What is slowing Canada’s economy down? What’s growing?
The manufacturing sector was the largest drag on the economy, followed by utilities, wholesale and trade and transportation and warehousing. The Stats Can report noted shutdowns at Canada’s two largest railways contributed to a decline in transportation and warehousing.
A preliminary estimate for September suggests real gross domestic product grew by 0.3%.
Statistics Canada’s estimate for the third quarter is weaker than the Bank of Canada’s projection of 1.5% annualized growth.
Are there more Bank of Canada rate cuts to come?
The latest economic figures suggest ongoing weakness in the Canadian economy, giving the central bank room to continue cutting interest rates. But the size of that cut is still uncertain, with lots more data to come on inflation and the economy before the Bank of Canada’s next rate decision on Dec. 11.
“We don’t think this will ring any alarm bells for the (Bank of Canada) but it puts more emphasis on their fears around a weakening economy,” TD economist Marc Ercolao wrote.
The central bank has acknowledged repeatedly the economy is weak and that growth needs to pick back up. Last week, the Bank of Canada delivered a half-percentage point interest rate cut in response to inflation returning to its 2% target.
Governor Tiff Macklem wouldn’t say whether the central bank will follow up with another jumbo cut in December and instead said the central bank will take interest rate decisions one a time based on incoming economic data.
The central bank is expecting economic growth to rebound next year as rate cuts filter through the economy.
The agency said Tuesday its consumer price index for September was up 1.6% from a year ago compared with a year-over-year increase of 2% in August.
It was the slowest annual pace for inflation since February 2021 when it was 1.1%.
Gasoline prices in September fell 10.7% compared with a year earlier. Excluding gasoline, the annual pace of inflation was 2.2% in September.
Meanwhile, rent prices increased at a slower pace in the month but remained elevated as they rose 8.2% compared with a year ago following a year-over-year gain of 8.9% in August.
Grocery prices increased 2.4%, rising faster than overall inflation
Statistics Canada said prices for food purchased from stores rose faster than overall inflation as they increased 2.4% in September, the same rate as in August. Prices for fresh or frozen beef gained 9.2%, while edible fats and oils rose 7.8% and eggs increased 5%.
Prices for food purchased from restaurants rose 3.5% compared with 3.4% in August.
The inflation report is the last major piece of economic data before the Bank of Canada’s interest rate decision on Oct. 23.
The central bank, which has a target of 2% for inflation, has cut its key interest rate three times so far this year to bring it to 4.25%.
BOSTON — A union backed proposal to pay tipped workers the state’s minimum wage goes before voters in November, but critics say its passage would hurt Main Street bars and restaurants and drive up consumer costs.
Question 5 asks voters in the November election to decide if the state should require bars, restaurants, hotels and other hospitality venues to pay tipped workers the state’s $15 per hour wage floor, in addition to gratuities.
The plan calls for phasing out the tipped wage for workers over five years, allowing workers to earn up to $15 per hour and keep their tips. It would also allow restaurants to “pool” tips and distribute them equally among all workers, such as cooks, dishwashers and others who don’t interact with customers.
Supporters of phasing out the tipped-wage law — which includes labor organizations and worker advocacy groups — say it would improve wages for underpaid workers who are struggling to survive with the state’s high cost of living.
Saru Jayaraman, president of pro-Question 5 group One Fair Wage, said its passage would ensure that tipped workers “finally receive fair wages, giving them the financial stability they need to support themselves and their families.”
“Since the pandemic, restaurant workers have left the industry in droves. Many of them are tired of barely scraping by on poverty wages and tips that are unpredictable at best,” she said. “It’s time we end the injustice of the subminimum wage and create an industry that truly values and compensates its workers with dignity.”
But critics, like the Massachusetts Restaurant Association and “No on 5” Committee to Protect Tips, argue the plan would increase costs for bars and restaurants that already operate on narrow margins, and lead to higher prices for consumers.
“This would put a massive increase on the costs of small businesses at a time when they are still recovering from COVID,” said Chris Keohan, a spokesman for the “No on 5” opposition group. “This would increase the costs of the average restaurant by about $300,000 a year.”
He said the increased labor costs would push some bars and restaurants out of business or accelerate the shift away from full-service establishments, as employers hire less staff and move to automated operations like McDonald’s and Dunkin’s new self-serve kiosks.
Municipal leaders representing communities including Newburyport, Methuen, Haverhill and Gardner also oppose the proposal, arguing it would devastate Main Street restaurants that are still recovering from the economic effects of the pandemic.
Massachusetts law requires workers to be paid at least $15 an hour — under the “grand bargain” package the Legislature brokered to avert a proposal to cut the state’s sales tax and other proposals. But the 2018 law also allows bars and restaurants to pay tipped workers $6.75 per hour.
The state is home to some 50,000 waiters and waitresses, 20,000 bartenders, and 5,000 manicurists and pedicurists, according to the latest labor data.
If Question 5 is approved, Massachusetts would be the first state in decades to eliminate its tipped minimum wage, which observers say makes it hard to know how the transition will play out in the post-pandemic economy.
The closest example is the District of Columbia, which is two years into a five-year phase-out of its tipped wage, the report noted. Some Washington, D.C., restaurants have set-service fees — ranging from 3% to 20% — to offset the higher labor costs. Critics point to data showing some restaurants have closed in the law’s wake.
A recent report by Tufts University’s Center for State Policy Analysis said restaurants and other tip-dependent businesses will face higher costs from having to cover the full minimum wage, and will likely compensate for that with a mix of price increases, new fees, reduced hiring, and potentially lower profits.
But phasing out the state’s tipped wage will translate into higher pay for most service employees who currently depend on the extra money, according to the report.
In June, the state Supreme Judicial Court tossed out a challenge by restaurant groups alleging the proposal violates a requirement in the state Constitution that initiative petitions must contain only ‘related or mutually dependent’ subjects.
The justices unanimously concluded that Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office correctly certified the question for the November ballot.
The Massachusetts Restaurant Association and Committee to Protect Tips filed a complaint with the state Ballot Law Commission alleging that backers of the ballot question submitted “fraudulent” signatures from people who aren’t registered to vote, among other claims.
But the groups withdrew their objections at the last minute, citing a lack of time to conduct a thorough review and make their arguments before the panel.
BOSTON — A union-backed proposal to pay tipped workers the state’s minimum wage goes before voters in November, but critics say its passage would hurt Main Street bars and restaurants and drive up consumer costs.
Question 5 asks voters to decide if the state should require bars, restaurants, hotels and other hospitality venues to pay tipped workers the state’s wage floor of $15 per hour, in addition to gratuities.
The plan calls for phasing out the tipped wage for workers over five years, allowing workers to earn up to $15 per hour and keep their tips. It would also allow restaurants to “pool” tips and distribute them equally among all workers, such as cooks, dishwashers and others who don’t interact with customers.
Supporters of phasing out the tipped-wage law — which includes labor organizations and worker advocacy groups — say it would improve wages for underpaid workers who are struggling to survive with the state’s high cost of living.
Saru Jayaraman, president of pro-Question 5 group One Fair Wage, said its passage would ensure that tipped workers “finally receive fair wages, giving them the financial stability they need to support themselves and their families.”
“Since the pandemic, restaurant workers have left the industry in droves. Many of them are tired of barely scraping by on poverty wages and tips that are unpredictable at best,” Jayaraman said. “It’s time we end the injustice of the subminimum wage and create an industry that truly values and compensates its workers with dignity.”
