By Emily Stonehouse

I watched as our county council spoke in circles around budget spikes. A percentage knocked off here and there, major capital projects put on the back burner for another year in an effort to keep the tax levy low, and still, not everyone happy with the outcome.

I don’t think it’s possible to make a budget where everyone is happy. If you did, you probably did something wrong along the way.

And I appreciate the effort that our county council liaisons made to keep our taxes low. While some departments seem to be prioritized over others, such is the nature of these conversations. And at the end of the day, that tiny percentage is what rules the decisions.

It’s a tough situation to be in. In order to have more, we must spend more. In order to afford more, we must have less. A vicious cycle of forever chasing that carrot dangled right in front of our noses.

But if we take off our glasses that focus on the minutiae of municipalities, and the doubled-down efforts to finalize budgets on multiple tiers (I hear things may be easier if we all worked as one, but that’s an editorial for another day), we have to look at the big picture.

Minimum wage is set at a provincial level. As of Oct. 1 this year, Doug Ford and his pals set the rate to $17.60/hour. For those under 18, saving up to go to school, the rate is $16.60/hour.

Apparently, the amount reflects Ontario’s yearly inflation adjustment, placing it amongst the higher provincial minimum wages in Canada.

Sure.

A living wage is something entirely different, and captures the hourly amount a worker must earn to cover their basic expenses and participate in their community, based on the actual cost of living in a specific location. A living wage is a voluntary effort made by an employer, as opposed to the mandated provincial minimum wage.

While the living wage is measured against provincial needs, the amount varies based on the region. In Toronto, the living wage is nearly $30, whereas in Haliburton County, the living wage has been identified as $22.20.

A notable jump over the minimum wage that hovers below $20, and has for quite some time.

So while our county councillors and staff present their big ticket items that will increase our tax rate, we have to look at the big picture. It’s a well-known fact that inflation will continue to kick some of those price points up the ladder.

But why aren’t we able to climb the ladder to keep up? As we seek to grow as a community, as a region, the constant tug of the affordability current will keep us underwater if our minimum wage rates continue to differ from a standard living wage.

I think it’s admirable that councillors in our community take these tax hikes into consideration, albeit at the cost of some programs and initiatives.

But if our wages started to reflect our needs, perhaps those efforts that make our community vibrant wouldn’t so often be taken to the chopping block.

We are at a stage in our economic world where choices are made, just trying to stay afloat in a current that is washing so many away.

Take a good look at who you are voting for at each level. Are they prioritizing our ability to continue to climb the ladder, or are they just dangling the carrot in front of our noses?

Because as we tread water in an economy that continues to swirl around us, pretty soon, we will have to come up for air.