Every week, another deadline looms. Every week, I scan the news looking for something worthwhile to write about. There’s no lack of source material. Fires, accidents, murders, floods, crashes, sports winners, sports losers - the list is endless. And repetitive. How often can I condemn mass murders without plagiarizing myself? But now and then, something new comes along. This last week, it was the announcement that the federal and provincial finance ministers had agreed on improvements to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). I’m delighted that two levels of government managed to agree on anything. But I’m disappointed that the mountain labored and brought forth a mouse. Nothing happens until 2019. And then the CPP changes in little bits and pieces intended to be so insignificant that maybe no one will actually notice anything. Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau told the media the changes were necessary, because more and more young working people are unable to save for their retirement. “We are going to improve the retirement security of Canadians, we're going to improve the Canada Pension Plan that will make a real difference in future Canadians' situations," Morneau said. Let’s get real, shall we? Right now, the Canada Pension Plan pays a maximum of $1092 per month. After all the improvements take place, the maximum will rise to $1456 a month. Old Age Security (OAS) adds another possible $546. $2002 a month to retire on. Oh, whoopee! A one-bedroom apartment, almost anywhere in Canada, currently costs around $800 a month. In Vancouver, Toronto, or Edmonton, over $1100. If you want your grandchildren to visit you, a spare bedroom will add at least $300 a month. That leaves very little for food, clothing, and transportation. Especially when the price of fresh vegetables rises ten per cent in one year. Of course, if you need assisted living facilities, with meals and nursing care available, count on $4000 a month. Or more. CPP won’t come close. Because it’s mandatory, the CPP is way of forcing Canadians to save, whether they like it or not. At this point, I should say that I see nothing evil about government-run pensions. Or government-run anything. (Go ahead, call me a left-wing bleeding-heart pinko socialist.) I don't see why it matters whether I pay the government or a profit-making corporation to get the services I want. I care about getting value for what I pay. And I think I do. If we had to rely on privately funded medical care in Canada, my wife would be dead by now. As long as my taxes provide education for my grandchildren, roads for me to drive on, and police services that protect me, I'm happy to pay those taxes. Of course there’s inefficiency in government systems. But there’s also inefficiency in siphoning off profits to enrich the already rich. I object only that the CPP seems to be working on the wrong end of the equation. Instead of setting up a mandatory plan for people who can’t save for their retirement, why not make it easier for them to save?
Why not, for example, tax windfall real estate profits, to keep housing prices down? Why not require credit cards to charge less than 19.84 per cent interest on unpaid balances? Why not revise income tax schedules, so low income people can retain a larger proportion of what they 
earn?
Why not increase the minimum wage? B.C. boasts that it has the strongest economy in the country; it also has the lowest minimum wage. Say a full time employee works 1,875 hours a year -- recognizing that few people on minimum wage manage to work full time. At $10.45/hr, that's a total income of $19,594. Before taxes. Slightly better than CPP, but not much. The premier has promised to raise the minimum wage to $10.85 this fall. Oh, goody -- another $62 a month! An inability to save for the future may not be entirely the wage earner's fault. Don’t tell me that raising the minimum wage will tip the economy into depression. Seattle is currently raising its minimum wage to $15 an hour, and it isn’t suffering a meltdown. A $15 minimum wage would give low income earners 50 per cent more money to spend -- boosting the economy, not shutting it down. Perhaps, as Finance Minister Morneau says, the government has to set up a savings plan for those who can’t save for themselves. Or perhaps it’s time to tweak the economy so that they have something to save. ******************************************************** Copyright © 2016 by Jim Taylor. Non-profit use in congregations and study groups encouraged; links from other blogs welcomed; all other rights reserved. To send comments, to subscribe, or to unsubscribe, write jimt@quixotic.ca ********************************************************
YOUR TURN
Several of your letters simply indicated that last week’s column, about the shootings in Orlando, had said what you were thinking. From Dawne Taylor: “Right on Jim. Thanks.” And from Roger Graf: “Amen! Thank you!”
