars, but jails do little or nothing to prevent further crime. That's a big part of the problem. I have police officer friends - 90% of the people they deal with are repeat offenders. More time behind bars isn't going to improve that, especially with most jails already full.
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4 hours ago, Brandon said:
If we had a proper justice system they wouldn't have so many officers working so many hours.
The re-offenders tie up so much resources.
If the bad people were locked away in a terrible place for a longer period of time then the amount of police officers running around re catching the same guys would reduce big time.
It is not uncommon for the police to re arrest and waste time on a single person over twenty times.
Even more common is the belief that tougher sentencing and more jails will solve any of that
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6 hours ago, blueandgoldguy said:
People complain about lack of money for proper infrastructure in this city and province and the ongoing deficits. The police(mostly) and to a lesser extent, teachers and firefighters' runaway salaries and pensions are the biggest factors gobbling up vast quantities of tax revenues - their salary increases over-and-above the rate of inflation seemingly year after year. There needs to be either a) salary freeze for a few years or b)1-2% increases in line with the inflation rate.
Do you have actual numbers for the police?
The last two teacher contracts averaged a 2.25% increase per year, which covered a period of 8 years. That isn't very much more than the rate of inflation.
The next increase for all public workers has already been legislated - 1.75% over 4 years.
Yep, they should be able to start fixing the streets any day now...
- blue_gold_84 and Mr Dee
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1 hour ago, The Unknown Poster said:
The injuries are going to kill them. What a shame. If Pens were healthy I think they'd march to the finals virtually unscathed.
You just can't replace your best puck moving defenders when they go down - those guys are pure gold in today's hockey (see Karlsson, Erik)
They can always march next year - the Caps have proven themselves irrelevant for once and for all.
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2 hours ago, Noeller said:
It's not even that they play boring hockey, it's just that they're a totally unlikeable team with an easy to hate fan base. Every one of those fans (born before 1991) is a former Leafs fan that converted. I hate that ****...
They were supposed to remain Leafs fans after their city got its own team? Well ok then.
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4 hours ago, IC Khari said:
If Kesler wins a Cup I'll hurl ... if Suban wins one I'll puke, if Kessel wins another I'll vomit, if Phaneuf wins one I'll blow chunks ... not a pretty picture ...
I'm sure you could get help for all of that...
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10 hours ago, Noeller said:
discussion at work last week about how this is quite possibly the most awful, unwatchable Final 4 in Stanley Cup history. Despicable, un-cheer-for-able teams....Nash the least of 4 evils, but they have PK, soooo....nope. No thanks. Is it football season yet?
Tonight's game is as good as you'll see. Passing, speed, hits & goal tending
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On 2017-5-11 at 5:10 PM, Floyd said:
Poor Ovie... even when he gets injections to fight through a knee injury, Sid still ups him by permanently damaging his brain and likely shorting his lifespan to play through a concussion. Guy can't win.
Awwwwww, life is hard.
IMO, Letang being out should have been all the advantage the Caps needed - completely different team without him back there.
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When a friend and I spent a weekend in TO, we ran into Paul Lapolice three different times - he was working for TSN at the time.
After the Argos game at the hotel, the next day at the airport and then on the flight home. The third time we asked him if he was following us. His response: 'oh ****.'
I also sat between Henry Burris and Forrest Hightower on a flight to Ottawa.
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9 hours ago, The Unknown Poster said:
Unless you have something more than that, I find it hard to believe a well-advertised farm would simply be lying. My understanding is that to actually use the term organic takes a lot of time and effort and is subject to inspection. I would imagine the hardcore organic community wouldn't let this stand. Ill say a small family farm that does its own butchering keeps costs down enough (and I got a deal).
I'm not familiar with the organic farming industry, but I do know what it costs to raise beef. If grass fed beef could be produced for that price, no one would be running a feed lot - the grass fed people would be putting them right out of business,
Honestly, there is probably not a thing wrong with the meat you purchased. It just bothers me when people are not completely honest with the consumer.
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11 hours ago, 17to85 said:
Absolutely ridiculous. "Cultural appropriation" has happened since different cultures first started interacting with each other. Sharing elements of each individual culture enriches all cultures and should be embraced and celebrated.
Sometimes there's a fear of natural selection, with one culture rising to the top. Also inevitable
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9 hours ago, The Unknown Poster said:
So this farm is lying? isnt that illegal?
This is what I ordered:
https://www.myfarmersmarket.com/beef/2692/sirloin-steak-grass-fed-beef-15-oz-approx.html
Its now $12.55 but I double checked my order and it was $9.95 when I ordered last friday. Must have got a deal. The link includes a description of the farm (Spring Creek Farm). So if you're telling me this is impossible, is there a regulatory body to talk to?
The organic / natural food industry is relatively new and is subject to very few regulations - I haven't a clue who you'd complain to.
I don't usually buy steak but a 15 ounce sirloin has got to be worth around 20 bucks at most grocery stores - good cuts of beef are worth $15 - $20 per pound these days. Grass fed beef at $10 / pound is bloody unlikely (pun intended)
I'll tell you my pork story too. Back when we raised hogs (commercial operation) a guy who sold 'natural pork' would buy young hogs from us, at the age where they had all their immunizations (2) and whatever antibiotics they would get. He raised them to slaughter weight in a shed on straw out in the country, then butchered and sold them as 'natural meat, free from drugs & vaccines.' As soon as we found out what he was doing, our business with him was terminated.
When something sounds to good to be true - it usually is.
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8 hours ago, The Unknown Poster said:
Week One Results (I used May 1st as my start date but didnt really start eating LCHF until Wednesday): down 9.3 lbs.
Not feeling hungry. I bought a BBQ on Saturday (we had moved last fall and tossed out the old one) and celebrated the 3 hours it took me to put it together by cooking a huge steak I ordered from Myfarmersmarket.com (grass fed, no drugs). Fantastic. That website is a great resource for organic produce and other groceries. I ordered eggs and Steak (big steaks for $9.99 each). They deliver.
It takes 2 - 3 years for a grass fed beef cow to reach market weight vs. 18 months in a feedlot. Also, you need about 15 - 20 acres of pasture to feed one cow for one year, 20 - 30 acres if it's a cow - calf pair. There's a reason why cows are raised in feed lots - it's cheaper and more efficient.
You mostly all know I'm a Hutterite. We raise about 10 beef cattle per year for our own use. They're on pasture with one feeding of barley or oats per day and hay in the winter, plus a mineral supplement. We typically buy newly weaned calves (6 - 8 months old) and feed them for about another 1.5 to 2 years.
We know farmers who raise grass fed beef on a larger scale and have a great deal of respect for them - it's a healthy and sustainable way to raise food, but it is very expensive. Delivering a large grass fed steak to your door for $9.99 is highly unlikely, and they would tell you that too.
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2 hours ago, kelownabomberfan said:
All that being said, I know a few doctors and they say there's lot that could be fixed with our current system, if the political will was there to do it. Unfortunately, anybody who even mentions changing our current system is pilloried immediately, and so it's just politically safer to do nothing, and just keep the spending taps open. I lived in Australia for a year, and I definitely think their private/public hybrid system is better than ours, in terms of wait times and quality. But that's just my observation. People there seem pretty happy with their system.
I think health care has seen plenty of cuts over the past two decades. For example, provincial health budgets were cut in the 90's as a consequence of Chretien / Martin slashing federal transfer payments. Even in Manitoba under the NDP, nurses had to take a wage freeze a few years ago.
2017 NHL Playoffs
in Winnipeg Jets Discussion
If there is another team Canada - Mark Methot will be on the blueline - you heard it here first