Paying more, but getting less

Have you ever considered the irony and the injustice of paying more for less? I ponder that from time to time.

Consider the sad folks like myself, who are slowly losing their hair, while at the same time the cost of a haircut is going up. Seems to me that as each year goes by, and we have less hair, shouldn’t the cost of a haircut go down?

If you are lucky enough to own Nova Scotia shorefront property – property that is subject to erosion – then I ask, how many feet of property did you lose this past year? Did you get a rebate on your property taxes, or is your assessment down from previous years? Why should we pay the same or more tax, when we have less property?

You may have an older shed, barn, or other outbuilding on your property. Did you know that before you can tear it down, you have to pay for a demolition permit from the county in order to legally complete that task? So, there you are. It costs you money to reduce the number of buildings on your property.

Don’t even get me started on the grocery store. Retailers have a neat trick of selling a reduced size of product for the same price as the previous larger version.

Consider the street or road in front of your property, whether it be paved or graveled. What kind of condition is it in? In the newspapers and on TV news you’ll often hear of folks with roads in poor shape, some roads so poor that just to travel down such a road is to su er damage to your personal vehicle, or, in the worstcase scenario, first responders will not come down your road at all. Do you pay less tax when the province or county fails to maintain your road?

Canada Post is another great example of us having to pay more for less. How many folks, because of ‘safety reasons’ had their mail delivery moved from the end of their driveways and then reassigned to a community mailbox down the road? In my case, the community mailbox at which I have to pick up my mail is now down the road about a kilometre in a direction I do not usually travel. So, if I go out of my way to check it once a week, I’m doing well. At the same times this happened, Canada Post jacked up the price of a stamp to a full buck, and of course… wait for it… plus tax.

It is important to have insurance on your property whether it be on your business, home, cottage, or private vehicles. It is one of those things that you hope to never have to cash in on, but you take out policies, just so you have protection against future calamities. ere is value then in paying for insurance, but do shop around to get the best rates, because premiums by different companies can vary considerably for even the same coverage. is is a reality we live with for the protection that it provides.

e latest new trick by many insurance companies is to now charge you an administration fee on top of your policy, and this fee is of absolutely no value to us; it is only of value to the insurance company. A few months ago, I renewed one of my policies and noticed I was required to pay an admin fee that exceeded 10 per cent of the cost of my premium. This fee provides me with no additional protection.

I have a lot more examples of these injustices, but I’m about at the end of my space for this week. Perhaps take a moment to consider this. How much longer are we, as consumers and citizens, going to put up with paying more for less? Or, is there anything we can do about it?