Is the Canadian government fair to pensioners?
928144
If you were lucky enough to create a savings for your retirement great! But for many others, living day to day on a minimal benifit is terrible.They  are our great survivors of the drought, wars, depression, etc...they have given many things in our life for us to live better. The governement should at least give them a proper income raise each year that coincide with their pay raises !!!!!
823758
Quite likely, as we can't afford to fund the future pensions (Government), the way pop.  incomes are going.\n\nWill
60485
Refer to http://www.notcanada.com/\n\nTHOROUGHLY REVIEW THE CONTENTS OF THIS WEBSITE.I HAVE LIVED IN BOTH THE USA AND CANADA AND THE CONTENTS OF THE WEBSITE IS TRUE.I HAVE EXPERIENCED BOTH FIRST-HAND! AIM FOR USA!!!!!!\n\nThe Canadian government is being sued from lying to immigrants.
812280
I would,but Canadians are ineligible.
853387
darn right there should be. say 10% if i make 100 bucks i give the gov 10, if i make 1,000 i give em 100, if i make 1,000,000 i give em 100,000, seems fair to me, unlike now where thoe more i make the less i bring home. before my last pay raise i brought home more money, im paying almost 54% of my income in taxes. the harder i work, the more i pay, for the people who arent working.. thats not fair to me.
659699
I would give a big no to this question. As long as our politicians dont create equal oppourtinities for the wide group of population, a tax payer will be forced to share the tax with a big number of non contributing citizens of this country. This means, what he is going to get is only going to be 1 by 100th of what he pays.
236395
we have medicare \n(everybody does)but the controversy now is about \nfor those who need surgery , sooner than later for something like cancer, can face long wait times for the surgery (that is what i think is a problem). there is a move towards a'two -tiered' helathcare system, in which those who can and want to pay for it,  can do so, and get service when they want it.\nEvery province handles health care somewhat differently. you still need some insurance to be sure you are covered when you visit another province(like a state), but you can get healthcare in other provinces and get reinbursed for it ( i havent ever done it so not sure how it works).\n\ntho we don't pay for it directly, we pay via taxation. Sales tax and taxes in general. I think Quebec has the highest tax rate in....North America?! fourteen and a half percent sales tax, extra taxes on cigarettes....\nwe do have welfare and unemployment insurance also- but you can barely get by on "social assistance". However there are many training programs available for those on social assistance, and if they attend they get extra $.\nbut we aren't talking Harvard quality education here, but i suppose it's better than zilch.
939293
"Compared to the 1980s when retirement was taken for granted by seniors, today's baby boomers and their children are starting to worry that their retirement is a fading dream.  However, there is hope for this through cash balance plans which aim to improve retirement security for the upcoming generations."\nThen in your paper you can compare governmental polices on retirement 20 years ago and now.  I promise it has changed and that will give you a comparative, analytical topic.  Of course you can also choose to compare it to a time in history when there wasn't ANY retirement, secure or otherwise...its a very broad topic, just google "retirement security" and see what you can find that interests you.\nGood luck
577391
I know it doesn't seem fair.  Truthfully, though, the formula that the government uses to calculate your EFC *does* take into account the fact that you are saving for retirement -- it employs what are called an "income protection allowance" and an "asset protection allowance."  The amount of protection (i.e. the amount of income "sheltered" from the EFC calculation) depends on the age of the student's oldest parent -- the older you are, the less your retirement savings are "held against you." So your EFC may decrease for subsequent years. \n\nPhilosophically, the government believes that the student and his/her parents are the primary party responsible for the student's college education, so they expect a family to put their "eggs" in more than one basket (that is, they think that, if you can save, it should be for both college and retirement).  As such, even for the neediest students, federal grants don't come close to covering today's educational costs.  \n\nAs for what you can do, since for now your EFC is what it is...\n\nThere are plenty of scholarship awards based on talent/academic rather than on need -- she should focus on those, registering at any and all scholarship search sites, such as these:\n\nhttp://www.fastweb.com\nhttp://www.srnexpress.com\nhttp://www.scholarships.com\nhttp://www.scholarships101.com\nhttp://www.finaid.org/scholarships\nhttp://apps.collegeboard.com/cbsearch_ss/welcome.jsp\nhttp://services.princetonreview.com/default.asp?RUN=%2Fcollege%2Ffinance%2Fscholar%2FscholInterview%2Easp&RCN=auth&RDN=7&ALD=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eprincetonreview%2Ecom\nhttp://www.collegeanswer.com/paying/content/pay_free_money.jsp\n\nMany parents strike a bargain with their studentsto split the student's educational costs.  Perhaps knowing that she will be financing part of her education will help your daughter to make wise decisions about how she wants to spend her money AND her time.\n\nWith educational costs where they are today, you may very well be dealing with choice between (a) depleting *some* of your retirement savings and retiring a few years later than planned or (b) putting your daughter in a situation where she graduates with so much debt that she herself is *never* able to retire.  It happens a lot more than you think -- many parents disagree so strongly with the FAFSA calculation that they choose not to fund their children's education at all.  There are plenty of students who graduate with monthly student loan payments larger than the average mortgage payment.\n\nAnd for future years, before you file the FAFSA, check out this website on "maximizing your eligibility" -- I can't say I condone it when people manipulate the system, but the "strategies" on this site are completely legal and the site itself is very reputable:\n\nhttp://www.finaid.org/fafsa/maximize.phtml