Some of you found it hard to credit that homophobia persists at the level I described. So Marjorie Gibson wrote, “I find it amazing that in this age people do not understand that our sexuality is not chosen, but part of the genetic package we are born with. I worked in the 1940's in a Guidance Clinic in Alberta which dealt with many problems, including individuals permanently wounded by the vicious attitude of society at that time, to anyone who was homosexual. Surely in the 70 odd years since then the public understanding must have grown more realistic than your article suggests. It surprises and grieves me.”
Similarly, John McTavish wrote, “I can't imagine hatred against gays being preached in too many pulpits today, even in fundamentalist circles. But love and acceptance as applied specifically to gays -- that, I can well imagine, is not preached in many pulpits, fundamentalist or not. Maybe Orlando will be a wake-up call!”
But Tom Watson confirmed my view of rabid fundamentalists: “In the aftermath of the slaying in The Pulse LGBT nightclub, Roger Jiminez, preacher at Verity Baptist Church in Sacramento, California, continued not only to spew hatred but to double down on it. Jiminez praised the brutal massacre and said that ‘The tragedy is that more of them didn’t die. The tragedy is that he (Mateen) didn’t finish the job!’ “But, as you say, when one believes that they have the whole truth and nobody else has any, that gives license to hold any reprehensible prejudices they wish.”
Jorgen Hansen identified the tragedy of prejudice: “I had an older friend, a retired Lutheran Minister -- he did not approve of homosexuals so he attended a church that denounced them. One of his children was a brilliant and well educated homosexual. The children only began coming home when we had his funeral.”
Jack Driedger commented on the point that not everything in the Bible should be given equal credence: “I am a Mennonite. If a Mennonite pastor wrote a book about the parts of the Bible he just cannot accept, I think I would read it. Would that confirm and strengthen some of my beliefs? Would that mislead me? Would it destroy my faith or strengthen it? Would God care? Would God be happy because I was finally beginning to do some independent thinking? “I think God would be happy if, as a result of reading this book, I began to be more polite and tolerant to some of the people that others reject. “By the way, should I mention that I am 90 years old?”
Erica Farrell thought I had been too hard on the Presbyterian Church of Canada: “Ouch! I wouldn't say the Presbyterian Church in Canada is ‘still dithering’! It has taken the church longer to get to the important conversations and learning now going on at the congregational level than it did the United Church, but we are progressing. Just because the changes have been slow coming doesn't make us ‘ditherers’! In the last few years we have taken big steps forwards.”
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TECHNICAL STUFF
This column comes to you using the electronic facilities of Woodlakebooks.com.        If you want to comment on something, send a message directly to me, at jimt@quixotic.ca. Or just hit the “Reply” button.        To subscribe or unsubscribe, send me an e-mail message at the address above. Or subscribe electronically by sending a blank e-mail (no message) to sharpedges-subscribe@quixotic.ca. Similarly, you can un-subscribe at sharpedgesunsubscribe@quixotic.ca.        You can access several years of archived columns at http://edges.Canadahomepage.net.        I write a second column each Wednesday, called Soft Edges, which deals somewhat more gently with issues of life and faith. To sign up for Soft Edges, write to me directly, at the address above, or send a blank e-mail to softedgessubscribe@quixotic.ca
PROMOTION STUFF…  Ralph Milton has a new project, called Sing Hallelujah – the world’s first video hymnal. It consists of 100 popular hymns, both new and old, on five DVDs that can be played using a standard DVD player and TV screen, for use in congregations who lack skilled musicians to play piano or organ. More details at www.singhallelujah.com Ralph’s HymnSight webpage is still up,  http://www.hymnsight.ca, with a vast gallery of photos you can use to enhance the appearance of the visual images you project for liturgical use (prayers, responses, hymn verses, etc.)  Wayne Irwin's “Churchweb Canada,” an inexpensive service for any congregation wanting to develop a web presence, with free consultation. <http://www.churchwebcanada.ca>  Isabel Gibson’s thoughtful and well-written blog, www.traditionaliconoclast.com  Alva Wood’s satiric stories about incompetent bureaucrats and prejudiced attitudes in a small town – not particularly religious, but fun; alvawood@gmail.com to get onto her mailing list.  Tom Watson writes a weekly blog called “The View from Grandpa Tom’s Balcony” – ruminations on various subjects, and feedback from Tom’s readers. Write him at tomwatso@gmail.com or twatson@sentex.net
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