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Water Now More Awesome Than Previously Thought
Dan writes "Wired has a great article about a guy who thinks we can provide unlimited energy , accelerate crop growth, desalinize and purify drinking water, obtain health benefits and provide air conditioning, all by pumping up water from the depths of the ocean."
The next version of Windows will most undoubtedly require more power than the Sun can adequately put out. We may have to look for a new solar system asap.
What about "Hawai water" sure errection
or "Hawai water" penis enlargement in just 3 weeks?
Yes, yes, this is all good, but will it make my penis longer?
My ass.
Canada literally taxes people to death, levying high taxes to fund, amoung other things, universal healthcare of dubious quality and value. Spending one's own money (if there's anything left after taxes) for a service that the government claims to provide, but either doesn't in a timely or state of the art manner, is, furthermore, illegal, as it is deemed unfair to those that can't afford it.
For what my father paid in that share of his taxes earmarked for national health care, his life could have been saved ten times over. Instead, an operable, discovered abdominal aortic aneurism was left untreated until it ruptured, killing him.
But, enough of rhetoric. Let's have some numbers. For varying levels of U.S. income, the Candian equivalent is listed, followed by the income taxes for someone in Ontario (US$ and CA$) and Washington State (US$ and CA$). I have included social security and medicare on the U.S. side and CPP (Canadian Pension Plan) and EI (Employment Insurance) on the Canadian side. I have not taken into account the U.S. federal sales tax credit when itemizing, and the earned income credit so the U.S. tax burden is actually a bit lower. I have taken into account the U.S. child tax credit, but not the Canadian "baby bonus". I figure the differences of those small amounts are a relative wash.
The assumption is that of a typical married couple, with one spouse working, with two kids, owning their home, with US$12k of mortgage interest, US$2500 of property taxes a year, contributing 20% of income to a RRSP/401(k) (to the 401(k)maximum of US$14k a year), and an exchange rate of 80 U.S. cents per Canadian dollar, at 2005 tax rates.
Income: US$30k/CA$37.5k US Tax: US$2235/CA$2794 CA Tax: US$5068/CA$6335.
Income: US$40k/CA$50k US Tax: US$2980/CA$3725 CA Tax: US$7455/CA$9318
Income: US$50k/CA$62.5k US Tax: US$3725/CA$4656 CA Tax: US$10067/CA$12583
Income: US$60k/CA$75000 US Tax: US$4845/CA$6056 CA Tax: US$12560/CA$15700
Income: US$70k/CA$87.5k US Tax: US$6790/CA$8488 CA Tax: US$15237/CA$19046
Income: US$80k/CA$100k US Tax: US$9035/CA$11294 CA Tax: US$19642/CA$24552
Income: US$90k/CA$112.5k US Tax:US$11280/CA$14100 CA Tax: US$23983/CA$29979
Income: US$100k/CA$125k US Tax:US$12905/CA$16131 CA Tax: US$28324/CA$35405
Look at the difference!
What kind of health insurance coverage could that purchase?
So, while Canada might have plenty of water, and, by extension hydroelectric power, it hardly has an overall top quality of life index, given what Canadians pay for their sacred social services. In fact, it has been slipping badly lately.
The astute reader will notice that I have taken advantage of the two biggest benefits to the U.S. tax payer, that the Canadian does not have: the ability to file jointly with a spouse, and deduct mortgage interest and property taxes. But, why is it that Canada punishes traditional marriage and home ownership with its tax code?
"Top of the quality of life index," my ass. For welfare bums, perhaps. But certainly not for hardworking breadwinners: mothers and fathers struggling to put a roof over their kids' heads.
You could've hired me.
Perhaps you should check out these two pages.
http://www.who.int/countries/can/en/
http://www.who.int/countries/usa/en/
They don't appear to be doing any worse than the U.S. In fact, it seems they are doing better than the U.S. Even more interesting is they are spending less per person than the U.S. Now there is some other important material to know, such as the typical U.S. diet, but fact is they are far from doing worse when it comes to health.
Question everything.
And this is better, because...?
You could've hired me.