Category Archives: Work

How do you think paying your retirement? With your credit card?

    Sebastien Larocque
How do you think paying your retirement? With your credit card?

How do you think paying your retirement? With your credit card?

Probably in a few days, you will receive your credit card account statement of the holiday season. Maybe you are like many people who are not able to pay their credit card in one payment. When you look at your credit card account statements, how much money do you plan to save for your retirement?

If you don’t have the money to pay your credit card, do you really think to have some for your retirement?

A significant number of people turn to debt consolidation services to be able to pay their debts and avoid bankruptcy. This service is useful, but it demonstrates that many people have no economy and retire being poor.

According to surveys, many people pay their Christmas gifts with their credit card, even if they don’t have the money to pay them at the time of purchase. They’ll have to pay them over a period of several months after Christmas. This fuels the debate about the retirement plans and in what conditions these people will live their retirement.

The problem is mainly that many people retire being dependent on social assistance from the government to survive.

The government must plan for retired workers

The previous facts demonstrate that people cannot be fully responsible for their situation. The government must step in and take some of people’s responsibilities for their retirement.

People don’t like paying taxes. They prefer to manage their finances. However, many people don’t know how to manage their finances and even less how to plan their retirement. If it wasn’t about the social assistance of the government, they would be homeless.

It becomes clear that the government must plan for people who don’t plan. Even with education, finances remain an emotional area and people love spending. We live in a consumer society where credit is easy to obtain. It’s also easy to get into debt.

Conclusion

There is no doubt for me that the government must step in to ensure a minimum income for people when they retire. Educating people and developing financial management measures help people, but it’s not enough. What we’re more likely to see is many people continuing to depend on the government’s welfare and being in a situation close to poverty during their retirement.

If you really want a good retirement plan, think how you use the credit and that could say a lot about the quality of your retirement.




Give jobs to local workers before hiring workers from foreign countries

    Sebastien Larocque
Mexicans working in Quebec

Mexicans working in Quebec

During several years in Quebec, Mexicans have come to work in the agricultural sector. These people leave Mexico and live in Quebec for a few months during the time of employment. Some work for picking vegetables while others work for packing Christmas trees in the late fall.

The employment paradox

Many people find paradoxical that we hire Mexicans in Quebec to occupy agricultural jobs when many Quebecers want to work. They can be either on unemployment insurance, welfare or even homeless.

The question many people ask: “Why are foreign workers coming to Quebec when there are plenty of local workers who do not work?”

Why this paradox?

At first glance, it can be hard to understand.

The government is responsible for managing the employment sector. It seems that the hiring of foreign workers and reintegration of unemployed people are separated.

Yet I have seen people of Quebec in rehabilitation working to pick vegetables with a social organism. They were supervised and had a chance to return to other jobs in the future.

Another taboo subject. Many people live on welfare during many years and have the physical and mental ability to work. For these people able to work, we may tend to think they do not find a job. Yet there are jobs available that are occupied by Mexicans each year.

What solution would be appropriate?

As I said above, the government is responsible for managing the employment sector.

I think it would not be appropriate to force workers such as engineers or other highly skilled positions to work in the agriculture. However, many unskilled workers are looking to work. It could be a job opportunity for these people to get support from the government based on available jobs.

In addition, we seek sustainable ways of reintegrating homeless without having them falling back to the street. There is already a problem of funding to help the homeless. Just a few months of working could pay them a tiny room and food. About the equivalent of a basic student housing. This is a huge result for people who spend their days on the street and become a burden for the society sometimes. The hiring of local workers in agriculture could serve as a measure of reinstatement.

The government must establish a formal program to help the poor people who can still work before allowing the hiring of foreign workers, particularly in unskilled sectors.




How to find a balance between men and women in jobs?

    Sebastien Larocque
Non-traditional job

Non-traditional job

Each sector of the labor market is composed of men and women in different proportions. In Quebec, certain measures and campaigns are designed to get women working in non-traditional occupations.

A problem for women to integrate non-traditional occupations

Some jobs are mainly composed of men. For example, the construction sector is mainly occupied by men. Women are mostly absent from this sector. The fact that very few women work in a sector may discourage other women from working in this sector. Several women were bullied by men. Having a better ratio between men and women can help everyone to choose better a job without fear of feeling an intruder.

The problem is two-way and not just for women

The government tries to encourage more women to work in non-traditional occupations to create a better balance between men and women in each sector. For example, the sector of dental hygienists is often occupied by women. According to the government, many of these women, who work as a dental hygienist could work in a non-traditional sector such as the construction. This situation creates an imbalance that makes it hard to balance the labor market. Here is why.

1. If women quit their jobs from traditional occupations for women, these positions will become vacant. Who will replace them? Certainly not women. So it must be men.

2. If men are still working in their traditional occupations, the places available for women may be more rare.

Solution

I feel that the government is trying too much bringing women into non-traditional occupations without thinking to bring men in equal proportion into non-traditional occupations for men. In a very graphic and simplistic way, if a woman leaves a secretary job to drive trucks, a truck driver man should get a secretary job. It is therefore necessary to bring also men to non-traditional occupations proportionately.