But critics, like the Massachusetts Restaurant Association and “No on 5” Committee to Protect Tips, argue the plan would increase costs for bars and restaurants that already operate on narrow margins, and lead to higher prices for consumers.
“This would put a massive increase on the costs of small businesses at a time when they are still recovering from COVID,” said Chris Keohan, a spokesman for the “No on 5” opposition group. “This would increase the costs of the average restaurant by about $300,000 a year.”
He said the increased labor costs would push some bars and restaurants out of business or accelerate the shift away from full-service establishments, as employers hire less staff and move to automated operations like McDonald’s and Dunkin’s new self-serve kiosks.
Municipal leaders representing communities including Newburyport, Methuen, Haverhill and Gardner also oppose the proposal, arguing it would devastate Main Street restaurants that are still recovering from the economic effects of the pandemic.
Massachusetts law requires workers to be paid at least $15 an hour — under the “grand bargain” package the Legislature brokered to avert a proposal to cut the state’s sales tax and other proposals. But the 2018 law also allows bars and restaurants to pay tipped workers $6.75 per hour.
The state is home to some 50,000 waiters and waitresses, 20,000 bartenders, and 5,000 manicurists and pedicurists, according to the latest labor data.
If Question 5 is approved, Massachusetts would be the first state in decades to eliminate its tipped minimum wage, which observers say makes it hard to know how the transition will play out in the post-pandemic economy.
The closest example is the District of Columbia, which is two years into a five-year phase-out of its tipped wage, the report noted. Some Washington, D.C., restaurants have set-service fees — ranging from 3% to 20% — to offset the higher labor costs. Critics point to data showing some restaurants have closed in the law’s wake.
A recent report by Tufts University’s Center for State Policy Analysis said restaurants and other tip-dependent businesses will face higher costs from having to cover the full minimum wage, and will likely compensate for that with a mix of price increases, new fees, reduced hiring, and potentially lower profits.
But phasing out the state’s tipped wage will translate into higher pay for most service employees who currently depend on the extra money, according to the report.
In June, the state Supreme Judicial Court tossed out a challenge by restaurant groups alleging the proposal violates a requirement in the state Constitution that initiative petitions must contain only ‘related or mutually dependent’ subjects.
The justices unanimously concluded that Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office correctly certified the question for the November ballot.
The Massachusetts Restaurant Association and Committee to Protect Tips filed a complaint with the state Ballot Law Commission alleging that backers of the ballot question submitted “fraudulent” signatures from people who aren’t registered to vote, among other claims.
But the groups withdrew their objections at the last minute, citing a lack of time to conduct a thorough review and make their arguments before the panel.
Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.
As inflation sharply accelerated in 2022, household purchasing power declined. Meanwhile, the Bank of Canada rapidly increased its key interest rate from its pandemic-era lows, bringing it up to 5% by mid-2023 before hitting pause.
The Consumer Price Index reached an all-time high of 8.1% in June 2022, and has slowed ever since under the weight of rate hikes by the Bank of Canada.
While higher interest rates weighed on many households as the cost of their mortgage payments rose, it also helped boost investment income, the report said.
The investment income of the wealthiest 20% of households grew faster than their interest payments, leading to a net increase in income over inflation and boosting their purchasing power in 2023.
For other households, interest payment increases on average were higher than their investment income last year.
As a result, households in the third and fourth quintiles saw their purchasing power stagnate, while the lowest-income households saw their power deteriorate.
“In summary, the purchasing power of most households remained higher in the first quarter of 2024 than in the last quarter of 2019,” the report said.
“However, since 2022, rising inflation and tighter monetary policy have eroded purchasing power, particularly among lower-income households.”
She also said her pre-existing notion that private-label food might be lower quality has been challenged.
“I started to kind of recognize that the store brand, private label isn’t necessarily less quality,” she said.
Consumers’ perceptions of private-label foods have improved considerably since the last time interest in store brands surged, according to CoBank, which was around the time of the 2008 recession.
This means the increased share of private-label products in shoppers’ baskets is likely to have more staying power this time around, the report said. Empire Co. Ltd., the company behind Sobeys, FreshCo, Safeway and other grocers, said in its 2024 annual report that it plans to continue growing and enhancing its portfolio of store brands.
In its 2023 annual report, Loblaw noted that customers’ increased focus on value “benefited the Company’s sales due to its strength in private label products, discount banners, and personalized promotions.”
The company even launched a new discount grocery banner this year under its No Name brand.
Grocers not only often get a better margin on private-label products but also see them as a sort of “loyalty program” that can keep shoppers coming back, said Chapman.
He thinks retailers will work hard to keep private-label sales strong through new products, marketing, promotions and shelf space.
BOSTON — Rising labor costs and a stagnant workforce are threatening Massachusetts’ status as a leader in innovation and economic growth, according to a new report from an independent tax watchdog group.
The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation new Competitiveness Index, released earlier in the week, found that while the state benefits from the “symbiotic relationship” between a highly educated workforce and key economic sectors such as health care and higher education, it also faces significant challenges related to cost and demographic shifts.
Those include the state’s high cost of energy, housing, and childcare, as well as a declining labor force, aging population, and increasing rates of outmigration, the report’s authors said.
“Massachusetts has long been a leader in innovation and economic productivity, but our ability to maintain this status is under threat,” said Doug Howgate, the foundation’s president.
The foundation ranked the state’s competitiveness standing on a broad set of 26 key metrics, ranging from economic health, population and labor force trends to business, employment, and investment factors as well as resident’s quality of life.
Among the key findings: Massachusetts’ talent and innovation are its biggest strength, with the state ranked first nationally in terms of adult residents with a bachelor’s degree, and first and second in performance among public school students in reading and math, respectively.
But the state’s high cost of living and cost of doing business is a “major competitive disadvantage,” according to the report, with energy, unemployment insurance and taxes near the bottom of national rankings, the report authors said.
Child care and housing costs, as well as commute times, also make Massachusetts a challenging place to raise a family, according to the report.
The authors said the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated preexisting demographic challenges and pointed out the state has seen a 2.4% decrease in its labor force since 2018, a trend they said is a “serious risk” to the state’s long-term economic growth.
The state also ranks 45th in the nation for domestic outmigration, with many residents relocating to lower-cost states such as New Hampshire, the report noted.
Gov. Maura Healey and legislative leaders have focused on boosting the state’s competitiveness in response to previous reports showing an exodus of people from the state in recent years. Healey argues that a lack of housing, among other factors, is impacting the state’s ability to attract and maintain businesses and families.
But an economic development bill that would set aside hundreds of millions of dollars in bonding and tax credits and reauthorize the state’s life sciences initiative to boost competitiveness has been stuck in a six-member committee since the July 31 end of formal legislative sessions.
The bill, a key plank of Healey’s first term agenda, was approved by the House and Senate but differences between the two bills still need to be worked out.
The MTA’s new index, created with the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst’s Donahue Institute, will be updated yearly to give policymakers, business leaders, and the public “a clear, data-driven understanding of how Massachusetts measures up against other states.”
“If Massachusetts is going to be serious about improving our competitiveness and enhancing what our state offers to residents and employers, we need to start with shared understanding of where we stand and where we want to go,” Howgate said.
