April 24, 2017

One thing struck me when reading an account of how some Syrian refugees are doing, now that the first year of special supports has come to an end:

A few among the 28 government-assisted families who have settled in Leaside Towers have found work in the neighbourhood – some frying up halal chicken at the Popeyes, or stocking shelves at Iqbal Halal Market. But some see a disincentive to taking a minimum-wage job: In Ontario, if you are on Ontario Works and get a job, half your earnings over $200 are deducted from your welfare cheque. As they see it, they’d be bringing home so little money that they’re better off using that time to focus on improving English, or running their households, which can consume much of their day.

half your earnings over $200 are deducted? Well of course they’re better off using that time to focus on improving their English or running their households. That’s a complete no-brainer and returns us to a question I have often discussed on PrefBlog, the effective tax rate for low earners.

I advocate a guaranteed minimum income – administered through the tax system, as a refundable tax credit – with more rational marginal tax rates … if you make $20,000 per year, you should pay a tax rate of – say – 10% on your next $1,000, regardless of where the $20,000 comes from. Only in this way can we really say we are making an effort to help people get out of the poverty trap. When we tax that $1,000 at 50%+, we’re clearly just chanting slogans and affirming our moral superiority.

Where’s the incentive to volunteer for an extra shift? Where’s the incentive to take a risk and move in order to get a slightly better job? Nowhere, that’s where. It’s craziness.

So it was with interest that I read today of an Ontario pilot project with respect to basic income:

About 4,000 recipients will be randomly chosen from the three regions. One group will start receiving the so-called basic income as soon as this summer, and the remainder will be part of the control group, which will not receive any payments, according to a provincial spokesman. A single person could receive up to $16,989 per year. A couple could get up to $24,027 annually.

However, if an individual is receiving income from a job, the government will deduct half of his or her earned income.

Utterly moronic. I have no words to express my disgust at the cruelty of those who would even consider slapping the poor with a 50%+ tax rate – or perhaps it is their cynical machinations to ensure the failure of the pilot programme that disgusts me. I’m not sure how explicit taxes will work, but I suspect that in practice the “+” in “50%+” will be a significant number – particularly when more subtle taxes, like disqualification from ‘geared to income’ pricing, are considered.

HIMIPref™ Preferred Indices
These values reflect the December 2008 revision of the HIMIPref™ Indices

