Tories reach out to self-employed with EI benefits

[blueblood]

get a grip I just pointed out how easy this would be to abuse. I guess the businessman wants to be on more "equal" ground with his employees that have it so much better than the "poor entrepreneur" So I'm guessing when the business gets really profitable the employee should get a fair share of THAT benefit too huh? Gonna give all the wage slaves a big bonus check so they can afford a trip to the carribean like the boss takes every year? You cons are really so out of touch with reality, youu actually believe that the wealthy have it rough. If you think the wage earners have it so good go try and live on the minimum wage for a while, and remember Harper thinks 10 an hour is too much money for companies to have to pay their employees.

I lived on worse than minimum wage during the late 90's, do you remember the farm income crisis? That program would have been very beneficial at that point in time.

You also have to remember that without the businessman/entrepreneur, your precious wage earner does not have a job and is really up the creek. Also if the company doesn't have a healthy profit margin, then the company has no business existing. Being wealthy doesn't just happen, it takes a lot of hard work and smarts. Remember money is easy come easy go.

Punishing a business is the failed experiment that happened in the USSR and we all know what happens there. The business man does have it rougher than the employees, he has to keep his employees happy so they come to work the next day, he has to make money to pay the bills, live on, and pay for the employees, he takes all the risk in managing the business and making desicions. All the employee does is show up for work and do his time. That's not out of touch with reality, that's simple logic.

[fellowtraveller]

I am self employed and want nothing to do with this scheme.

My 'family values' are unrelated to partisan politics.

[Topaz]

What better way for the Cons to get more money than to let more people to pay into unemployment!! You pay all your working time and how many times will you draw from it and how much will you get of the money that you paid. How many times is a woman going to have kids? Your better off taking the money you pay the gov't and putting it in a GIC or other investment.

[msj]

Pat, EI is not quite like CPP.

The employer puts in $1.40 for every $1 that is deducted from the employee.

So, presumably, the self-employed would opt in and pay $4.15/100 of earnings up to the maximum when it suits their need.

You are absolutely right that this would be abused which anyone could see if they considered this based on the policy itself rather than on which political party is supporting it.

[Bryan]

This is soooo open to abuse.

I agree. Let's just completely cut all social programs in their entirety, because people abuse them. No EI of any kind, no social assistance, no healthcare, no workers comp, no CPP, none of this. There is just too much of a chance that somebody might collect that didn't pay into it as much as I did, so nobody should get anything.

That is what you meant to say, right?

[Pat Coghlan]

Pat, EI is not quite like CPP.

The employer puts in $1.40 for every $1 that is deducted from the employee.

I thought the employer and employee were 50/50 partners, so there would be even *more* incentive to opt out unless someone is expecting to be out of work.

Whatever happened to UI (EI) being an insurance plan for *unexpected* job loss?

[msj]

I thought the employer and employee were 50/50 partners, so there would be even *more* incentive to opt out unless someone is expecting to be out of work.

Whatever happened to UI (EI) being an insurance plan for *unexpected* job loss?

Employers have always put in more than employees for UI/EI.

But you're right - allowing the self-employed to opt in is yet more proof that it is not insurance but really a government transfer social program based on increasingly changing, and politicized, rules depending on who the government wants to bribe.