"Needs" cost more...'Wants" cost less...

Recommended reading, economic debates, predictions and opinions.
Post Reply
gaspr
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 287
Joined: 10 Feb 2015 11:39

"Needs" cost more...'Wants" cost less...

Post by gaspr »

SQRT
Veteran Contributor
Veteran Contributor
Posts: 5441
Joined: 01 Nov 2012 11:33
Location: Ontario/Arizona

Re: "Needs" cost more...'Wants" cost less...

Post by SQRT »

Interesting. Points out the crazy increase in tuition. Too bad it doesn't include more items, like accommodation, travel, utilities, etc.
User avatar
Descartes
Veteran Contributor
Veteran Contributor
Posts: 1856
Joined: 03 Nov 2008 09:59

Re: "Needs" cost more...'Wants" cost less...

Post by Descartes »

Those are US numbers. I question the relevance:
- Canadian tuition, from my limited experience over the recent years, has not had such an increase.
- Nor have wireless services decreased, at least in my experience!
"A dividend is a dictate of management. A capital gain is a whim of the market."
gaspr
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 287
Joined: 10 Feb 2015 11:39

Re: "Needs" cost more...'Wants" cost less...

Post by gaspr »

Yes, US centric but still interesting. I would think housing costs in Canada would have a much steeper slope than the US...child care would be the same or higher?? Maybe food as well??
User avatar
kcowan
Veteran Contributor
Veteran Contributor
Posts: 16033
Joined: 18 Apr 2006 20:33
Location: Pacific latitude 20/49

Re: "Needs" cost more...'Wants" cost less...

Post by kcowan »

I am surprised that housing just went flat during the financial meltdown.
For the fun of it...Keith
OhGreatGuru
Veteran Contributor
Veteran Contributor
Posts: 1361
Joined: 27 Mar 2010 16:01

Re: "Needs" cost more...'Wants" cost less...

Post by OhGreatGuru »

Vaguely interesting, but useless without comparable CDN stats.
User avatar
NorthernRaven
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 388
Joined: 21 Nov 2010 13:23
Contact:

Re: "Needs" cost more...'Wants" cost less...

Post by NorthernRaven »

This looks like it is just charting various time series from the US CPI as calculated by their Bureau of Labor Statistics. You could dig into StatsCan's CPI series and try and find matching items to recreate the chart in Canada. CANSIM CPI monthly and annual tables are available online.

So for instance, StatsCan has a "Tuition fees" series in Education (it isn't one of the default series, so you'll have to go into "Add/Remove data" to turn it on). From 1996 to 2016, the index (2002=100) went from 65.8 to 166.8, or about 153%. Not quite as high as in the 197% for the US series, but fairly close, and you'd want to know how the two countries defined and weighted the institutions that went into "tuition". Canada's All Items went up about 45% over that period, against the 55% on the US chart.

You could match up other things and make a Canadian equivalent of the chart. StatsCan doesn't seem to have a specific "cellphone" series, and "telephone services" where it is probably included has gone up, but Canada is notorious for having relatively expensive cell service costs for an OECD country.
MarketLost
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 62
Joined: 16 Jul 2016 12:30

Re: "Needs" cost more...'Wants" cost less...

Post by MarketLost »

Descartes wrote:Those are US numbers. I question the relevance:
- Canadian tuition, from my limited experience over the recent years, has not had such an increase.
- Nor have wireless services decreased, at least in my experience!
I'm in Ontario, so I know that over the past few years tuition has stabilized, but there were years it shot up like a rocket. When I graduated in '92 I paid ~$1,600 for my last year. When I went back to school in 2000 tuition was close to triple that, and that doesn't include the deregistered programs that were over $10K. My cell phone has actually gone down thanks to competition, but my Internet has jumped, although they do give you better speed and more data, so there is a trade off.

What I notice is the outrageous increase in electricity thanks to the total mismanagement of our government. There has also been a large increase in beef, and pork, in addition fresh produce this winter was unreal - think $8 cauliflower.
User avatar
CROCKD
Veteran Contributor
Veteran Contributor
Posts: 3343
Joined: 15 Aug 2008 16:59
Location: GTA

Re: "Needs" cost more...'Wants" cost less...

Post by CROCKD »

MarketLost wrote:What I notice is the outrageous increase in electricity thanks to the total mismanagement of our government.
+1
" A verbal contract isn't worth the paper it is written on " Samuel Goldwyn
"The light at the end of the tunnel may be a freight train coming your way" Metallica - No Leaf Clover
Post Reply