554496
I feel your pain...I retired to Canada (partially for that reason) a number of years ago and was quite pleased with the health care......a family doctor in Canada is very versatile and can treat a number of ailments including minor outpatient surgery in his/her office...other side of the coin..if you have to go into a hospital, more often than not, unless it is a life or death emergency, you will face a lengthy (several months) wait....now, there IS more to the story....I was able to do this, because at the time, I was married to a Canadian citizen...after a minimum of paper work I was granted health care priviledges...what you would have to do as a non-Canadian citizen to be granted residence in Canada, I'm not sure.........and of course, in this world there is no free lunch, income taxes were considerably higher; and there is/was a modest monthly cost for health care premiums....this was in 1998....if there have been changes since that time, I am not aware of them...........also, I mentioned that was only one of the reasons I moved to Canada...I was living in Victoria, Vancouver Island and it's one of the most beautiful places on earth..the Canadians are great people...ALSO, the U.S. dollar was was about 30 to 40% higher than the Canadian $.....not so now; and it's dropping....so, you've much to consider......good luck!!
650204
Which country are you living in, As the pension policies are different for different countries.
406761
The way it doesnt perform for the people.\n Philosophical contributins have addressed the dilemmas and opportunities facing Canada, Australia and Europe, to mention just a couple of areas where federal arrangements are seen as interesting solutions to accommodating differences among populations divided by ethnic or cultural cleavages yet seeking a common political order.\n Within the realm of what is considered normal in government, It serves itself with disregard to the benefits it should be giving to the public, rather, serving it's own existence.\nHence, its self fulfilling.
67186
To tell you the truth, I'm not sure. The Liberal government is showing its age, rushing desperately from NDP-style policies to Conservative policies, desperately trying to straddle the middle where most Canadians are. It isn't working for them very well.\n\nThe Conservatives have moved to the center from US style conservatism, and have garnered much support for having done that. Nonetheless, many of us are nervous that if they get a majority government, we will have an irreversible four years of US style Republicanism.\n\nSo I think many of us are hoping for the Conservatives, but preferably a minority government, rather than the usual four year dictatorship of a majority government.
494287
There is no law or regulation imposed by governments that require workers to retire at 65. Rather, in provinces where mandatory retirement is still a reality, there is no law preventing an organization from forcing someone to retire at 65. (Ontario is, however, planning to legislate against mandatory retirement. For a look across provincial jurisdictions, visit www.hrreporter.com, select "Advanced Search," and enter article #3461.) \n\nYour pension is based on a number of individual variables.\n\nGo to www.gov.on.ca for more information and phone numbers you can call.
1134424
More people will milk the system...I have generations of welfare recipients...I think job opportunity and economic equality is more reasonable....but when do governments reason....lol
432250
The main thing people will gripe about is that Canadian corporate tax is a few points higher than in the USA.  However, employers in the USA end up paying a lot of money out for health care, while in Canada the government covers most of that cost.  So it works out fairly evenly.
445316
Definitely not.  Nothing in life is free.  Canada's system is not free.  They pay for it with less than state of the art health care, and with higher taxes.  Let's look at what happens.  In Canada, the state dictates how many doctors there will be based on a budget, that is, how many tax dollars that can be spent on it.  They also dictate how much money the doctor will make on any given operation.  If you need an operation and there is a doctor available, you will get it, but chances are, in Canada you will have to go on a waiting list to get it.  You may well die, or suffer other problems waiting for the doctor.  Also, since the state is in control, and not the market, the doctor may not be the best at what he does.  Now let's look at what happens in the United States of America:  A young medical student happens to have a passion for heart surgery.  He has the talent and the knowledge.  He gets a bunch of student loans, and gets his education complete.  He becomes the very best at this specialty, and subsequently charges a lot for it.  He makes a lot of money doing what he loves, and the public pays it because they want the best heart surgeon available when it comes cutting time.  This kid may have elected to go into computers instead of medicine in Canada, because it pays more.  Also, you don't have to wait for a doctor, because the market balances out the supply of medical care with the demand far more efficiently than any government official could.   Please read Ecconomics In One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt for more insight into supply and demand and the natural, efficient way of regulating ecconomy.  Please also, ask Canadian medical patients who come to America for medical care what they think ?