What’s the current status of the Canadian economy? / Quelle est la situation actuelle de l’économie canadienne?

[athetsis]

@its_me1945 The use of GDP growth as a counter-metric to allow the devaluation of the currency was the canary in the coalmine, and that canary is long dead.

 

[rohith]

@athetsis They bought new canaries with the extra money they printed.

 

[kinetictony]

@athetsis That has been common practice for decades. Devalue to boost exports and reduce imports.

 

[natenate]

@athetsis If we were still pumping out oil like no tomorrow devaluing the currency wouldn’t be the end of the world. We’d get paid in USD for oil and attract huge amounts of foreign investment from a devalued cad. Some boomers would be pissed they can’t afford a house in Florida tho.

 

[texans44]

@its_me1945 If you strip out petroleum products (thank you Alberta!) Q2 saw some serious GDP contraction….in almost every other sector.

Yikes

 

[calebsmithalaska]

@texans44 That's crazy talk no one wants to hear or believe. Everything is fine....right

 

[crcoopertx]

@its_me1945 Not necessarily. It could be indicative of labour shortages creating gaps, which will need to be filled overtime or resolved with technology. We will see

 

[bill2]

@audreyl Middle and lower class are being stomped on

 

[dwelsh718]

@bill2 Define middle class

 

[b8584]

@dwelsh718 Everyone thinks they are middle class. That’s how the politicians get you.

 

[finkd]

@b8584 proudly working class here.

 

[b8584]

@finkd Working class can still be middle class. HVAC technicians make enough to be both.

 

[resjudicata]

@b8584 Most trades do

 

[dcouchotvore]

@resjudicata Most trades do did

 

[gaudegalan]

@dcouchotvore Do you mean 50 years ago or pre pandemic ?

Because compared to pre pandemic the trades are doing quite well at the moment. A huge influx of givt spending and a shortage of skilled labour has made tradespeople more valuable lately.

Everyone has a cousin making half what they're worth, but that's anecdotal because most tradespeople are making more money now than prepandemic, either by changing jobs or negotiating raises, and they have all the OT they want.

 

[paintergal73]

@b8584 That’s the entire point of the statement above, there is no middle class. You either make a living from your labor, or you make a living from the labor of others. The middle class is a fabrication designed to blur the line between the two classes.

 

[kinetictony]

@paintergal73 That definition is no better. I prefer the standard definition of "middle 3/5ths" of income or whatever.

Your definition means a CEO earning $5m/year with no stock incentives is working class but someone on welfare or retired is upper class.

Most people think middle class means middle wealth/income.

 

[paintergal73]

@kinetictony There is no upper class. You are an owner, or you are a laborer.

The CEO will lose their income if they stop working, they are a laborer, although I assume they are the CEO of straw man inc. they would also be in a very good position to become an owner due to the salary being in excess of their needs.

Retirees with private investments are part of the owner class as they live off the labor of others. They would be at the very bottom of that class, but it’s still ownership of labor. Their interest lies in maximum return on capital, not supporting the labor class.

Someone living off government assistance clearly doesn’t own any capital, so I’m not sure why you would think they are anything other than a laborer without work.

 

[kinetictony]

@paintergal73 So you're talking about working class vs ownership/capital class. That is not really related to "middle class" at all and not very useful in this discussion. In the popular context nobody cares about working vs owning, they just care about the income/wealth divide.

 

[paintergal73]

@kinetictony You literally replied to my comment where I said “there is no middle class”. The wealth divide primarily falls along the ownership/labor divide and has for centuries. You need ownership to become rich.

The concept of middle class is a fabrication to blur the distinction between the owners and the labor. It’s a tool to keep the labor class fighting with each other rather than their “common enemy”