Jay Ash, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership, said the MTA report “provides a roadmap for the policies and strategies that can help us reverse these trends and build a stronger, more resilient economy.”
“Massachusetts is a great state, but to maintain our competitive edge, we need to address the fundamental issues driving up costs and driving out talent,” he said.
Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com
BEVERLY — Nearly 200 people rallied in support of Beverly teachers Thursday outside Beverly High School. Inside the school, negotiations on a new contract remained apart.
School Committee President Rachael Abell said Friday that the Beverly Teachers Association proposed a compensation package that represents a $4.3 million increase over the most recent proposal by the committee.
In a post on the district’s website, Abell said the School Committee will take time to assess the financial impact of the proposal and will provide an update to the community “as soon as possible.” The next negotiating session is scheduled for Oct. 3.
The Beverly Teachers Association and the School Committee have been negotiating a new contract since February. Thursday marked the 11th time the two sides have met, the first since school began Sept. 4.
Teachers’ previous three-year contract expired Aug. 31, but they are continuing to work under terms of that prior deal.
The latest negotiation was preceded by a rally outside the high school, where teachers and supporters, including several children, wore red T-shirts saying “I love Beverly teachers” and holding signs such as “Safe Schools Now” and “Living Wage Now.”
Parent Matt Davidson, who has three children in the schools, told the crowd that teachers are leaving Beverly because of a lack of support and low pay.
“They are overworked, they are underpaid with case loads that are too large,” Davidson said. “It is not working. It is not working.”
Davidson also said students on individualized education plans are not getting all of the help they need due to a lack of resources.
“This is not fault of the teachers, but a clear lack of support for them,” he said.
Another parent, Travis Shultz, said he and his wife have three children in the Beverly public schools but decided to send another of their children to private school because the city is “continually investing less in our kids than the average of the state.”
“Part of why we moved to Beverly I thought was because of the excellence of the schools here,” Shultz said. “But then after seeing how little we were investing in our kids and our teachers I was embarrassed.”
Parent Kim Blyth said the fact that negotiations continue to drag on is “embarrassing.”
“These delays are not just bureaucratic hurdles. They are unfair and unjust,” Blyth said. “Our educators work tirelessly, often going above and beyond to ensure our children receive the quality education they deserve.”
According to the update posted by Abell, the union’s proposed compensation package equates to an 8% increase per year for the next three years. She said that represents an approximately $4.3 million increase beyond the district’s most recent offer.
The School Committee has proposed an immediate salary increase of between 4% and 12.1%, followed by 4% and 3.5% cost-of-living increases in the next two years. According to Abell, 61% of teachers would make more than $90,000 per year under that proposal.
“Our goal remains to provide our students a high-quality education that fits within our city’s fiscal means,” Abell said.
Beverly Teachers Association President Julia Brotherton said the two sides are “getting pretty close” on the raises for the first year of the contract. But, she added, “the problem is that 4% and 3.5% will never get us anywhere near parity with neighboring districts (like Salem and Danvers).”
“We need the School Committee to return to the mayor and find a way to give our paraprofessionals a living wage and a competitive salary for our teachers,” Brotherton said.
Mayor Mike Cahill has said that the $5.6 million budget increase for the schools this year is “very possibly the largest one-year increased city investment in our schools in Beverly history.”
Apart from salary, Brotherton the two sides are “getting close” on issues such as personal days and the creation of a health and safety committee.
“I feel like we’re making good progress,” she said.
The crowd screams as a truck carring Denver Nuggets players Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokić passes by during a parade to celebrate their NBA Championship win. June 15, 2023.
Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
No, Denverites, it’s not your imagination. You’re likely shouldering a higher cost of living than most people around the country.
Denverites are spending an average of $2,743 a month on bills, according to a new report released by the bill payment processing company Doxo.
That totals up to $32,912 a year.
Residents here pay $7,399, or nearly 30 percent more than the average person in the United States.
And household bills eat up 38 percent of the average household income of $86,926.
“Doxo’s vast amount of data gives a uniquely accurate perspective into what households are actually paying for their bills, and provides a sound basis for constructing an accurate gauge of relative differences in the cost of the most common monthly bills across America,” according to the company’s website.
Still, the study is limited to the company’s own data set.
It’s also far from comprehensive. The report doesn’t take into account food, entertainment, healthcare, childcare, student loans and other massive expenses.
So how are Denverites paying their monthly bills?
Denverites tend to pay their bills around 10 a.m.
The largest number pay on Tuesdays. On weekends, less than 15 percent of people are paying their bills.
While 11 percent pay bills from their bank account and 19 percent charge bills to their credit cards, the majority, 70 percent, use their debit cards.
The top three service providers tracked by Doxo are Xcel Energy followed by Denver Water and the City of Denver for stormwater fees.
No surprise, the biggest expense is housing.
If you exclude the costs of mortgages and rents, Denverites are paying just 5 percent more than the national average.
But add the cost of rents and mortgages, and the cost of living skyrockets to 29 percent above the national average.
Homeowners, in Denver, are spending an average of $1,970 for their mortgages compared to the national average of $1,402, based on Doxo’s data.
Renters, meanwhile, are spending an average of $1,644 compared to the national average of $1,300.
Drivers in Denver are spending $590 on their auto loans compared to $496 nationally. On auto insurance, they’re spending $221 compared to $209.
Cable and internet bills are higher here, on average $132 a month compared to $122 nationally.
Denverites pay an average of $124 a month for their cell phone bills, while nationally people pay $121.
Life insurance is costing Denverites $100 a month, $13 more than the national average.
As for utilities, Denverites are actually saving money — $4 to be precise. Locals spend $358 compared to $362 nationally.
The big savings in Denver are on monthly alarm and security bills. Weird, right? Denverites are spending an average of $52 a month compared to $85 a month nationally.
So how do Denver’s monthly bills stack up statewide?
The good news for Denverites: A lot of places in Colorado cost way more.
Avon bills add up to an average of $3,339, while Erie’s total to $3,250. Parker’s are $3,144.
In nearby Thornton, Arvada, Littleton and Commerce City, residents pay higher bills on average than in Denver. Meanwhile, Aurora and Westminster have lower bills.
If you’re looking for the cheapest Colorado town, head southwest to Delta. You’ll pay an average of just $1,718 a month.
Inside a new two-bedroom affordable apartment at the Reserves At Green Valley Ranch. Oct. 27, 2022.
Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
There’s a myth that in the West you can go big, really sprawl out.
But when it comes to how much square footage your money gets when you rent Denver apartments, that’s not true.
For $1,500 a month, on average, you get just 629 square feet of space, according to a new report from the online housing marketplace RentCafe.
It’s way better than in Manhattan, where $1,500 gets you a mere 228 square feet. But it’s the worst deal in the Mountain West cities that RentCafe looked at.
And Denver apartments offer 100 square feet less than the national average of 729 square feet per $1,500.
There are limitations to the report.
It’s based on data from Yardi Matrix, a real-estate intelligence site. It focuses on the 200 largest cities in the country, with populations greater than 225,000 residents. It only takes into account people renting in multi-family residences with 50 or more units.
The good, the bad, the big and the small.
“Renters looking for a spacious apartment on a budget in a big city should immediately head to the South,” noted the report. “That’s because more than half of the top 20 large cities offering the most apartment space for a monthly rent of $1,500 are in the Southeast and Southwest. The remaining are all in the Midwest — an area renowned for its balanced mix of affordability, jobs and spacious living.”
