Golden Horseshoe and other major Canadian cities are NOT in a price bubble.

[H10]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/toronto-housing-bubble-1.3985497

The number of CEO's and rich people in banking, and finance and other such jobs has exploded in the last 2 decades, especially in Toronto.  I know two cops married in their 40s, both earn over 120k per year as just run of the mill officers.  With just a 250k down they have no problem qualifying for a house well over 2 million dollars.  And that is not even counting they can earn more money from overtime.  I know so many people just civil servants clearing 100k per year, there are so many new jobs now that didn't exist before where people are earning lots of money like programming and software jobs.  We see so many more entrepreneurs owning new businesses, I don't thinkt here is a price bubble, I think there are just alot more people with money, almost all the professors in the business schools and law schools are earning well into the six figures, we have hydro one employees doing just run of the mill work clearing 100k, if they are married that pushes them into the 200k range. 

[cannuck]

It is not just in Hogtown.   When I am on construction sites out West, it is obvious that everyone there is making well over $100k (our CETs expect that in second year out of school - takes some overtime to get there though) and those with a really sweet deal (thinking of some ironworkers doing 28 x 12s on, 4 off are raking in a quarter a year - for no education, no real skills, no risk, just a bit of time and work).   Starting wage for a medical specialist is about that same level ($20k a month).   What you probably DON'T see is what contract employees at Banks in Toronto are being charged out for and how much they are being paid.  $400 and hour for 10 hour days is not unusual, and many can get 50% of that back in their compensation contract.  The real estate bubble is both the feed and the result of this kind of really stupid remuneration.

The inverse I see in the scientific and research communities.   One of my closest friends finally left applied nuclear physics engineering since pretty much anywhere he has gone in the world, his PhD won't earn him enough money to live decently (Canada, US, Ireland, Italy, Germany and Russia).   When our eldest was in academia, she could earn a living, but seeing what business offered for her skillset (3x to 4x academic earnings) was an eye opener.   Then, of course, we have the sports coach wages in the world of academia, and those look more like the truly idiotic payments within corporate governance these days.

Sadly, I have come to the conclusion that today, we pay the least productive people the highest rewards.

Edited February 19, 2017 by cannuck

[H10]

11 hours ago, cannuck said:

It is not just in Hogtown.   When I am on construction sites out West, it is obvious that everyone there is making well over $100k (our CETs expect that in second year out of school - takes some overtime to get there though) and those with a really sweet deal (thinking of some ironworkers doing 28 x 12s on, 4 off are raking in a quarter a year - for no education, no real skills, no risk, just a bit of time and work).   Starting wage for a medical specialist is about that same level ($20k a month).   What you probably DON'T see is what contract employees at Banks in Toronto are being charged out for and how much they are being paid.  $400 and hour for 10 hour days is not unusual, and many can get 50% of that back in their compensation contract.  The real estate bubble is both the feed and the result of this kind of really stupid remuneration.

The inverse I see in the scientific and research communities.   One of my closest friends finally left applied nuclear physics engineering since pretty much anywhere he has gone in the world, his PhD won't earn him enough money to live decently (Canada, US, Ireland, Italy, Germany and Russia).   When our eldest was in academia, she could earn a living, but seeing what business offered for her skillset (3x to 4x academic earnings) was an eye opener.   Then, of course, we have the sports coach wages in the world of academia, and those look more like the truly idiotic payments within corporate governance these days.

Sadly, I have come to the conclusion that today, we pay the least productive people the highest rewards.

How is that?

[cannuck]

I thought that would be self-evident.  Let's take corporate governance:  in North America (especially US) the world of finance now controls massive blocks of publicly traded equities, so they have the right to appoint bank/finance friendly boards.   Those in turn, being OPM addicts (Other People's Money) install governance that are also bank/finance friendly.  The whole lot in turn award themselves huge blocks of stock diluting shareholders and become filthy rich doing nothing but an employee's job that any number of millions of people could and would gladly do for what the job really deserves - maybe 10x average employee pay.   As a result, we end up with extremely poor corporate governance by people who are seldom even aware, never mind focused on product, customer or long term shareholder interests.   

Take a look at pro sport money.  Sorry to say, but they really produce diddly squat, just add a lot of cost to consumers for what you could see for free at the corner high school.  When you see the highest paid employees of American Universities being the sports coaches, it explains the shift away from good academic culture that has occurred.

Then think about government.  The bureaucrat's argument is how much more or less they can do with more or less money.  The real question for probably 1/2 or more of ALL government employees is "why the frick do I pay you at ALL????"  You may not have noticed, but the governments of Canada and the US have run up enough debt to beggar the next several generations - mostly doing things they have no business doing - at a price infinitely higher than any responsible individual would ever pay.

Siphon all of this money out of companies, institutions, etc. and where do you think the money is coming from?   It is the guy with the tool in his hand, the entrepreneur who sees a new product or service and will put his time and money on the line to make it happen, the lady feeding the workers or taking care of their kids, etc. who are productive.   We tend to reward their efforts and productivity the least since we have pissed away the bulk of the cash on the army of useless tits who are sinking our economy.

AND: before you get off on some idea about me being a workers' fellow traveler - I AM the senior member of boards of directors and corporate governance of several companies in several countries.

Edited February 20, 2017 by cannuck

[?Impact]

31 minutes ago, cannuck said:

I thought that would be self-evident...

I'm surprised, you missed the big one that outstrips all of the ones you mentioned by a wide margin. The legal industry.

[cannuck]

10 minutes ago, ?Impact said:

I'm surprised, you missed the big one that outstrips all of the ones you mentioned by a wide margin. The legal industry.

Too many things going on around here, or I guess I am getting senile!!!!    Yes, the ambulance chasing league (that includes the insurance component) is one of the things that makes US (and to a lesser extent Canadian) business un-competitive.   I used to be in the aviation business, and when Cessna stopped producing light singles in 1986, over half of the cost of a 172 (most produced airplane in history) was nothing but insurance premiums.

Our slightly better situation up here - but still complicated by sharing a lot of the insurance side of the markeplace - is that it is now far cheaper to build in Canada than US (Diamond a good example).

Thanks for catching that.

Edited February 20, 2017 by cannuck