Not really true though, have a look at what comes standard.
I bought a Mazda Protege 5 last year and paid including taxes 26K, a friend of mine fromt he states came up with the same car, less extras and he had paid US$ 25K.
I recently encountered a social worker who admitted that "80% of her clients" are quite capable of getting off welfare and getting work, but proudly milking the system, and earning more than she does!. Now, her experience may be atypical, but, geez, there's something plain wrong with that picture!
People are always going to try to take the system for a ride, if they can. Hence insurance fraud isn't really anything new.
A way to deal with this would be to make sure that such offenders are prosecuted and kicked out of the program, but should because of those bad apples the people who really need it be kicked to the curb? The "fall from grace" in a society without any safety nets can be a very fast and very hard one, and personally this can happen without your fault.
I checked. They deliberately didn't tell him. That made me livid.
This is gross neglicence(sp?) on the part of the doctors and as such they shouldn't be allowed to treat patients anymore. That they did that though I wouldn't necessarily blame on the systems. There have studies been done in the US that made it clear that there are doctors out there who only act on their own financial interrest as well.
Canadian "premium" healthcare doesn't even begin to compare to standard U.S. healthcare benefits. I got sick in Chicago, spent a week in the hospital from some unknown illness (106F fevers), three days in monitored care, had every test under the sun (several MRIs, ultrasounds, etc.) -- the bill came to US$25,000 and it didn't cost me a dime out of pocket.
The insurance business is a pretty heartless one. For the 25,000 they paid out for you someone else probably got his rate hiked up, or got outright turned down because he was considered too high a risk.
Yes, money can buy you a lot but the idea of a "free" healthcare for all is not that everybody gets the best but that everybody GETS healthcare. Are you sure that all the tests they performed were required? Are you sure that the hospital didn't just see you as a golden calf they could get money from?
Money matters. It isn't so much as to how much is in the bank, but what one's day-to-day lifestyle is. Do you want your kids to go to a good school?
I am the product of the public education system in Germany, I don't think I turned out too bad, I don't think public school means bad.... Of course public schools means not prestigous, but that is on a totally different page.
Do you want to have a private community pool in a safe neighborhood for the summer?
I am a Triathlete, I swim quite a lot throughout the year for my training. I do have access to several public pools as well as the Y and the University of Toronto. "Safe" in what way? I don't think there are any problems with the safety of pools in Toronto nor their neighbourhoods. The idea of "safe" is something that is so blown out of proportion that people feel unsafe all the time (I could go into another rant right now but then we would really veer off topic, if you want to discuss that drop me an e-mail).
Do you want to have time to do things on the weekends and not have to mow the lawn?
If I have a garden then the idea is that I take care of it, if I don't want a garden then I either buy a house (if I want a house) without one, or at least a small one, and if in doubt: There's always AstroTurf(TM);)
The HDTV and DSL might be luxeries but they were considered normal lifestyle choices by the middle class Americans we had as friends and neighbours.
Ask yourself this though: In the true sense, are they really still middle class? Middle class (by it's name) would mean that you take what everybody has, add it up, and then divide it by the number of people, the average would be the middle and as such middle class.
But it is interresting, according to this website: http://www.horizonmag.com/poverty/takes-tallies.as p there are quite a lot of people below the poverty line, mind you that means they are not below the middle class but they are outright dirt poor.
That means no DSL, no body to mow their lawn (in fact they might actually do it for you), no extended health coverage (25,000 because of a fever? Definetly not) etc.
I have found, for example, that local taxation initiatives with results clearly visible to the taxed community work far better and far more efficiently that "one size fits all" central planning. It even accomodates some wealth redistribution without killing the "goose that lays the golden egg", vis. the "Robin Hood" school property tax redistripution in and around places like Dallas. But, by remaining fairly local, there is strong citizen pressure for efficiency and accountability -- in other words, it has to be provably better than "everyone for themselves".
This sounds like a good idea, the problem I see with this though is that this only works were there is enough money already around. What happens to areas that are poor?
Think of it this way: Where would you draw the line, what is still local and what isn't? I have the feeling that if this would be implemented the Rich parts of the country would very quickly clamp down and proclaim that only within their boundaries taxes should be paid, this would leave a large part of the poorer country out. An already existing gap would be growing even wider, the poorer communities would need to raise taxes to provide essential services while the richer parts could lower the taxes.