Spend $1,500 in Witchita, Kansas, and you’ll get a whopping 1,359 square feet. In Toledo, you’ll get $1,345. And in Memphis, you’ll get $1,256.
Most of the worst deals, beyond Manhattan, are still in the New York City area.
In Brooklyn, you’ll get 300 square feet. In Queens, you’ll get 370 square feet. Jersey City is worse than that, despite the commute. You’ll get 340 square feet.
San Francisco is also a bad deal. There, your $1,500 will pay for 334 square feet a month.
“Major coastal job hubs are places where renters on a fixed budget need to sacrifice square footage to benefit from the countless opportunities these areas offer,” explained the report.
But even smaller cities in California offer less room for your buck.
“This year, California cities stood out on both of our lists of big and small cities where a monthly rent budget of $1,500 doesn’t go far,” according to the report. “To that point, Silicon Valley’s Sunnyvale, CA, was the nation’s top small city where this budget gets renters the least space — 406 square feet, to be exact.”
How much apartment can you get in other Mountain West Cities?
In Aurora, your $1,500 will get you 714 square feet, just under the national average.
Lakewood isn’t much better than Denver, with that $1,500 getting you 689 square feet.
In Colorado Springs, you’ll be living a more spacious life at 838 square feet.
Regionally, your money goes furthest in North Las Vegas, where $1,500 pays for 926 square feet. Albuquerque and Las Vegas proper also offer more than 900 square feet per $1,500.
The joys of these animal companions, however, don’t come cheap: pet care costs have increased 6% to 8% annually over the past few years. On average, dog owners spend between $965 and $4,020 per year on their pup, while cat owners have it a little easier, at between $930 and $2,400 per year, according to pet-sitting app Rover. Between vaccinations, spaying/neutering, routine check-ups, and illness or emergencies, the costs of vet visits can start to rival your mortgage payments.
While inflation has had an impact on pet-care costs—as it has on virtually everything else we pay for in life—it’s not the only factor at play. The landscape of veterinary care has changed in recent years, largely thanks to staff shortages, the involvement of big corporations—in recent years, many independent clinics have sold to private equity firms—and increasingly sophisticated equipment and treatments. Here’s why you’re paying through the nose to keep your beloved four-legged friend healthy—and how you can reduce those costs a little.
Why is veterinary care so expensive?
Image by Freepik
There’s a lot that goes into animal health care. If your pet has been injured or simply isn’t feeling well—they’re uncharacteristically lethargic, say, or not interested in food—a battery of tests may be required to pinpoint the issue and determine care. X-ray and ultrasound machines, lab equipment and other vet tools have become more advanced in recent years, and as clinics invest into them, they have to charge more to recoup those costs.
Treatments can be pricey as well. Thanks to our publicly funded health care system, Canadians aren’t used to being confronted with the costs of medical care, so a several-thousand-dollar bill for chemo or surgery for your golden retriever can be a shock. But treatments for animal illnesses are often the same or very similar to human ones, so the costs are similar, too. Supply chain disruptions, coupled with a limited number of drug distributors, have led to higher medication prices as well.
And, like everyone else in the country, vets have seen their expenses rise due to inflation. Rents are higher, as are interest rates on loans, property taxes, insurance, utilities and maintenance fees. Vet businesses are feeling the pinch just like the rest of us, and they need to cover their basic running costs.
Another issue is staff shortages. There were barely enough veterinarians and veterinary technicians to go around pre-2020. Then, during COVID-19 lockdowns, pet ownership shot up, leaving many clinics struggling to cope with patient demand. There’s hot competition for potential staff, and one way to lure new talent is by offering higher compensation—that cost often gets passed on to pet parents. Let’s not forget there are clinic support workers who keep everything going, such as receptionists and cleaners; they need fair compensation, too.
One of the biggest factors in the increase in vet bills is that many clinics have been bought up by large corporations over the past few years at surprisingly high prices—sometimes as much as 30 times the clinic’s annual sales. These corporations tend to be more driven by profit than independent clinics and often pressure vets to increase billing or rates so they can plump up their investment. As well, with the high interest rates of the past two years, their new acquisitions have been costing them more than they anticipated, adding even more impetus to raise fees.
Watch: Is pet insurance worth it?
How can you save money on vet care?
“An ounce of prevention,” well, you know the rest. It’s easy to just not worry about your pet’s health if they seem fine and happy, but being proactive now could save you a hefty bill down the road. Ensuring they eat healthy, get plenty of exercise and all the necessary shots and routine check-ups could help you prevent illness—or catch it at an early stage—and avoid potentially expensive treatments.
Be sure to shop around animal clinics before settling on where to take your pet. Rates can vary significantly, so it’s worth calling several spots to compare prices. Such differences aren’t necessarily random—the fees might include different things, such as bloodwork and pain medication, and some clinics have newer or better equipment or just pay higher rent. There are also lower-cost spay/neuter and vaccination facilities that offer a more basic (but still safe and adequate) service.
BOSTON — Massachusetts lost more than $3.8 billion in state-adjusted gross income between 2021 and 2022 as residents fled to New Hampshire, Florida and other low-tax states, according to new Internal Revenue Service data.
The IRS data, based on income tax returns, shows the Bay State lost a net of more than 45,000 residents in the 2021 and 2022 calendar years – taking with them more than $3.9 billion in taxable income. That’s the fifth highest rate of domestic outmigration in the nation following New York, Illinois, New Jersey and California.
New Hampshire and Florida were the biggest beneficiaries of Massachusetts’ transplants, the IRS data shows. More than 18,189 people moved from New York to Florida, taking $1.4 billion. An additional 23,596 Bay Staters moved to Florida, bringing more than $2.8 billion in income with them, according to the IRS.
The Pioneer Institute, a Boston-based think tank, says the data shows the largest cohort to flee Massachusetts were 26- to 35 year-olds, with 9,500 more tax filers leaving than coming into Massachusetts in 2022, more than five times the number a decade earlier.
“This loss of young talent hinders the state’s future innovation and economic growth, which will compound over decades,” said Mary Connaughton, Pioneer’s director of government transparency. “The cost of housing is a leading factor and the recent housing bill is not enough to address this critical challenge.”
“We need more innovative solutions at the local level to adequately boost the state’s housing supply,” she added.
The report is the latest in the series that highlights how Massachusetts’ population is shrinking despite a continuing influx of new arrivals, many through immigration.
Still, the state’s outmigration appears to be slowing, with about 18,000 fewer residents leaving the state in 2023 than in 2022 – a 31% drop, according to the latest census data, released in May.
Experts say the outmigration has less to do with politics than it does with a lack of housing, prevailing wages and access to employment.
But federal data shows the population decline has major implications for the states, revenue and tax collections. The state has seen its revenue benchmarks from tax collections fall short over the past year.
Massachusetts lost an estimated $4.3 billion in state-adjusted gross income in 2020-21 tax year as residents fled to other low-tax states, according to the latest IRS figures.
On Beacon Hill, state leaders have approved proposals to cut taxes and reduce the state’s high cost of living as part of a broader effort to stop outward migration and make the state more attractive to new families and businesses.
