OT: OT Thread Part 6: still got a new name faster than Seattle's team

[Cloned]

 

[bellagiobob]

And of course he gets crapped on by the usual social media trolls. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. This tweet is pretty much where I’m at.

 

[bellagiobob]

 

[Delicious Pancakes]

MJ stepping up to the tune of $100M over 10 years for organizations dedicated to ensuring racial equality, social justice and greater access to education.

A STATEMENT FROM JORDAN BRAND AND MICHAEL JORDAN. air.jordan.com

 

[doulos]

Not a fan of the guy but kudos to him.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Not a fan of the guy but kudos to him.

I actually met him once. I heard that he wasn't the tipping type from a few people in the service industry. That said good on him for trying to put some of his $ to a good cause.

 

[Del Preston]

Over 10,000 at the Legislature tonight for the BLM protest. Doesn't sound like there were any problems.

 

[bellagiobob]

Over 10,000 at the Legislature tonight for the BLM protest. Doesn't sound like there were any problems.

Problems usually start at the end of the organized protest when people head into the streets looking for trouble. Hopefully not tonight.

 

[BlueCheeseWithWings]

I have found a loophole to bypass the limit on gatherings across Alberta: label it a protest.

Whether it is a wedding or barbecue with the boys; just make sure you are protesting something, anything.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

And of course he gets crapped on by the usual social media trolls. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. This tweet is pretty much where I’m at.

It's a pretty sad world when people can't have their own innocent thoughts or feelings and share them without being labeled or being told that "you're doing it wrong". This is why so many choose to remain silent instead of speaking out. Everyone is quick to tell you how you are supposed to feel and what you are supposed to say and label you without knowing a thing about you. People need to be better about that IMO. If someone shows support for your cause then make them feel included and share with them what has transpired in your life to educate them. Unity is the only way to make everyone feel like they are on an equal footing IMO.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

I have found a loophole to bypass the limit on gatherings across Alberta: label it a protest.

Whether it is a wedding or barbecue with the boys; just make sure you are protesting something, anything.

Down with Propane or down with Charcoal? Maybe protest against excessive lighter fluid usage?

 

[bellagiobob]

It's a pretty sad world when people can't have their own innocent thoughts or feelings and share them without being labeled or being told that "you're doing it wrong". This is why so many choose to remain silent instead of speaking out. Everyone is quick to tell you how you are supposed to feel and what you are supposed to say and label you without knowing a thing about you. People need to be better about that IMO. If someone shows support for your cause then make them feel inclusive and share with them what has transpired in your life to educate them. Unity is the only way to make everyone feel like they are on an equal footing IMO.

Well said my friend. I feel badly for these athletes that are told they never say anything but cliches, then they come out with a heartfelt response to this, and they get shit on, for not giving enough money, for being too late to the cause, to supporting the cause, etc. Social media can be a real toxic cesspool at times.

 

[BlueCheeseWithWings]

Down with Propane or down with Charcoal?

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Well said my friend. I feel badly for these athletes that are told they never say anything but cliches, then they come out with a heartfelt response to this, and they get shit on, for not giving enough money, for being too late to the cause, to supporting the cause, etc. Social media can be a real toxic cesspool at times.

Agreed. It brings out the worst in a lot of people. It's message board trolls on steroids sometimes. I remember when chat rooms and message boards started up and people started acting in ways that most people would get their teeth caved in if they did it in person. People that are unhappy with their lives want to inflict pain on everyone else as misery loves company. This happens sometimes in day to day life but over the internet it is a plague.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Damnit Bobby, put away that charcoal!

 

[Oilhawks]

Trudeau, Morneau and co. (Via CMHC) ram through another significant change (two stress tests and now this change) to reduce the home buying power of the average Canadian by about another 10%. This is in addition to the roughly 20% decrease from the previous stress tests (though raised a meagre 3% earlier this year pre Covid). Message to average Canadians: load up on more cars and consumer debt, don’t buy homes. No, it won’t make a desired impact on the two actually inflated markets of Vancouver and Toronto, and no, it’s not about mortgage “delinquency ratios”:

mortgage delinquencies are “meagre” and the Bank of Canada is forecasting they will remain at less than 1% of all mortgages.

Full article here: Posthaste: CMHC is making it harder to get a mortgage ‘just when the economy needs all the help it can get’

 

[doulos]

Canadians are fantastic at crippling themselves with debt. I am so completely in favour of this.

 

[Oilhawks]

Canadians are fantastic at crippling themselves with debt. I am so completely in favour of this.

Then perhaps we should go after consumer debt, no? It's the real culprit. Spending money on depreciating "assets" like cars, TVs, phones that are outdated in 2 years etc makes the world go 'round, as they say.

 

[doulos]

Then perhaps we should go after consumer debt, no? It's the real culprit. Spending money on depreciating "assets" like cars, TVs, phones that are outdated in 2 years etc makes the world go 'round, as they say.

I disagree. Canadians who buy way too much house are hurting themselves and the economy. They need protection from their own bad decisions.

Consumer debt is fine to go after as well. 7 year financing on cars is asinine.

 

[Oilhawks]

I disagree. Canadians who buy way too much house are hurting themselves and the economy. They need protection from their own bad decisions.

Consumer debt is fine to go after as well. 7 year financing on cars is asinine.

To the bolded, outside of Vancouver and Toronto, this doesn't happen nearly as much as you think. This change, like the stress test before, will have minimal impact on those markets. It will take regulations that will not be popular with certain groups and runs counter to the Trudeau administration's 'philosophy'.

