Wealth One Prosperity Rate 5yr @ 2.88% | Page 4 | Wealth One Bank of Canada | Discussion forum

Bill said
No worries re the big banks, they've been around nigh on 2 centuries, give or take, through wars, depressions, massive social & tech changes, etc, (e.g. Bank of Montreal has paid dividends every year since 1829), they'll outlive us all.  

Very true!
I would not say that about WealthOne Bank. Without CDIC insurance they would be unable to survive - they need it to attract clients.

Loonie said
I'd be interested to know what you think is the solution to this chronic problem. Should the companies you named and others simply be allowed to fail? Should there be credible repayment plans etc.? To be honest, I really don't know. It seems to me that within the sort of capitalism we have created, that these kinds of bailouts are to be expected and will likely continue until or unless we get to the point where the government doesn't have the capacity any more. Every government does it; it's not just a political football. Lots of people don't support tightening regulations. We always end up footing the bill but we have no control. The companies that take handouts and then pack up and leave the country anyway are the worst offenders. Seems to me the concerns about job losses etc are real, and the government knows it will end up supporting these people one way or another, so they gamble on the company's survival. If we somehow curtailed the growth of these companies so that their demise did not have as big an impact, then they probably wouldn't be competitive enough to survive. What's the answer?

It's a very longstanding problem. I remember a federal candidate coming to my door on a very hot summer day about 20 years ago. I asked him about a recent giveaway (can no longer remember details), and asked why his government hadn't put any conditions on it to ensure that it be sued for the purposes intended, and he had no answer. I then offered him a glass of water, which he gladly accepted; that seemed to leave him even more confused! He lost the election.  

Loonie - your points are spot on! Unfortunately there are no easy answers and I am not going to write a long response about what I think the answer is.
Your point about employees being laid off and the govt would have to support them is not always the case - SNC Lavallin threatened they would move out of Canada if they were not granted the DPA (deferred prosecution agreement) - and their employees would lose their jobs - it was determined that these skilled employees would have positions at similar firms in Canada. They would not end up unemployed. Another example I think of is in regard to the restaurant employees who lost their jobs during Covid closures - a large number of these people moved on to other jobs outside of the hospitality field and that is why the restaurants are now struggling to find replacement staff as the departed staff are not interested to come back to their old restaurant jobs. My friends in the resto and bar business tell me they cannot get staff.
Also, I know we are not supposed to talk politics here but politics is a big factor - these big companies are big donors to the political parties so the govt in power feels they owe it to the donor firm to support them - because they want their party to continue to receive political donations. Anyways I could write more but I will not. So Loonie I do agree with the bulk of your comments above.

It's great when other jobs are available because of the skill of their employees, but maybe some of these companies deserve to die.

It's very interesting how the restaurant employees and PSWs and nurses have in many cases vanished lately. I do wonder where they are going and why they didn't go there earlier if it's more attractive. There seem to be vacancies all along the line. In my mother's retirement home, there has been huge turnover, from the recreation director to the maintenance guy. But where did they go?
I know that many people who were in a position to do so decided to retire. Perhaps that created the impetus for a domino effect.

I think the impact of places closing down varies a lot with type of business, location etc. In one-industry towns, the impact can be huge. Many don't recover or take a very long time to do so.

As far as I know, Greyhound has not received any incentives and has no plans to return. I believe they were talking about helping smaller local transportation companies fill the gap with smaller vehicles? The service is needed, so I would support that IF there was a viable business plan.

It's not just the political donations. It's the lobbyists! There are limits on political donations, but as far as I know there are no limits on lobbyists' spending. My MPP tells me there are essentially parties with food and alcohol pretty well every day of the week for MPPs to attend, sponsored by lobbyists who want a piece of their minds. (This was before covid.)

Loonie said
…

It's very interesting how the restaurant employees and PSWs and nurses have in many cases vanished lately. I do wonder where they are going and why they didn't go there earlier if it's more attractive. There seem to be vacancies all along the line. In my mother's retirement home, there has been huge turnover, from the recreation director to the maintenance guy. But where did they go?
I know that many people who were in a position to do so decided to retire. Perhaps that created the impetus for a domino effect.
…

I suspect there are many reasons for those workers to not return.

Online, instead of in-person, schooling could be one. Someone now has to stay home and ensure the children spend the day doing their remote learning.

As The Pandemic Recedes, Millions Of Workers Are Saying 'I Quit' describes one restaurant worker who, after being laid off, realized what he was missing of his family by working 50 to 60 hours a week. He decided not to return and is trying to find a 40 hours per week job.

According to Hotels And Restaurants That Survived Pandemic Face New Challenge…, some of restaurants had been relying on seasonal foreign workers! COVID travel restrictions has made it more difficult to bring such workers in.

I can see some parents worried about their university-aged children working in a restaurant as well.

The parents may offer to cover an extra $10,000 of university expenses this year so that the child doesn't need to work in a restaurant and possibly catch COVID.

Norman1 said
I can see some parents worried about their university-aged children working in a restaurant as well.

The parents may offer to cover an extra $10,000 of university expenses this year so that the child doesn't need to work in a restaurant and possibly catch COVID.  

Lucky is the student who has such generous parents! I was not so lucky, and still find it hard to get my head around parents who are willing and able to shell out at the drop of a hat.

Students don't have to work in restaurants, however. There are lots of other part time jobs, but they like the tips.

We're way wealthier than years ago, that's changed all aspects of society. Even the wealth of many new immigrants is way different than previous generations of poor immigrants. Now it's routine for parents to pay for university, was not a possibility before. Thus of course their kids are more protected, less independent (I think you meant, savemoresaveoften, no?), it's all a function of our wealth.

There have always been wealthy people sending their kids to university. Before government-sponsored student loans came in in the 1960s, that was basically the only group that went except for scholarship students.

The number of students needing and receiving student loans has been constantly increasing, as is the amount of money borrowed.
https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/canada-student-loans-grants/reports/cslp-annual-2018-2019.html

Lots of parents who couldn't or would dole out 10K supplements to avoid student employment.

Back to Wealth One - From my early posts in this thread to today, we see plenty of warnings to not trust everything employees tell us. And especially web sites, which are rarely up to all the latest changes or offers!

In Wealth One's case, even their locations are years out of date. When I ask for information that can affect penalties for me, including from Revenue Canada, I try to get the same info from three people and get their names. If possible, I try for written hard-copy information.

My 1.88% one-year term with them is nearing its end. I plan to soon see if the very helpful staffer in Richmond who sold it to me (but was contradicted by their corporate customer service line) is still there, and what he can tell me about their future offerings.

Meanwhile, I'm still looking for a good place to put the cash...
RetirEd

Here is an explanation of the closing of the Markham branch. Apparently it occurred April 2021 and may have been covid related.
It appears, although not completely clear, that the office at Sheppard and Yonge in Toronto has retail services.

https://wealthonebankofcanada.com/SharedContent/documents/Markham-Office-Move.pdf