Gov. Maura Healey, a first-term Democrat, has expressed concerns about the exodus of residents and businesses in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Healey has pointed to a lack of housing as a primary reason people are leaving the state, making the case for expanding stock and making homes more affordable. She acknowledged the impact of the housing crunch on outmigration at an event in Lowell, where she and other officials announced $27 million in tax credits for new housing developments in Salem, Lawrence and Haverhill and other “Gateway” cities.
“I love New Hampshire, but I want people to stay here in Massachusetts,” Healey said in remarks Tuesday. “I don’t want them going north of the border.”
But critics point to the state’s high tax burden, including the voter-approved “millionaires tax” that set a new 4% surtax for people with incomes above $1 million a year. They say despite a tax reform package signed by Healey last year, the state needs to do more to ease the burden on residents and businesses.
Others say concerns about outmigration are overblown and point out that people leave the state for new jobs, college and other reasons other than consternation over high taxes, the cost of living or the lack of affordable homes.
A 2023 report by the left-leaning policy group Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center says IRS data from 2020 to 2021 shows that Massachusetts has a lower rate of outmigration among high-income households earning $200,000 or more a year than that of low- and middle-income households.
The report’s authors say that data suggests state tax levels have had “little impact” on the decisions of high-income households.
Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.
Canada Pension Plan (CPP) deferral:CPP deferral is worth considering for any healthy senior in their 60s. If you live well into your 80s, you may collect more pension income than if you start CPP early, even after accounting for the time value of money and the ability to invest the earlier payments or draw down less of your investments. CPP deferral can protect against the risk of living too long, especially for a single retiree, and particularly for women, who tend to live longer than men. CPP can be deferred as late as age 70. The benefit increases by 8.4% per year after age 65, plus an annual inflation adjustment.
Old Age Security (OAS) deferral: Like CPP, deferring OAS can be beneficial for seniors who live well into their 80s. One exception is low-income seniors who might qualify for the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) between 65 and 70. Single seniors aged 65 and older, whose income is less than about $22,000, may qualify. OAS can be deferred as late as age 70. The benefit increases by 7.2% per year after age 65, plus an annual inflation adjustment.
Annuities: Almost everyone wants a pension, yet almost no one is willing to buy one. You can buy an annuity from a life insurance company using non-registered or registered (ie. RRSP) savings. (What is a non-registered account? How does it work?) Based primarily on your age and resulting life expectancy, an insurer will pay you an immediate or deferred monthly amount for life—even if you live until 110. If interest rates are higher when you buy an annuity, the monthly payment amount may be slightly higher as well. If you don’t have a pension and you want the security of a monthly payment, an annuity can be worth considering. Especially if you’re in good health and are a conservative investor.
Survivor benefits in Canada
Most DB pension benefits are payable only to surviving spouses. Some pensions have survivor benefits for children or a guaranteed number of months of payments to an estate.
A CPP survivor pension can be paid to the spouse or common-law partner of a deceased contributor. Single retirees are somewhat disadvantaged since their children will usually not qualify for a benefit if they die.
Children’s benefits are only payable if a surviving child is under 18, or if they are attending full-time post-secondary education and are between 18 and 25.
Advice, accountability and cognitive decline
One of the challenges everyone faces as they age is making sound financial decisions. Our experience and knowledge may increase as we age but our ability to process complex decisions tends to begin declining before we retire.
Single seniors don’t have a partner to bounce ideas off, so many may find themselves stressed about retirement and financial planning. And not everyone feels comfortable talking about money with their children and friends, and not everyone has a financial advisor, either. (Use the MoneySense Find a Qualified Advisor Tool to find an advisor near you.)
Partners, adult children and friends can provide accountability, as well with spending and other financial decisions and keep each other in check.
A single retiree can certainly be successful, but the challenges they face are different from that of couples.
For these reasons, being conservative, deferring pensions, considering annuities, seeking financial advice, and proactively planning are all strategies to consider when planning for retirement as a one-person household—especially if you have no pension plan.
BOSTON — Byproducts of a trip to the market and convenience store, plastic bags get a bad rap from environmentalists as wasteful consumables that litter oceans, parks and beaches and take hundreds of years to break down.
Voters in at least 160 cities and towns in Massachusetts, including Gloucester, Manchester, Newburyport and Marblehead, have banned the bags or restricted their use.
Others are considering limits, including lawmakers on Beacon Hill, who have revived a push for a statewide ban.
The state Senate voted 38-2 Thursday to approve a bill that will ban single use plastic bags and require retailers to charge customers 10 cents for a paper bag, among other initiatives to reduce plastic waste.
Supporters of the ban say single-use plastic bags clog the waste stream and litter oceans, parks and beaches.
“They may sit in a landfill. They may be incinerated, both of which release microplastics and greenhouse gases back into the environment,” Sen. Becca Rausch, a Newton Democrat, the bill’s primary sponsor, said in remarks ahead of the bill’s passage. They probably won’t be recycled because less than 10% of plastics are actually recycled in the United States. And plastics can persist in the environment for decades to centuries to an entire millennium.”
Members of the Senate’s Republican minority voted against the bill, arguing that a single use plastic ban will hurt the state’s small businesses while doing little to reduce pollution.
“This is going to cost consumers more, in a state that already has an incredibly high cost of living and while we’re trying to increase affordability,” Sen. Peter Durant, R-Spencer, said in remarks on Thursday. “I think this becomes too much, too much for us to bear. There are still solutions we can take to implement moving forward, but we have to look at the cost-benefit ratio.”
Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, one of two Republicans who voted for the bill, filed an amendment that would have removed the paper bag fee from the bill, but it was rejected by the Democratic majority.
“If we are going to, rightfully, ban plastic bags, then we should not be dictatorial about how the market responds to the consequences,” the Gloucester Republican said.
Lawmakers withdrew a proposed amendment that would have banned plastic liquor “nips” following pushback from the state’s package store owners who argued it would hurt business and do too little to reduce plastic pollution.
Efforts to phase out the bags are opposed by the plastics and paper industries, as well as some retail groups, who call the restrictions unnecessary and costly.
Beacon Hill has wrestled with the issue for years. Attempts at a statewide ban have faltered amid industry pressure.
In 2019, a similar proposal fell apart after a legislative committee, deliberating behind closed doors, stripped the fee and added a “preemption” clause that would effectively override local plastic bag bans, many of them voter-approved.
“What we’re really trying to do is encourage reuse,” said Janet Domenitz, executive director of MassPIRG, said Thursday. “So the ban on single use plastics gets rid of the most deleterious material. The fee on paper is a way to incentivize people bring your own bag.”
Then-Gov. Charlie Baker suspended local plastic bag bans in 2020 and banned the use of reusable bags as part of a raft of measures to stop spread of COVID-19. The state rescinded those limits a year later after it proceeded with reopening plans, citing research that the virus doesn’t survive well on plastic surfaces.
Nationwide, Americans throw away some 100 billion plastic bags a year, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which says the average bag takes up to 1,000 years to break down. Most bags are used an average of 12 minutes.
The bill now moves to the House of Representatives, which must approve it before sending it to Gov. Maura Healey’s desk for consideration.
Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com
“They may see a slight increase in their income, and they think, ‘Oh, I just kind of hit the lottery, and now I’m going to spend like crazy,’” Schwartz said. “And it’s tough to change those behaviours after it’s been ingrained for a long period of time.”
