Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Foot, meet mouth.

A commenter today took issue with the wording of my post on CPP and EI deductions. Specifically, she was bothered by the following quote:
"Once you've reached the annual maximum, the deductions stop, so you effectively get a pay raise around half-way through the year. The problem is that, if you get used to this increased income, it's a bit of a shock to the system when the deductions start again in January."
This statement makes one fairly major assumption, that an individual's annual income is high enough to max out these deductions. The annual maxima for CPP and EI are based on employment income of $41,100 and $44,900, respectively. Therefore, if you make less than $41,100, then you'll be dealing with these deductions for the entire year, and never see the mid-year "raise" I mentioned.

As the commenter pointed out, more than half of Canadians have an income below this $41,100 threshold, so complaining about the "pay cut" I take every January is very insensitive: I'm essentially complaining about the high salary I make.

That was not my intent when I wrote the post; I was simply trying to look at the start of 2008 and all of the potential considerations that come with it. I wasn't really meaning to "complain" about the change, but rather take it as an opportunity to rein in our budget. However, I realize now that the post did carry a tone of arrogance and entitlement, and I would like to apologize for that.

Tina at Money Smart Life posted recently on the blessing of income tax, and I actually agree with this view. I'm extremely grateful for the opportunities that my job and my salary provide for me. My income gives me the means to correct my past mistakes (for which I am entirely responsible), and I am certainly not looking for pity. I just failed to get that across in this morning's post.

4 comments:

MEG said...

I didn't think your post sounded arrogant or entitled at all. And there are obviously LOTS of people have that problem--and it is a bit of a budgeting problem--especially the kind of people who read financial blogs. Don't let that commenter bother you.

Anonymous said...

I didn't pick up on arrogance I was just confused why as someone who has been living and working in Canada for 2 years I had never noticed this "pay-cut" now I realise it's because I haven't earned enough! I still can't take any offense at the post, like Meg says, don't worry about that commenter.

Anonymous said...

I didn't mean for it to sound as much like I was offended as it did. I was mostly trying to point out that it was giving away your salary, and as a side note complaining about something that millions would love to trade their money problems for.

P.S. I'm male. I know it's hard from the name to figure it out. I use harsh sounds to make it sound a little more masculine when spoken, so it sounds more like Tray-key-at-ehm.

Loonies And Sense said...

@traciatim: Thanks for the follow-up, and sorry for the gender assumption. I've had the same thing happen: Big Cajun Man called me "her" a few months ago...

It's mainly the tone of the first post that I wanted to address. On re-reading it, I realized that it did have a tone of complaint, and that's not what I intended.

I appreciate you calling me on this, whether you were personally offended or not.