A question for Candadians and UK folks and the Universal Healthcare

[PineappleMama]

Cigs here are sold in packs of 20... so you'd have to calculate a 25% increase in product into that price too... the $7 pack here would automatically be 25% more there... 8.75... and then add the sales tax... 8% for us... end up being 9.45... so if yours are 10.50... that's like 10% more than what we pay.

Minimum wage ... there's a federal law and then states can add to it if they like. Texas doesn't, just the flat 7.25... but in other states it's as high as 8.55... but still even at 8.55 that's less than 18k per year... but there's a fundamental difference... Seems a lot of folks don't think you should be able to live on whatever the min. wage is. That's just not how they arrive at the number... That's minimum because it requires no skill, no training, etc. People with skills get paid more... this is just the bare bones for anyone to do any job. Has little/nothing to do with actual cost of living... but there are plenty who believe it should. Old argument that one. But mostly, again just what I hear in my small little world, most folks seem to think that a min wage job shouldn't be enough... that instead of the government telling a company what they should pay their employees, instead if the employee isn't happy with their job/pay they should find another, get training, go to school... yada. Been debating that back and forth for decades.

 

[Hillsvale]

well ours thinks they should regulate minimum wage so the person doesn't say S#*ew it and just draw social assistance. Not that there aren't plenty of able bodied people who don't feel the need to work so are "supported" by the social system.

 

[birdsNbeesNseeds]

Quote:
I agree it could be tempting. I got chided by some people who said that I should have stayed "home with the kids" and lived on welfare, continuously drawing social services. I would have technically made more by not having to pay for day care (gov sponsored day care was full.) Instead I wanted to go to school and get my kids out of that mess. Sometimes I think some of the programs are too tempting for some folks. Like the ex.

 

[BlackBart]

Quote:
Curious Hillsvale, what are you paying for a salmon per pound? I can't figure out the metric thing

Wild Sockeye fillets $10.39 per pound at Sobey's
To me that is utterly ridiculous when I live right next to the Pacific Ocean. Can't afford to buy it that often. To go fishing yourself is not cheap either.
The price of dairy products has hit the roof. Cheese is very expensive now.

What about lumber, say.....10foot 2x4?....Here at Rona probably spruce wood, $2.87
Firewood is going for approx $200-$300 per cord depends what you want, straight fir, mixed, Arbutus etc..

I think minimum wage is $8.00 per hour here. A non-livable wage.
Housing prices are gross. Rents are gross too, if you can find a place to rent.

Despite the outlandish price of things around here, some people still manage to own all the right toys (Harley MC's, boats, RV's etc.) and live in huge McMansions.

(McMansion is a local slang term for huge 4000 square foot house with all the bells and whistles. Sort of like supersized McDonald burgers.)

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Quote:
Thank god for CiCis Pizza. $5 all you can eat pizza bar.

Man.. i tried finding one of those places around us up here when i saw those commericals... it looks good.

But theres none in our area..

Chattanooga is full of them. I was there 3 days a week when I was in collage. There a godsend for people like me who can put away 30 slices of pizza in an hour lunch. Been looking for them in the stock market.... When you find one you have to try there spinach pizza....

 

[PineappleMama]

^But then you hear the stories about the people who have the new house, but have no power, no furniture, etc... whoops.

Doing more snooping into the Medicaid/Food Stamp stuff I found that the first like $4000 of a vehicle's value is not counted... moot point for us, both ours put together wouldn't bring half that... but it's interesting that you can have that much in assets, things you could sell (and pay cash for a decent but cheap vehicle so you can still go to work) to get food and yet it's not counted. Don't know if car payments (particularly if you only have one vehicle) can be deducted or not... still hunting for that info. School expenses can be deducted, and HS is listed as a type on that... so theoretically the kids tuition for their online program would be taken out of our gross pay... so that's cool. But the "standard deduction" for shelter (rent/mortgage) isn't remotely accurate... not even for a tiny little 1 bedroom apartment would it work... and the standard deduction for utilities ... when electric bills are running 200 or more that's not going to cut it.

On the 2x4 thing... went to Home Despot's site... sale paper this week says that a 2"x4"x8' pressure treated bit is on sale for 1.97 doesn't say what the regular price is, does say volume (truckload) price is lower, and that due to fluctuations it may ring up different when you buy it... oh and it doesn't say what kind of wood it is, is Spruce more or less or the same? I donno.

That's COL stuff, but it isn't entirely accurate because that's my price, at my local store. The one 30 miles away may be more or less. Very different, just like gas prices. And unless you're building a house, in the business, etc that's not going to have a huge effect on your budget. Only special projects and such.

Looking at my Kroger ad though... always known for being cheaper than Tom Thumb... WITH a discount card required to get the sale price mind you... this week's SALES (only generic/store brands in this list) include chicken thighs/drumsticks for 0.79/lb (not great price OR great chicken IMO), 27% fat ground beef is 1.49/lb IF you buy the 3 or 5lb "chub", medium (not as good as ours) eggs are 0.59/dozen, butter (salted or non) is 2.50/lb, toilet paper is 3.99/24 rolls, 16oz sour cream for $1, milk is 0.99, grapes 1.39/lb... 8% tax would only be applied to the TP...