To prevent this from happening, track spending diligently—you can download apps for this purpose—and delay milestones such as moving out or getting a car if you can, Schwartz said. Build up an emergency fund in case you lose your income or suffer a financial setback, to avoid falling into serious debt.
“If you have the opportunity when you’re young, when you’re not spending as much on rent, you’re not spending as much on food, if you can cut back on how much you’re socializing—that’s a great place to start to build up that reserve fund,” Schwartz said.
Live within your monthly cash flow—using your debit card or cash—and develop a short-term austerity plan to make big strides on debt repayment, Terrio said.
When to focus on debt repayment
Summer months are tough for austerity because you want to socialize, he pointed out, but January through March are a good time to adhere to a severe budget. Up to 40% of your non-rent income should go to debt, Terrio said, noting short-term austerity is tolerable because it’s over quickly.
Ultimately, the aim is to reach the tipping point when at least half of your debt payment is going to the principal—and the portion going to interest starts to slide. Never use an instalment loan, he added.
“All these 36 to 48% interest loans that are $10,000—if you get one of those, you’re done,” Terrio said. “You’re never, ever getting out.”
Once you’re free of debt, stay that way. Keep your credit limit low and turn down offers to increase it, Terrio said. If you move debt to a line of credit, stop using your credit card.
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem has suggested the federal budget presented last month wouldn’t have much of an effect on inflation.
Since last summer, the governing Liberals have been pummelled by Conservatives in public opinion polls over cost-of-living issues.
Rapidly rising grocery prices have been a top concern, in particular.
And while food prices are significantly higher than they were a few years ago, the data shows grocery prices grew at a modest pace in April, rising 1.4% from a year ago.
Meanwhile, higher gasoline prices moderated the deceleration in inflation last month, with pump prices rising 6.1% year-over-year.
Excluding gasoline, prices were up 2.5% from a year ago.
“I think what’s really the most encouraging is that we saw continued softness in some of the core measures that the Bank of Canada is looking at when it’s looking to judge when and how quickly to cut interest rates,” Grantham said in an interview.
The Bank of Canada’s core measures of inflation, which strip out volatile prices, slowed last month and are all now below 3%.
IT’S 4pm on a Tuesday in May and a man on his stag do is splayed on the floor as a fully naked woman bobs down over him before waxing his chest.
Watching are his mates, who whoop and cheer as he is punished by “extreme stripper” Jade Benidorm.
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Stag do lads dressed as Oompa Loompas dance with a stripperCredit: Chris Eades
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Stripper Jade Benidorm punishes a punterCredit: Chris Eades
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A group of girls on a hen doCredit: Chris Eades
She then grabs hot candles to drip on to the soon-to-be-married man’s chest as he yelps in protest.
Welcome to Benidorm 2024, where business is booming and the famous holiday hotspot has become wilder than ever.
While the cost of living is soaring in the UK, Benidorm is getting more tourists than ever — nearly three million came here last year — and the nightlife has stayed open all winter for the first time.
Local celebrity Frank The Stag Man, who runs Fk It Parties, says: “It’s Disneyland for crazies here. Absolutely anything goes.”
One sozzled stag do reveller tells me: “You couldn’t get away with what we’re doing anywhere else in the world.
“What happens on the stag, stays on the stag.”
For stripper Jade, it is her first show of the day — she can do up to 15 a day over the weekend.
And this is just a warm-up, as later on men will head to the infamous Benidorm strip, aka Calle Gerona, where they will watch one of the countless live sex shows.
Watch shocking moment ‘extremely violent’ most wanted Brit ‘drugs baron’ is tackled by cops in Benidorm
They include a Star Wars-themed option on Segways and extreme BDSM shows.
Stag dos are spoilt for choice, as every other bar on the strip offers a free raunchy show and punters as old as 70 will be packing in with them to get an eyeful.
And it’s not just stag dos that flock to the X-rated shows.
Niamh, 22, visited Benidorm last year with her mum and took her to the Segway sex show.
The Dublin lass says: “I’ve never seen anywhere else where young and old can party together. It’s great.”
The seaside resort has been welcoming boozy visitors since the 1960s, then in the 1980s legendary stripper Sticky Vicky paved the way for the raunchy acts that dominate the strip now.
The erotic performer died, aged 80, in November last year and now even has a tribute act.
Her daughter Maria is carrying on as the original.
Frank, 53, who owns Miller’s Bar and Miller’s Beach Bar, has been running group holidays to the city for more than 15 years.
He reckons: “It’s a break from the norm and over the past few years things have got wilder.
“We are the top party destination in Europe and, thanks to social media, more people are starting to realise that.
“It’s impossible to come here and not have a good time.
“People love being shocked and that’s what Benidorm provides.
“There’s everything from drag strippers who stitch up the groom to tribute acts and more extreme performances.
“Winter is non-existent here and for the first time this year we didn’t stop over the winter months.
“We were still busy.”
In high season, Benidorm gets around 200 stag and hen dos a week, with many of their clients being Irish or from the North of England.
Disneyland for crazies
Frank’s partner is Jade Benidorm, 31, who says people often show their wild side when they come to the party destination.
She said: “Sticky Vicky paved the way for acts like mine.
“Most people expect to see something shocking, but also appreciate the showmanship of it.
“Ninety-nine per cent of brides and grooms who come to my show have no idea what their stags have planned.
“Some are timid, others are up for a giggle and some get naked very quickly.
“It’s great to see people enjoying themselves and pushing the limits.”
But while there are great times to be had in Benidorm, the partygoers should beware the strip’s darker side.
Boozed-up Brits have become an easy target for so-called “serpientes” (Spanish for “snakes”) after a quick buck.
Frank warns: “While being on the beach at night is technically illegal, that doesn’t stop people skinny-dipping after a few drinks.
“But leaving your clothes and belongings on the beach gives snakes a chance to steal phones and money.
“While you’re having a bit of fun, they’ll strike.
“Plus most people won’t want to admit that they’ve lost their stuff having a naked swim, so they’ll say they got mugged.
“People just need to remember to keep an eye on stuff, like they would at home.”
There are other dangers, too.
Within 30 seconds of arriving at Avenida de Mallorca, known to tourists as The Square, I was offered cocaine.
The going rate is €50 a gram.
The dealer, who also worked as a doorman for one of the clubs, tells me: “It’s the good stuff from Columbia.”
When I refuse, I’m offered pills or another powder.
I have to walk away fast just to be left alone.
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A stag party from Yorkshire hit the resortCredit: Chris Eades
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A cheeky Scottish holidaymaker leaves little to the imaginationCredit: Chris Eades
The offer is repeated again and again as I make my way along the street.
Dad Simon, 44, tells me: “I’ve been offered drugs about 20 times since I lit a cigarette.
“It’s full-on.”
He is here on a rugby tour and is flanked by Brandon, 17, and Dylan, 16, who are hoping to see a sex show.
Cops tell me of the street dealers: “Where there is demand, there will be supply, but we don’t want it here.”
Alleged British drug kingpin Paul Brown was last month arrested in a hotel in the city after a four-year international manhunt.
While out on the strip, The Sun saw one Brit being arrested, and it is a regular occurance for clubs to be raided by cops looking to find drugs.
We are the top party destination in Europe and, thanks to social media, more people are starting to realise that. It’s impossible to come here and not have a good time
Frank, bar-owner
It’s not just drug dealers who are preying on visitors.