Of course by my understanding Toronto who has / had a very healthy taxbase got bled to death by the province who needed the money in other places.
My idea, my understanding of society is that we should try to help those who can't help themselves, and as such we have a responsiblity to make certain of that. To use the Marines: "No man is left behind." And that should be true for a society in total as well. Of course that's idealism, we're all way too selfish.
I never claimed it was "free" as in free as beer. I am very much aware that I paid for it with my taxes.
But having said that, I am also aware that I don't have to worry if either my health care carrier OR if I personally can afford for example an MRI or an Operation (yes, there is a huge waiting list for MRI's in Ontario right now, I know because I was on one).
But you're right, there are no free lunches, but ask yourself this: Is a lower income tax everything?
Correct me if I am wrong, but the way tax works in the US (by my understanding) is that you have a Federal Tax, a State Tax, than you can have a county tax and (if you're really lucky) a city tax.
Which means I might pay four different taxes when I buy something.
In Canada for the most part you have a Provincial (State) and General (Federal) Tax, cities and counties don't get anything extra. Both taxes combined come to 15%, most food is non-taxable (there is a huge list somewhere) minus Junk Food for which you pay GST & PST. Of couse there are ton's of extra taxes like Alochol, gas etc. But that isn't much different in any other country I have lived in.
If you look into Germany it is even more "simple" you have the VAT (Value Added Tax) which currently stands at 16% for most goods (food, newspapers and books are at 7%).
They get you, one way or the other, if it doesn't go to the state it goes to a company, does it matter in the end? If the money isn't in my pocket I don't really have to care on where it goes as long as I receive something I want / need in return.
If I pay for it with Taxes or with my credit card does at the end of the day not matter for me.
You're right: There are no free lunches and it is an illusion to think that at the end you get ahead in any country just because a certain tax is lower, they give it to you with one hand and take it with the other, sometimes the taking hand though belongs to someone else.
their reasoning: "Because you obtained your driving license in a foreign country we cannot accertain your proficcency(sp?) level and as such have to put you high risk."
Yeah thanks, we all know that drivers ed in Germany is absolutly useless, we don't drive there ourselves, we get driven around. (Note the sarcasm).
Actually I have lived in: Germany, USA, Netherlands, Switzerland and now Canada, and all the $ amounts I quoted where "local".
The cheap gas in the US is a two edged sword, it is not the real price it should cost, if you factor everything in, not even the price of 1.50 Euro / litre in Europe is. As much as I hate to say it: We should pay for what it really costs, but then we would probably look at $5/litre and I don't think that is sellable to the public.
I see some of your points but I also think that the balance that is struck in Canada (although not perfect) is still more preferable than what is happening in the US (or can happen there to you).
The same arguments you are bringing up right now about the Canadian System I constantly hear from people in Europe, the funny thing is: Nobdoy ever really WANTS to pay for something they do not consider they need. Insurance is one of those funny things, how many people would get a car insurance if they wouldn't be legally required to get one? But if you need it and it's there you won't complain.
I had intimate relations with both the US and the Canadian Health Care System and both worked and did what they were supposed to do, the only difference was that I was $500 out in the US for getting an X-Ray, some painkillers and a crutch while I didn't pay a dime here in Canada.
Yes, the thing that happened to your Dad is a sad thing but I seriously doubt that the doctors didn't tell him what they had discovered when they were aware that there was a cure in the US.
The middle class in the US is by all accounts disappearing as well, it is a sign of times that the idea always is that people should be responsible for themselves, the government in Ontario tried that too ("Let's privatise Healthcare, like the US does, see how much money we can save.") and they got their ticket, the majority of the people doesn't seem to like that kind of idea. I wonder why if the system is so utterly flawed? Fear?
In Germany right now with the rising unemployment and an expensive social state you hear a lot of people argue similar: "Get rid of this, yeah it is great that we cover everybodys asses but the ones who really want to go ahead, who really want to invent something and who really could create workplaces can't because the tax burden is so high, we're all mediocre." Sounds familiar? It's the same argument and I am starting to wonder if the priorities in peoples lifes is just a bit skewed. Is it really only about money these days?
