Nova Scotian incomes and the rising cost of energy
According to Statistics Canada, between 1980 and 2005, median incomes for
Nova Scotians “stalled”—growing by about one percent,
from $36,532 to $36,917.
Fortunately, throughout most of the 1990s and into the early part of this
decade, the cost of energy products to Nova Scotians was relatively stable
and usually well below the Consumer Price Index.
This is no longer true—gasoline and heating fuel costs are 55 and 59
percent higher respectively than they were in 2002 (the CPI for all items
is now about 14 percent above its 2002 level).
With rapidly rising energy costs, coupled with rising food prices and
the credit “crunch”, Nova Scotians are about to feel the
real impact of stalled incomes.
Published: Chronicle-Herald - 15 May 2008