Man On Minimum Wage Explains Walking To Work An Hour Freezing Without Coat

[Economy 52,861]

This video is short 2 minute interviews done at a poverty restaurant on the extremely difficult choices people on minimum wage go thru

 

The last interview is really bad. He talks about at night in the winter when it's freezing his total walking to work can be up to an hour and he can't afford a coat and only has a light jacket totally unfit for Canadian winters especially at night

 

 

The entire video is heart breaking. The guy who can't even get a jacket starts talking about it at 4:40 or how he sometimes skips days without eating

 

The first guy on the interview says he worked 7 days a week for 15 years

 

[pachinko 10,755]

Vote Bernie! 

[RAMROD 117,133]

3 minutes ago, pachinko said:

Vote Bernie! 

It’s Canada, you prick 

[Judas Society 3,596]

I don't know what's the minimum wage is like in Canada, but I'm very close to minimum wage where I live. So I know how difficult it is because you could only find a small room to rent so that rent doesn't take half your wage every month, you could only eat a basic meal just so you can save some money at the end of the month.

So, the fact that he couldn't take the bus or have to skip a few meals, I think Canada's minimum wage needs an upgrade. Or employee laws need an upgrade. Other than that, I didn't watch the interview coz I can't watch it now, that guy looks like he's a refugee who came over to Canada for a better life, I wonder if Canada have facilities to help them adjust to live over in Canada when they brought them over like help them make their first step like helping them learn English or giving them classes to get a diploma or something.

[pachinko 10,755]

6 minutes ago, RAMROD said:

It’s Canada, you prick 

Ah. We're f***ed either way.  

[Economy 52,861]

6 minutes ago, Judas Society said:

I don't know what's the minimum wage is like in Canada, but I'm very close to minimum wage where I live. So I know how difficult it is because you could only find a small room to rent so that rent doesn't take half your wage every month, you could only eat a basic meal just so you can save some money at the end of the month.

So, the fact that he couldn't take the bus or have to skip a few meals, I think Canada's minimum wage needs an upgrade. Or employee laws need an upgrade. Other than that, I didn't watch the interview coz I can't watch it now, that guy looks like he's a refugee who came over to Canada for a better life, I wonder if Canada have facilities to help them adjust to live over in Canada when they brought them over like help them make their first step like helping them learn English or giving them classes to get a diploma or something.

The guy in the photo that looks like a refugee is from Cuba. He's the one that worked 7 days a week

 

And he did take the bus but he had to walk an hour past the bus. He didn't specify it maybe his job was more outside the city, or because he works at night perhaps the bus route only ran so far. Either way there was a significant portion he had to walk

 

And the minimum wage varies by Province but it's generally between $14/h and $15/h in most provinces

 

In the largest most expensive cities like Vancouver and Toronto where rents are $1,600 for a small basement and $2,000 a month for a floor, or if u wanna buy a house $1 Million or more, it's insane

 

This is kind of up to the Provinces in terms of the minimum wage factor. Since the cost of living and economics vary a lot from Province to Province it's kinda hard to come up with a National standard

 

It's why I wonder if the discussion in the US is a good idea either about a Federal Minimum living wage...

 

$13/h might get u further in some small town in Kansas than $18/h in NYC or LA...

[Judas Society 3,596]

4 minutes ago, Economy said:

The guy in the photo that looks like a refugee is from Cuba. He's the one that worked 7 days a week

 

And he did take the bus but he had to walk an hour past the bus. He didn't specify it maybe his job was more outside the city, or because he works at night perhaps the bus route only ran so far. Either way there was a significant portion he had to walk

 

And the minimum wage varies by Province but it's generally between $14/h and $15/h in most provinces

 

In the largest most expensive cities like Vancouver and Toronto where rents are $1,600 for a small basement and $2,000 a month for a floor, or if u wanna buy a house $1 Million or more, it's insane

 

This is kind of up to the Provinces in terms of the minimum wage factor. Since the cost of living and economics vary a lot from Province to Province it's kinda hard to come up with a National standard

 

It's why I wonder if the discussion in the US is a good idea either about a Federal Minimum living wage...

 

$13/h might get u further in some small town in Kansas than $18/h in NYC or LA...

With larger countries like USA, Japan & China, I think a standard minimum wage shared across provinces or even nationally is illogical. The people working minimum wage in huge cities will suffer under the pressure of cost of living. I remember there was one point I had to eat a few slices of bread for dinner. But it wasn't because I couldn't afford normal food, but because if I do spend on them every night, I would end up having no savings. So sometimes, I rather be frugal and save a little more at the end of the month. But I can't imagine not being able to afford winter clothing.

Is there any NGOs or volunteers that could help people like him?