Despite 500 police patrolling the area each day to keep holidaymakers safe, smashed blokes are being targeted by women pretending to be sex workers offering a €5 thrill — which results in punters being robbed once their pants are down.
There have been protests against British tourists in Majorca, the Canaries and Ibiza — but the Benidorm locals love them.
Visit Benidorm told me they felt “very privileged to host British tourists”.
And a taxi driver added: “Eighty per cent of the people here are British.
“The problem is pickpockets looking for British drunk guys.
“They pose as sex workers, offer a service, and once the guy has dropped his trousers they take everything.
It’s rougher than the worst bits of Newport. But I bloody love it
Sun source
“We see it every night, men who have nothing because it’s been nicked.
“It’s not good for us, because people go home and say you’ll get robbed.
“It puts people off coming here.
“The criminals just focus on the tourist streets.”
The women can be seen standing on street corners just seconds away from the main strip, sporting short skirts and high heels, like many of the partygoers.
Online groups about Benidorm have reports of tourists being punched by bouncers when they start to cause trouble.
Some posts advise avoiding a street off the strip as it is “muggers alley”.
Yet despite the darker edge, most revellers aren’t put off.
As one woman from Newport, South Wales, told The Sun: “It’s rougher than the worst bits of Newport. But I bloody love it.”
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Revellers with a podium dancer at a clubCredit: Chris Eades
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A raunchy podium dancer at a barCredit: Chris Eades
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Levante city beach and seafront walkwayCredit: Getty
Ribecco’s journey, however, shows the enormous potential expense of just conceiving a child—let alone the cost of raising one. National Bank, citing Statistics Canada data, pegged the cost of raising a child to their late teens at up to $300,000.
Ribecco still considers herself lucky. She has two beautiful sons, and a great job that allowed her to attend countless appointments without being docked pay or using her vacation time.
“People with hourly rate jobs would lose wages or a whole day’s work to make appointments,” she pointed out.
The costs of fertility treatments can vary for couples
LGBTQ+ couples, she added, can pay even more. Female couples need to pay for a sperm donor, and male couples need to pay for egg donation, IVF and surrogacy expenses. Egg or embryo donations can also add up if the woman has egg quality issues.
As with any foreseeable life expense, would-be parents should start a budget and savings plan as soon as they are able, said Ravy Pung, a Quebec-based financial planner with National Bank.
“It’s difficult to figure out what the total costs of [fertility treatments] will be, because it really depends on everyone’s personal situation,” she said, highlighting unexpected costs such as extra testing or failed IVF procedures, and extra expenses around surrogacy.
There should always be a back-up plan, she added, just in case “there’s not enough liquidity, not enough savings. You should plan on how to obtain a personal line of credit or a mortgage line of credit.”
Alex Milyard (left) checks on recently poured concrete on the top of an I-70 tunnel in Elyria Swansea that will soon become a park. July 8, 2022.
Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
The economic think tank Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity made a claim that may surprise people struggling to afford life in Denver: “The Denver region was ranked as the national leader for living wage jobs.”
That 4% unemployment rate makes it look like the Denver economy is rosy. In reality, evictions are up, and affordability is one of the dominant issues on the minds of the locals Denverite speaks with each month.
Ludwig’s number attempts to better represent working people’s struggles. The institute argues that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data overstates how well certain regions are doing based on the number of people who have jobs — even if those jobs are part-time and woefully inadequate for funding a comfortable life.
So which metric should we trust to assess the city’s current economic situation? Well, neither. At least in totality.
So what does the Ludwig Institute’s True Unemployment Rate really count?
The institute calls its “functional unemployment” figure number the “True Rate of Unemployment,” or TRU — and it’s always higher than the federal unemployment rate released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“The TRU Out of the Population measures the percentage of people in the whole U.S. population that is functionally unemployed,” according to the study. “Using data compiled by the federal government’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, the True Rate of Unemployment Out of the Population tracks the percentage of the U.S. labor force that does not have a full-time job (35+ hours a week) but wants one, has no job, or does not earn a living wage, conservatively pegged at $25,000 annually before taxes.”
The institute developed the True Rate of Unemployment scale to create a more accurate picture of how many people are actually making a living at their jobs. That’s in contrast to the standard unemployment rate from the federal government.
“Generally speaking, the unemployment rate is calculated by simply dividing the number of unemployed persons — as defined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) — by the number of persons in the labor force (employed or unemployed who are actively seeking employment) and multiplying by 100,” the study explains. “While [the BLS measure] may be elegant in its simplicity, it presents a very incomplete and, in many ways, misleading picture.”
But here’s the thing
The Ludwig Institute’s numbers also present a simplistic, incomplete and somewhat misleading picture — even if the think tank does a better job of portraying the struggles of workers in the region than the federal statistics.
For anybody looking at Denver as a model: The $25,000 the institute counts as a living wage would be a stretch to live on.
A full-time worker making minimum wage ($18.29 per hour) would earn roughly $38,043 annually — well over the $25,000 cited in the study.
In Denver, an annual income under $25,000 is less than 30% of the $91,280 area median income for an individual. A household in that situation would qualify for nearly all government-subsidized housing.
In fact, housing is so expensive here that Denver offers some forms of government-subsidized housing for people making up to 80% of the area median income, which is $71,900 for a single person and $92,400 for a household of three.
Here’s what some private sector companies say people need to earn to live comfortably in the metro.
“Denver residents need an annual income of $167,562 to afford the median home,” according to a spokesperson for Clever Real Estate, a real estate data company.
That’s $76,282 more than the area median income for an individual.
According to a study by GoBankingRates, a personal finance website, renters in Denver need to earn $101,726 yearly to live without stress over bills, while homeowners need $144,616.
In a 2022 study, the Ludwig Institute, looking at more localized data, stated that a household of four needed just over $101,000 to live comfortably in Denver — a jump of more than 60% since 2005.
These studies offer some variation in their analysis of what it takes to live in the Denver area. Most people live here on less.
Even so, by all counts, the Ludwig Institute’s $25,000 a year “livable” income — a national standard — would be a pittance of what a person needs in the Denver metro.
Still, the Ludwig Institute says their measure has value
The government’s liberal count of who is actually employed has given economists a false sense of what constitutes a functioning economy, the Ludwig Institute argues.
High employment rates, as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, are generally considered a sign of good economic health.
Those numbers, according to the institute, give policymakers bad information about how everyday people are actually doing.
“This continued dependence on aggregate U.S. economic data constructed for a bygone era has been clouding the basic understanding of what’s happening on the ground,” the study states. ”New measures are needed if we are to understand what’s really going on.”
LIGHTS flashing and horns blaring, 3,000 tractors trundled through Hanover in Germany bringing its streets to a gridlocked standstill.
Stepping down from his cab, arable farmer Axel Friehe told me his beleaguered nation’s economy is “breaking down”.
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Tractors of protesting farmers line the streets in front of the Brandenburg Gate in BerlinCredit: Getty
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Major German cities have been paralysed by demonstrating agricultural workers, truckers and small business peopleCredit: EPA
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Turnip farmer Christoph Berndt said ‘The AfD use the demonstrations to draw attention to themselves’Credit: Louis Wood
“We hope our protests are the start of something big,” he said of the tractor cavalcade being cheered by locals.
Farmer Friehe, 51, may soon have his wish.
Troubled Germany’s major cities have been paralysed by demonstrating agricultural workers, truckers and small business people.