As for Company premium healthcare, ALL the companies I worked for in Canada were offering this as well, they paid for everything that wasn't covered by OHIP and in one job they even paid 100% dental (something you don't even get in Germany).
Reality is that in Canada you pay one lump sum with your taxes and with that you also subsidize other people, but in the US (by my experience) they nickle and dime you to death.
I think Quality of life is more than just how much money you have in the bank at the end of the day or how big your house is, but maybe I am still too idealistic? Maybe my views change if I have my own family and kids?
Judging by your CV you're in your late 30's maybe when I am there I see things similar, for now though I tend to disagree.
Before commenting, please live in both countries for a number of years, and then spout off. Each has its faults, and some doozies, to be sure, but, if I had the chance, I'd trade my Canadian citizenship for American any day -- for all it's arrogance and faults it gets some very basic things right. The spirit of liberty hasn't yet been snuffed out.
Actually I did, I also lived in Europe (that's where I grew up).
I don't hold a Canadian Passport, I still have a German one and as such I am not here to defend the maple leaf, but a couple of things I would like to comment on:
Back in Canada, again on a competetive salary doing the same thing, I can barely afford a home 1/2-2/3 the size, my kid can't get a hot lunch in school, barely afford one car (insurance and fuel), and I can barely afford dialup and cable, and certainly not "perks" like paid lawn care, pest control, monitored alarm, etc.
Okay, maybe I am a snob (and yes I am single, and no I don't have kids) but Car Insurance in the States killed me quite nicely as well. For a midsized car they wanted me to pay $500/month, right now I pay $250.
Dialup and Cable. Don't know the prices for Dialup right now, but cable (with Rogers) is what? 49.95? That is roughly on par with what you would pay in the States, no?
School Lunch: Okay, again I am probalby snobby but why not cook at home? Granted I am not a fan of eating out but quite frankly after reading "Fastfood Nation" and understanding a bit more about the US Meatindustry I don't think I would want my kids to eat at school.
Size of Home: Okay I can see where that might be a factor with a family, though I have to say that living in the 'burbs around Toronto is still cheaper than the places I was living in the US (near D.C.). Dallas and Houston I think are rather funny places in the way they get developed and by my understanding your "nice neighbourhood" there can turn into a slum within a year. The NYT Magazine had an interresting article about this a while back.
Taxes and Gas: What can I say, I grew up in Europe, looking at my tax burden here I still have to laugh all the way to the bank every payday because of the small (compared to Germany) amount of taxes I pay here. Same goes for the gas, to be able to fill up my Mazda for 40 Bucks (with the high gas prices right now) is cheap to what I paid back in Europe (I was lucky if I got away under 100 bucks).
Finally:
Those that exchange the essential liberties of others for the illusion of their own security deserve the festering rot of Dante's ninth level of Hell, for they hath betrayed their fellows' lives.
I'll take it you are not a fan of the "social state" that Canada is?
Well, here is a small example from a friend of mine: Her mother developed cancer, on her salary she would have never been able to afford the treatment but thanks to the Canadian Health Care System she could. The mother is alive and kicking. By her own account if she would have been in the states she would have been bancrupt by it.
As for your sons Ultrasound: You can get additional healthinsurance that would cover that, you don't really think that you got it for free in the US, did you? Your company paid for it and that's where it's it, somebody is always paying, nothings for free.
At the end you pay for the things you use, one way or the other, there are no free lunches, and why not pay it via my taxes if after that I can lean back and don't have to worry about it that much anymore?
Nope, I was talking of REAL tea, nice leafs, boiling water and such.
Never saw that in a restaurant, the worst thing really is when you end up in a 5 star restaurant and they give you a teabag and a glass of warm water. Yuk.
Basically as soon as I was off the bottle I was on the veggies and I know some parents who do this as well, they cook their own food and the kids love it, the oldest one I am aware of is 5 and loves carrotts and other veggies.
As for eating habit, it all depends on the person, I virtually have no lapses changing my eating habits, I went from meat eater to veggie basically cold turkey, then onto Paelo within a week.