They won't regulate consumer debt. That said, I agree 7 year car financing is too long. There should also be a much lower cap on credit cards / line of credit proportional to income.

 

[doulos]

I agree with you. But I am okay with regulation on stuff like that. Others have a different philosophy. You're probably right though. These CMHC regulations likely need to be much tougher. This is a step in the right direction.

I am so tired of real estate brokers and agents complaining about these stress tests and acting like it's a crying shame that less people are buying houses because of it. If people can't buy a house because of an extra little bit of checking in on their finances then they have no business buying a house at all.

When we moved back to Edmonton I was shocked at how much house banks were willing to finance us for. It was gross. We would have been so house poor if we went up near the maximum of what they were offering. I get it. People think home ownership is something all adults need to do (I disagree of course, but that's the lie being touted to them) and so they will put themselves into horrible situations just to achieve it. It's nasty stuff.

 

[Oilhawks]

I agree with you. But I am okay with regulation on stuff like that. Others have a different philosophy. You're probably right though. These CMHC regulations likely need to be much tougher. This is a step in the right direction.

I am so tired of real estate brokers and agents complaining about these stress tests and acting like it's a crying shame that less people are buying houses because of it. If people can't buy a house because of an extra little bit of checking in on their finances then they have no business buying a house at all.

When we moved back to Edmonton I was shocked at how much house banks were willing to finance us for. It was gross. We would have been so house poor if we went up near the maximum of what they were offering. I get it. People think home ownership is something all adults need to do (I disagree of course, but that's the lie being touted to them) and so they will put themselves into horrible situations just to achieve it. It's nasty stuff.

When was that? If was was more than 5 years ago it was before the stress test. It was arguably too high before, sure. But the facts are facts, Canada has a less than 1% default rate. Doesn't really support the narrative that people are buying more house than they can afford. But I agree, horrible stuff, especially when they already had a $1000 vehicle payment they waltzed into before trying to buy a home. That should NEVER happen, but it happens all the time.

 

[doulos]

It was less than 3 years ago. Just because people are not defaulting doesn't mean they are not suffering due to poor financial decisions when it comes to purchasing a house.

Most people are going to make a lot of other really tough decisions before they stop making their mortgage payments. Cancel travel plans, stop eating out, buy less consumer products. All things that hurt the economy.

A couple months before covid-19 hit we received a phone call from some friends who had basically run out of options. They were trying to decide on whether they should go to a predatory loan shark to try and make some payments on their mortgage, or default completely. They had sold off belongings, were eating very little, and had taken loans from family just to change the bald tires on their vehicles onto something safer so they could still get to work. They had run out of options and yet had always paid their mortgage on time. I suspect there are a lot of people in that area that are in way over their head but will still make their mortgage payment as a last resort.

 

[Oilhawks]

Ah, okay. From what I've seen the stress test approvals tend to be fairly below most people's maximum comfort levels. I haven't met too many people that maximized their approvals before that though, but I'm sure it happens a fair bit along with those maxing their monthly payment and term on a car loan, credit cards etc.

"Cancel travel plans, stop eating out, buy less consumer products. All things that hurt the economy..." are all things that people honestly seem to do more of than they really need to. Considering the trend towards "green consumption" . If the average Canadian traveled once per year, ate out once a week instead of multiple times per week, bought products when they stopped working (rather than according to planned obsolescence) they would not only fit within those constraints but be able to pay rent or a mortgage much more easily. I'm not a big spender when it comes to consumer goods but noticed I saved a lot of money eating at home during the Covid situation vs eating at restaurants, take out etc. But yeah, you hit the nail on the head as to why government restrictions on consumer debt would meet with greater resistance, for one, it's much easier for the average Canadian to know about or understand (home buying restrictions tend to be purposefully obfuscated) and it would "hurt the economy"

Sorry to hear about your friends. I don't know of anyone like that personally but I imagine it happens a decent amount. Most people I know pay about the same to rent a house as they would to own it. The problem is when people go from a one bedroom apartment to a house, they may not be prepared for that change in payment. It doesn't seem to be that common nowadays though, and not nearly as much as it was in the US pre bubble. I know many people that pay much more than they can afford for a car though, unfortunately. Easy to do when the transaction usually consists of checking credit and a verbal on the customer's income (no job letter, rarely checking paystubs, T4 etc). No "little bit of extra checking on their finances" required there, I guess.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

It was less than 3 years ago. Just because people are not defaulting doesn't mean they are not suffering due to poor financial decisions when it comes to purchasing a house.

Most people are going to make a lot of other really tough decisions before they stop making their mortgage payments. Cancel travel plans, stop eating out, buy less consumer products. All things that hurt the economy.

A couple months before covid-19 hit we received a phone call from some friends who had basically run out of options. They were trying to decide on whether they should go to a predatory loan shark to try and make some payments on their mortgage, or default completely. They had sold off belongings, were eating very little, and had taken loans from family just to change the bald tires on their vehicles onto something safer so they could still get to work. They had run out of options and yet had always paid their mortgage on time. I suspect there are a lot of people in that area that are in way over their head but will still make their mortgage payment as a last resort.

It is hardly a new situation where people purchasing homes had to fight tooth and nail to make payments. This has been going on for decades or even centuries. It is still better to have equity into something that you own and if you get a fixed rate mortgage in time you will be paying less for your mortgage than you would a similar rental and by the end you will be much better off than renting. It sucks for your friends and I wish them the best on keeping their home, this is all too common in tough financial times.