Some 500 tractors gathered at Berlin’s landmark Brandenburg Gate and 5,000 paraded through Munich’s streets.
While French farmers have made protesting something of a national pastime — infamously torching a lorry full of British sheep in 1990 — their German counterparts are traditionally less militant.
Yet a heavy-handed bid by its government to slash a tax break on diesel used in agricultural machinery — worth around £2,500 a year to each farmer — has made zealots of German country folk.
I watched on Wednesday as locals in Hanover gave farmers hearty cheers and the thumbs up despite the traffic tailbacks in the north German city of 536,000 citizens.
For the tractor strike is a symptom of a wider malaise gripping Germany.
The country’s once booming export market made it the industrial powerhouse at the heart of Europe.
Yet since the pandemic its sluggish economy has grown by just 0.3 per cent — compared to 1.4 per cent in the UK — making it by far the worst performer in the G7 group of nations.
Stringent green initiatives, including the rolling out of heat pumps, have been unpopular with many.
‘Hungry, naked and sober’
And mass migration — last year Germany had more than 350,000 asylum applications — has become a major political flashpoint.
Its ruling coalition of the left-of- centre Social Democratic Party, the Greens and liberal Free Democrats have been trying to plug a near £15billion budget black hole.
Into this economic and social maelstrom has stepped the far-right Alternative for Deutschland, who critics say are “infiltrating” the farmers’ demonstrations.
Last week it was reported that high-ranking AfD officials were caught at a secret conference where a “masterplan” for the forced deportation of millions of migrants to Africa was discussed.
The meeting, at a luxury hotel last November, featured a talk by far-right Identitarian Movement activist Martin Sellner, who is permanently banned from the UK for extremism.
It was claimed that the “remigration” proposals discussed at the event, infiltrated by news network Collectiv, included deporting immigrants with German passports.
Those in attendance — reportedly alongside neo-Nazis — included Roland Hartwig, a personal aide to AfD leader Alice Weidel, and AfD MP Gerrit Huy.
The AfD denied it had a “secret plan” but added: “We need passport withdrawal for criminals and remigration!”
At last week’s Hanover protest, turnip farmer Christoph Berndt, 31, insisted: “The AfD use the demonstrations to draw attention to themselves.
“They say the farmers are on their side, which isn’t true.”
Driving nearly 40 miles on his green John Deere tractor to be at the good-natured demonstration, he added: “The politicians in Berlin make it more difficult for us to work and make money.
“So we go on to the street and try to animate people to understand us and what we do in the fields.”
German flags fluttered from tractor cabs with signs on their front loaders reading: “No food without us.”
Another read: “Without agriculture you’d be hungry, naked and sober.”
Air horns sounded in the sub-zero chill as farmers gathered outside Lower Saxony’s regional parliament building in Hanover.
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Locals cheered the tractor cavalcadeCredit: @UNCOFILM
Expressing the fury felt by many, Volker Hahn, who helped to organise the demo, said: “The Government needs money and they will take it from the farmers. It’s a horrible situation.”
Volker, 55, who tends pigs, chickens and potatoes at his 600-acre farm, added: “We don’t welcome the support of AfD.
“They’re extreme.”
To add to the air of despondency felt by many, Hanover and other German cities have also been crippled by train driver strikes this week.
At the parliament building I met Sonja Markgraf, from the Rural People of Lower Saxony group, which also helped to organise the tractor protest.
She said: “The French people were always on the barricades but in Germany everyone felt comfortable.”
Now, she says, times have changed, with farmers seething at being asked to help plug the Government’s budget gap.
She added: “We are very happy that the protests are peaceful — but loud. The population stands behind us.”
Sonja, 53, says people from all backgrounds are facing unrealistic demands on environmental issues.
She added: “Heat pumps are a good example. It’s not wrong to do it, it’s the way they do it.
“It was too quick, wasn’t well explained and people are worried about the price.
“Reforms are necessary but you have to take the people with you.
“This feeling is in every part of the population, whether you’re poor, rich or middle-class. It’s not great for the general mood.”
She blames people’s fears over illegal immigration for AfD’s rise, saying: “Even three or four years ago it wasn’t an issue.
“Now the municipalities say they have no rooms, no flats or apartments so it’s more visible now.
“So the AfD tries to profit from it.”
Germany has long been renowned in British minds as a land of efficiency, where everything works.
It was praised for how it faced up to its Nazi past and built a vibrant, liberal democracy with a turbo-charged economy.
That booming post-war Germany was summed up in Audi’s 1980s advertising slogan “vorsprung durch technik”, meaning “progress through technology”.
Now its famed export trade of cars and machinery is in deep trouble.
German car makers produced almost 40 per cent fewer vehicles in 2022 than they did a decade previously.
And politicians have failed to tackle creaking infrastructure, a housing shortage and high-speed internet rollout.
Labelled the Sick Man of Europe — an historic term that was used to describe Britain in the 1970s — its economy is predicted to perform worse than Britain’s in the next decade.
Though expected to return to growth this year, Germany — the world’s third biggest economy — is forecast to be overtaken by Japan in 2026 and India in 2027.
At Hanover’s regional parliament building I met the AfD’s Frank Rinck, who denies his far-right party has “infiltrated” the farmers’ demos.
The MP and chairman of the Lower Saxony AfD said the group were “simply engaging with these demonstrations like any other political party”.
Frank, an agricultural contractor, says the Government’s subsidy cut will lead to a “further death” of the farming sector.
He added: “At some point our domestic agricultural sector will not be able to feed indigenous people.”
He said it was news to him that AfD politicians had attended a “remigration” conference, describing reports as “a storm in a teacup”.
He added: “In Germany things like this tend to come up when problems arise and people demonstrate.”
Watching the AfD’s rise warily are the centre-right Christian Democratic Union party, currently Germany’s leading party in opinion polls.
Its agriculture spokesman in Lower Saxony’s parliament, Dr Marco Mohrmann, ruled out working with the AfD in a coalition.
The dad of three told me: “A big part of the AfD is extreme right — and that’s not our way.”
While accepting Germany should take in asylum seekers and skilled migrants, he admitted Britain’s stuttering Rwanda policy may also be a way forward for his country.
Conservative-leaning Marco, 59, said: “I think the model the UK is doing with Rwanda is interesting.
“It’s a third-country solution where you can look at someone and decide if they can get asylum or not.
“A year ago we couldn’t discuss something like this but now we can, and we have to.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has tried to contain farmers’ rage by phasing out the diesel tax break over time and scrapping plans to abolish tax exemption on agricultural vehicles.
Yet the scale of the protests — and their support across German society — suggests he has not done enough.
Yesterday 5,000 tractors and 10,000 protesters blockaded Berlin in a climax to a week of protest. Fresh talks with Government representatives are set.
Rural People of Lower Saxony’s Sonja Markgraf insisted: “If it’s not good for the farmers then we say, ‘We go on’.”
Germany’s Great Tractor Revolution may still only be in first gear.
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Volker Hahn helped to organise the demonstration in HanoverCredit: Louis Wood
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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has tried to contain farmers’ rage by phasing out the diesel tax break over time and scrapping plans to abolish tax exemption on agricultural vehiclesCredit: Getty
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Sonja Markgraf, from the Rural People of Lower Saxony group, also helped to organise the tractor protestCredit: Louis Wood