It's all in the mindset I guess and maybe I am outside of the norm:)
Nope, just going from my own experience as a kid. Yeah I didn't like certain stuff but there is a lot more to veggies than just one and in the end I ate them and as far as I can remember never made too much fuzz about it, even spinach.
Of course that didn't start once I was in school but when I was a baby according to my mom.
Being from Germany already but now living north of the Border I wager a guess here:
It's the water. Whatever it is, but while living in the DC area the water had a really really really bad taste that really messed with everything, something not even the filter could get out.
So my guess would be: Get water, bottled one should be fine and use that to brew your coffee. Then dump crap like the Folgers stuff that is really bad.
The Starbucks whole beans aren't THAT bad but nothing necessarily to write home about, try to find a local store who roasts their own beans and only buy enough beans that you drink in a week.
It'll be amazing if we can kids to eat green stuff. The long term effects of this may be profound. I would go so far as to say society as a whole would improve.
It is a stupid thing to say that kids don't eat Veggies because their kids. When I grew up I had a lot of Veggies I liked them (and like them) and I never thought not to eat them (yes even Brussle Sprouts).
If the parents at home would actually CARE for their kids and make sure they grow up on that stuff they will like it, but I guess a lot bought into the idea that "Kids don't eat veggies anyways" kind of crap.
Instead of buying those really nasty "Lunchables" you can see in the supermarket pack their own lunches.
To avoid being sold crappy food using this technique, don't buy the cheap-ass prepared foods. To avoid being sold crappy food entirely, don't buy prepared foods at all.
I never really liked the prepared food stuff, but since I started racing Triathlons I see food more as a tool and as such I don't really have ANY prepared foods at home (okay, some ice cream in the fridge and some coffee, but that's about it).
The reality is that cooking from scratch isn't that much more time consuming but it allows you to know exactly what is IN the food, if you buy precooked stuff read the labels (not only the nutrion information but the actual ingridients list) and you'll be surprised.
With todays technology they can easily make a piece of plastic taste like cheese and I can gurantee you if anyone can make a buck by doing this they will, I rather cook stuff myself.
We got a couple of used Sun A1000 Disk Arrays in. When we hooked everything up I looked if I could find any file systems on it, and lo and behold I did. We mounted them and found two complete oracle DBs on it. The DBA was even able to open them up and we were able to look into it.
I never understand why people don't scrub disks, Sun even has a document on this on their blueprints website.
That would be my thought as well but that might actually kill the idea.
A lot of the Audio CD drives nowadays (e.g. in DVD Players) use a Data "grade" pickup, as such they would only see the WMP files and couldn't play it back....
Unless Microsoft convinces all the car manufacturers and DVD producers to enable WMP playback.
In Germany when they first introduced SMS they were free, they later added packages and you paid I think 29 Pf (around 10 cents?) for a message. SENDING I might add not receiving.
Now I am in Canada and my current provider (Fido) charges me 10 cents for each message I receive (and sent) that is pretty bad I must say.
I don't use SMS much, first of all hardly anyone here knows that AT&T and Fido offer this service and even if they rather call.
The only time I use it is to send messages to some friends back in Germany who are too lazy to use email.
So, when we're attacked, it's up to us to "do something" to "end the cycle of violence and revenge?" What "something" are we supposed to do, just let it slide, wave it off as "just one of those things we deserve?"
It is not like the West hasn't done anything before the attacks. Anybody with two braincells was aware of the fact that sooner or later something like that would be happening.
If ANYBODY today still claims they didn't see something like that coming than they are beyond help.
There is ALWAYS a cause and effect, hardly anytime something happens out of the blue, the problem is though: We tend not to look critical at ourselves.
Or to quote the Bible of which Bush seems to be so fond of: "How can you see the splinter in the eye of your brother if you cannot see the tree in your own?" (Sorry, probably not the correct phrasing).
I need a new PDA and I am still crying over my Newton that broke down some years ago (screen) and couldn't get repaired.
If Apple would release a new PDA I sure as hell would buy it, I don't like the Windows PDAs and the Palms make me wonder as well, I never liked Graffiti.
Then there were the Psions which I REALLY liked (Keyboard, yeah!) or a Blackberry, but I don't need mobile e-mail so a Blackberry would be a waste of money.