Values are provisional and are finalized monthly
Index Mean
Current
Yield
(at bid)
Median
YTW
Median
Average
Trading
Value
Median
Mod Dur
(YTW)
Issues Day’s Perf. Index Value
Ratchet 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 0.7464 % 2,123.9
FixedFloater 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 0.7464 % 3,897.2
Floater 3.59 % 3.69 % 45,093 18.09 4 0.7464 % 2,246.0
OpRet 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 0.0196 % 3,022.1
SplitShare 4.94 % 4.15 % 54,183 0.61 6 0.0196 % 3,609.0
Interest-Bearing 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 0.0196 % 2,815.9
Perpetual-Premium 5.31 % -3.70 % 75,078 0.09 23 0.1381 % 2,779.5
Perpetual-Discount 5.12 % 5.10 % 111,452 15.30 13 0.3796 % 2,973.3
FixedReset 4.39 % 3.94 % 232,099 6.62 94 0.6673 % 2,357.5
Deemed-Retractible 5.00 % 4.70 % 146,624 0.09 31 0.5442 % 2,890.1
FloatingReset 2.52 % 3.09 % 57,307 4.50 9 0.5683 % 2,536.8
Performance Highlights
Issue Index Change Notes
W.PR.M FixedReset 1.00 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2021-10-15
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.26
Bid-YTW : 4.02 %
GWO.PR.H Deemed-Retractible 1.01 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 24.12
Bid-YTW : 5.49 %
IFC.PR.C FixedReset 1.02 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 21.78
Bid-YTW : 5.59 %
NA.PR.X FixedReset 1.15 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2021-05-15
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 27.16
Bid-YTW : 3.24 %
MFC.PR.N FixedReset 1.16 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 21.75
Bid-YTW : 5.69 %
MFC.PR.B Deemed-Retractible 1.20 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 23.53
Bid-YTW : 5.70 %
SLF.PR.C Deemed-Retractible 1.22 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 22.48
Bid-YTW : 6.18 %
MFC.PR.H FixedReset 1.23 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 24.77
Bid-YTW : 4.38 %
PWF.PR.P FixedReset 1.24 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2047-04-24
Maturity Price : 16.30
Evaluated at bid price : 16.30
Bid-YTW : 3.94 %
MFC.PR.K FixedReset 1.25 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 21.12
Bid-YTW : 5.95 %
MFC.PR.C Deemed-Retractible 1.25 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 22.68
Bid-YTW : 6.12 %
GWO.PR.R Deemed-Retractible 1.26 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 24.06
Bid-YTW : 5.48 %
BAM.PR.K Floater 1.27 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2047-04-24
Maturity Price : 12.77
Evaluated at bid price : 12.77
Bid-YTW : 3.73 %
POW.PR.D Perpetual-Discount 1.31 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2047-04-24
Maturity Price : 24.49
Evaluated at bid price : 24.72
Bid-YTW : 5.08 %
NA.PR.A FixedReset 1.35 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2021-08-15
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 27.00
Bid-YTW : 3.34 %
SLF.PR.E Deemed-Retractible 1.39 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 22.63
Bid-YTW : 6.13 %
NA.PR.S FixedReset 1.41 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2047-04-24
Maturity Price : 22.10
Evaluated at bid price : 22.34
Bid-YTW : 3.89 %
MFC.PR.F FixedReset 1.43 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 15.60
Bid-YTW : 9.23 %
BAM.PR.C Floater 1.50 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2047-04-24
Maturity Price : 12.85
Evaluated at bid price : 12.85
Bid-YTW : 3.70 %
SLF.PR.I FixedReset 1.73 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 23.50
Bid-YTW : 4.78 %
SLF.PR.A Deemed-Retractible 1.79 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 23.92
Bid-YTW : 5.52 %
HSE.PR.A FixedReset 1.85 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2047-04-24
Maturity Price : 16.00
Evaluated at bid price : 16.00
Bid-YTW : 4.22 %
SLF.PR.D Deemed-Retractible 1.85 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 22.58
Bid-YTW : 6.11 %
MFC.PR.I FixedReset 1.88 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 23.27
Bid-YTW : 5.08 %
MFC.PR.G FixedReset 2.04 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 23.46
Bid-YTW : 4.95 %
MFC.PR.J FixedReset 2.18 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 22.95
Bid-YTW : 5.04 %
PWF.PR.S Perpetual-Discount 2.19 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2047-04-24
Maturity Price : 23.37
Evaluated at bid price : 23.84
Bid-YTW : 5.03 %
VNR.PR.A FixedReset 2.45 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2047-04-24
Maturity Price : 21.44
Evaluated at bid price : 21.75
Bid-YTW : 4.42 %
IAG.PR.G FixedReset 2.68 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 23.00
Bid-YTW : 5.20 %
TRP.PR.F FloatingReset 3.42 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2047-04-24
Maturity Price : 18.75
Evaluated at bid price : 18.75
Bid-YTW : 3.31 %
Volume Highlights
Issue Index Shares
Traded
Notes
NA.PR.Q FixedReset 291,702 YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 24.80
Bid-YTW : 3.64 %
TD.PF.G FixedReset 120,406 YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2021-04-30
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 27.18
Bid-YTW : 3.16 %
BAM.PR.R FixedReset 89,870 YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2047-04-24
Maturity Price : 19.45
Evaluated at bid price : 19.45
Bid-YTW : 4.22 %
PWF.PR.P FixedReset 72,700 YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2047-04-24
Maturity Price : 16.30
Evaluated at bid price : 16.30
Bid-YTW : 3.94 %
BNS.PR.D FloatingReset 72,500 YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 21.83
Bid-YTW : 4.54 %
BNS.PR.H FixedReset 64,039 YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2022-01-26
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.44
Bid-YTW : 3.54 %
There were 34 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares.
Wide Spread Highlights
Issue Index Quote Data and Yield Notes
CU.PR.H Perpetual-Premium Quote: 25.51 – 25.95
Spot Rate : 0.4400
Average : 0.3056

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2024-09-01
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.51
Bid-YTW : 5.07 %

PWF.PR.A Floater Quote: 14.13 – 14.75
Spot Rate : 0.6200
Average : 0.5207

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2047-04-24
Maturity Price : 14.13
Evaluated at bid price : 14.13
Bid-YTW : 3.33 %

PWF.PR.T FixedReset Quote: 23.01 – 23.36
Spot Rate : 0.3500
Average : 0.2609

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2047-04-24
Maturity Price : 22.65
Evaluated at bid price : 23.01
Bid-YTW : 3.75 %

W.PR.J Perpetual-Premium Quote: 25.35 – 25.64
Spot Rate : 0.2900
Average : 0.2128

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2017-05-24
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.35
Bid-YTW : -9.44 %

RY.PR.Q FixedReset Quote: 27.20 – 27.40
Spot Rate : 0.2000
Average : 0.1248

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2021-05-24
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 27.20
Bid-YTW : 3.08 %

TRP.PR.B FixedReset Quote: 14.47 – 14.70
Spot Rate : 0.2300
Average : 0.1646

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2047-04-24
Maturity Price : 14.47
Evaluated at bid price : 14.47
Bid-YTW : 3.97 %

One Response to “April 24, 2017”

  1. ash8821 says:

    Someone needs to call out the stupidity of the Liberals love affair with means testing at every level of Government.

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