Noticed last time I went that Mevenberg Goat's milk is 3.99 for a quart... only goat's they carry... they had the tiny container of whipping cream on sale for $1, regular like 1.39.... their brand fruited yogurts were on sale 3/1.00, regularly 5/2.00... lettuce is running about a dollar a head... give or take, depends on variety and sales that week.

Just to give an example. I take a gander at the sale papers and see what's on sale and worth it and make my choices with the budget I've got. But then when Sis shops she just goes hog wild buying whatever strikes her fancy. Really weird since I know she grew up with the same example I did... saw the number crunching, sale buying, etc.

Ohhh one good thing about the Kroger card... yeah you have to sign up... but they send you coupons. And not just coupons for 10c off the name brand which leaves it still being a LOT more than generic... oh no... they send me, a generic shopper according to my receipts, coupons for THEIR brand... their 88c frozen veggies (as opposed to Green Giant that's $2)... they'll send me a coupon for 25c off one!!! I really do LOVE that... also coupons for the meat department... like $2 off any $10 purchase... do that in produce too... $1 off a $5 purchase was very nice! Again, not just the name brand coupons, but their brand that they know I like... they send what works for me, what they know I buy... not just what they'd like me to buy. So, sucks you have to have the card to get the good price, but they make a point of balancing it. Also do the gas discount. Not worth it to drive across town to the one that has a station, but now they've started working with Shell so that you can use the discount for gas without wasting that much/more to go get it! Pretty cool I think.

Anywho, that's some random COL info from around here...

 

[birdsNbeesNseeds]

Quote:
*Some* people get around all that stuff by doing things like putting a vehicle in someone else's name- like a close relative (mother) or not getting married yet still living together and saying they're "common-law married" to people they meet- never any authorities, of course. There are always loopholes.

 

[redhen]

Welfare in our state BOUGHT my cousin a car...

 

[PineappleMama]

REALLY!??! I mean, I've seen things about organizations, latest being for Purple Heart recipients, where you can donate a car (tax write off) and they'll give it to someone in need... but they don't BUY cars... that's a bit much.

I'd say 'maybe buy them a bus pass' but that's moot in my town... there is no bus... no mass transit at all. Many think the reason is that the city is afraid if they did have a system like that that it would bring in a flood of poor or homeless people... so to prevent that they never build on at all... n'mind the improvements to traffic, air pollution, etc that it would DEFINITELY bring.

So I guess if someone here wanted to guarantee transportation it'd have to be in the form of a car... which gets expensive just to help one family, n'mind a city's worth.

Birds... you don't have to tell me. Sis BF... they stayed with his sister for a while right? Her, Hubby (legally or not I donno), and two kids lived in the house... but according to forms Hubby didn't... so while they WERE getting his paychecks they were also getting housing, utility assistance, food stamps, medicaid (for the kids) and supposedly at some point got TANF (there's a limit on that)... and this woman BRAGS about it... told Sis she'd teach her all she knows. Including how she supplements her income with check fraud ... great right? Oh and they have two brand spanking new cars, on a convertible, both with upgraded everything including sound systems that you can hear a mile away... they pay for those using his income (that doesn't really exist) and her supplements. And no guilt, no shame, and no desire to improve... not going to school (though based on that same info they'd totally qualify for free college)... because why should they? With Stamps and such, again just things I've seen in my state... they ask what your income is, and you sign saying it's 0 and that's that. They don't actually check with the IRS to make sure you're telling the truth... married filing jointly at one address and showing income would pretty well blow that lie out of the water... yet they don't do that, just take your word.

System is overloaded just with the people who NEED it... add to it folks that make plenty but lie so they can get more, like these, and it's really no wonder that your average joe is up a creek if his hours are cut and he needs a little help until business picks up and his hours increase again... or lay offs... or injury... etc. If you tell them the truth, show them flat out what you're making, 100% honest... even if it DOES fall into the eligible range you still get turned down... or at least we did the one time I bothered trying. Lemme tell you it was NOT easy to swallow my pride and ask for help, but for the kids' sake I did it... didn't feel guilty, tapping a system temporarily that we paid into specifically to help people temporarily in trouble... it wasn't guilt that stopped me, it was pride. But to suck it up and do it, try to do right by your kiddos no matter how embarrassing it is only to be laughed at and rejected... that sucked rocks. Again, just experience I had, or have seen... so I know I'm biased about it. But at least I have seen it... not at all like the people writing these policies. They don't have a clue about any of it.

 

[redhen]

Yup.. bought her a decent little used car.(not sure how much it was worth... probably not much... but still..).. to get back and forth to work and school...
its worked..she's now a medical assistant... and has a decent job..
Not sure what all the circumstances were with it though... like if she has to pay the money back for the car after she got a job..?? etc... no idea on that stuff.. but yep.. she got a car.
I never knew that they did that either... new one for me too..