[RAMROD 117,133]

I have one question, I am assuming these people are wearing clothes they got from thrift stores right? Don't they sell cheap winter coats/jacket too there??

[Economy 52,861]

41 minutes ago, RAMROD said:

I have one question, I am assuming these people are wearing clothes they got from thrift stores right? Don't they sell cheap winter coats/jacket too there??

I was thinking the same. Unless it's a new issue he was getting to fix

 

Coats always cost more than jackets tho so at a thrift store maybe it's still a bit?

[Economy 52,861]

1 hour ago, Judas Society said:

With larger countries like USA, Japan & China, I think a standard minimum wage shared across provinces or even nationally is illogical. The people working minimum wage in huge cities will suffer under the pressure of cost of living. I remember there was one point I had to eat a few slices of bread for dinner. But it wasn't because I couldn't afford normal food, but because if I do spend on them every night, I would end up having no savings. So sometimes, I rather be frugal and save a little more at the end of the month. But I can't imagine not being able to afford winter clothing.

Is there any NGOs or volunteers that could help people like him?

I think so too that's why when u said maybe Canada needs to raise minimum wage, im not sure that would work

 

A minimum wage high enough for ppl to live in expensive Provinces like Ontario or British Columbia would be way too high for Provinces like New Found Land

 

A national standard just would never work

[Judas Society 3,596]

1 minute ago, Economy said:

I think so too that's why when u said maybe Canada needs to raise minimum wage, im not sure that would work

 

A minimum wage high enough for ppl to live in expensive Provinces like Ontario or British Columbia would be way too high for Provinces like New Found Land

 

A national standard just would never work

Which is why I was wondering if raising minimum wage doesn't work, if it's only an issue more prevalent among the refugees, have they being provided facilities to help them assimilate into the workforce or even just general living in Canada. Though with the amount of refugees being brought into the country, it would definitely cost way higher to provide all these facilities. It wouldn't matter if they escaped imminent death from war to imminent death to winter or contracting diseases due to poor living conditions.

[Chuckles 2,549]

On 1/14/2020 at 8:49 PM, RAMROD said:

I have one question, I am assuming these people are wearing clothes they got from thrift stores right? Don't they sell cheap winter coats/jacket too there??

 

On 1/14/2020 at 9:32 PM, Economy said:

I was thinking the same. Unless it's a new issue he was getting to fix

 

Coats always cost more than jackets tho so at a thrift store maybe it's still a bit?

As a thrift shopper myself. I can confirm that the price of coats it's high and sometimes it's even smiliar to new ones. No joke.

[Guest]

Don't those people get help from the government? Any charities they can go to that can help them? 

[Economy 52,861]

1 hour ago, kyanewest said:

Don't those people get help from the government? Any charities they can go to that can help them? 

I'm not sure what the welfare and assistance programs cut off is

 

Canada does have credits and forms of assistance for the poor... But this is where the lack of geographical adjustments makes assistance very flawed in my view

 

The minimum wage, disability benefits and other forms of governemnt help tend to be exactly the same whether u live in a small town or a big expensive city like Toronto or Vancouver which draws a lot of critics

 

At the hospital when I was hospitalized for mental health I met a man in his 30s that was moving far away because his disability benefits were enough to get by in many parts of the Country but not in the big cities where rents or homes are outrageous

 

In a few months I'm moving to a small city of 100,000 (Chatham) that is 3h away from Toronto and you can get a decent house in good condition there for $250,000... The exact same house in Toronto would cost about $1.3 Million (5X the cost)

 

The gap in rent isn't as high but still significant. A basement in Chatham will go for like $700/month (or even less if you find a good deal) whereas the best deals for a 1 bedroom basement in Toronto would go for $1,500 or more (over double). That's a basement not a full house

 

Yes big cities may have more opportunities and higher paying jobs for the average person... But for the people at the bottom making minimum wage or if your on government assistance you do not get more for living in an expensive area. For those people surviving in the big city is hell even with assistance

 

For the ppl at the bottom big cities in Canada are completely brutal and the housing crisis is ruining lives

 

In recent years the homeless rate in Canada has surpassed the US rate even tho more Americans supposibly live in poverty and in Canada more basic services (like healthcare) are free

 

It speaks to how unaffordable things have gotten because of the housing crisis

 

It's also the reason I'm forced to leave the Toronto area because I can't do it anymore

 

The only non essentials I spend money with are my gym membership, my Netflix and Spotify. Also my personal training but I'm only doing that as part of my experience gains to go into my fitness career otherwise I wouldn't be spending on personal training

 

I hate the idea of going to a smaller city but the help we will have from family there and much lower cost of living should make things significantly less stressful