Short Takes: Pension Changes, the Middle Class, and more

Here are my posts for the past two weeks:

The Wealthy Renter

What We Need on Credit Card Statements

Straight Talk on Your Money

Here are some short takes and some weekend reading:

 Frederick Vettese makes the case for changing federal civil servants’ pensions to a target-benefit plan to save taxpayers a lot of money. The government could save even more money by eliminating employees they don’t need.

Andrew Coyne does some clear thinking about taxes and the middle class. He shows that when there is a raging debate, it’s possible for both sides to be very wrong.

 Squawkfox explains the steps necessary to open a Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP). It’s work, but the substantial free government money available makes it worth the effort.

Big Cajun Man was on his best behaviour for a podcast with Doug Hoyes. He even explained how he got his nickname (but left out the profanity).

Comments

  1. Alan Whitton (Big Cajun Man)September 29, 2017 at 7:47 AM

    Given you were there when the name was first used, I guess I can't deny there was a profanity laced version of my nickname too. Thanks for the inclusion, enjoy the cold weather.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Michael JamesNovember 7, 2020 at 11:01 AM

    The exchange below is reproduced to remove broken links.

    ----- BHCh September 29, 2017 at 6:54 PM

    The Vanguard paper on dividend investing is, as always, excellent. Waste of paper though in some ways - won't change investor behaviour one bit. The dividend strategies seem to be extremely popular. Another reason why they are likely to underperform.

    ----- Michael James September 30, 2017 at 10:07 AM

    @BHCh: One report won't change the world, but I'm optimistic that it will change a few minds. It can be tough going up against dividend blogs so fervent they deny that paying dividends makes stock prices drop.

    ----- BHCh September 30, 2017 at 10:59 AM

    Yes, math be damned. MoneySense, etc... also promote "dividend stocks". Because recent performance of Canadian "dividend" stocks is bound to ensure success going forward.

    And I buy that dividends used to be an indication of value but not now when we have much better criteria and the payouts are so easy to manipulate.

    ReplyDelete

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