On Monday morning, I woke up and walked to the office just like any other morning. I usually pass by a number of newspaper boxes along the way, and I scan the day’s headlines. Monday’s headline was – “Talks Fail as Toronto Library Workers Go on Strike“. I didn’t pay much attention at first. Then I did a double take. Wait, what? I didn’t even know the library workers were in negotiations. As a response, termed their ‘contingency plan’, the City of Toronto has shut down every public library in the city for the duration of the strike. As I talked to people on Monday, I realized that no one was expecting this. And then I realized how many people this impacts.
The Value of the Public Library
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We’re all guilty of thinking about it sometimes. The classic scenario is the employee who can choose to either get paid for overtime worked or bank his or her overtime to be taken as time off later. It launches the classic argument – what is the value of time? Does it have a monetary value? Is time worth more than money? Every person will answer this question differently based on their personality, their priorities and their attitudes.
Meet Jill. Jill has a Master’s degree, works an average job and makes $60,000/year. She is loyal to her company, and they reward her with an annual average increase of 3%/year over the course of her 30 year career. Jill is a diligent saver, and every year saves 20% of her gross income. Over the course of 30 years, through financial up and downs, she earns an average 5% annual return. At the end of a 30 year career, Jill has a retirement portfolio valued at $1.14 million dollars.