>>I understand (and agree) that Americans exercise far too little. However, depriving everyone of efficient transportation in the current system is not the solution. That system exists to give us time to do other things and everyone will be loath to give that time back to less efficient transportation methods.
Excercise alone is NOT the problem (that's what the fitness industry wants you to think). The problem is what you put in your mouth on a daily basis, have you ever read what it is IN that microwave food you just ate?
Reality is be cautious of what you eat and yes, spent the hour a day walking and you'll be off way better health wise than driving around in your car (or segway), eating microwave food and going to the Gym.
Slashdot Mirror
Not really true though, have a look at what comes standard.
;)
I bought a Mazda Protege 5 last year and paid including taxes 26K, a friend of mine fromt he states came up with the same car, less extras and he had paid US$ 25K.
At least in my case I won
M.
I shopped around, they didn't like me as I was new to the country.
I recently encountered a social worker who admitted that "80% of her clients" are quite capable of getting off welfare and getting work, but proudly milking the system, and earning more than she does!. Now, her experience may be atypical, but, geez, there's something plain wrong with that picture!
;)
s p there are quite a lot of people below the poverty line, mind you that means they are not below the middle class but they are outright dirt poor.
People are always going to try to take the system for a ride, if they can. Hence insurance fraud isn't really anything new.
A way to deal with this would be to make sure that such offenders are prosecuted and kicked out of the program, but should because of those bad apples the people who really need it be kicked to the curb? The "fall from grace" in a society without any safety nets can be a very fast and very hard one, and personally this can happen without your fault.
I checked. They deliberately didn't tell him. That made me livid.
This is gross neglicence(sp?) on the part of the doctors and as such they shouldn't be allowed to treat patients anymore. That they did that though I wouldn't necessarily blame on the systems. There have studies been done in the US that made it clear that there are doctors out there who only act on their own financial interrest as well.
Canadian "premium" healthcare doesn't even begin to compare to standard U.S. healthcare benefits. I got sick in Chicago, spent a week in the hospital from some unknown illness (106F fevers), three days in monitored care, had every test under the sun (several MRIs, ultrasounds, etc.) -- the bill came to US$25,000 and it didn't cost me a dime out of pocket.
The insurance business is a pretty heartless one. For the 25,000 they paid out for you someone else probably got his rate hiked up, or got outright turned down because he was considered too high a risk.
Yes, money can buy you a lot but the idea of a "free" healthcare for all is not that everybody gets the best but that everybody GETS healthcare. Are you sure that all the tests they performed were required? Are you sure that the hospital didn't just see you as a golden calf they could get money from?
Money matters. It isn't so much as to how much is in the bank, but what one's day-to-day lifestyle is. Do you want your kids to go to a good school?
I am the product of the public education system in Germany, I don't think I turned out too bad, I don't think public school means bad.... Of course public schools means not prestigous, but that is on a totally different page.
Do you want to have a private community pool in a safe neighborhood for the summer?
I am a Triathlete, I swim quite a lot throughout the year for my training. I do have access to several public pools as well as the Y and the University of Toronto. "Safe" in what way? I don't think there are any problems with the safety of pools in Toronto nor their neighbourhoods. The idea of "safe" is something that is so blown out of proportion that people feel unsafe all the time (I could go into another rant right now but then we would really veer off topic, if you want to discuss that drop me an e-mail).
Do you want to have time to do things on the weekends and not have to mow the lawn?
If I have a garden then the idea is that I take care of it, if I don't want a garden then I either buy a house (if I want a house) without one, or at least a small one, and if in doubt: There's always AstroTurf(TM)
The HDTV and DSL might be luxeries but they were considered normal lifestyle choices by the middle class Americans we had as friends and neighbours.
Ask yourself this though: In the true sense, are they really still middle class? Middle class (by it's name) would mean that you take what everybody has, add it up, and then divide it by the number of people, the average would be the middle and as such middle class.
But it is interresting, according to this website: http://www.horizonmag.com/poverty/takes-tallies.a
That means no DSL, no body to mow their lawn (in fact they might actually do it for you), no extended health coverage (25,000 because of a fever? Definetly not) etc.
I have found, for example, that local taxation initiatives with results clearly visible to the taxed community work far better and far more efficiently that "one size fits all" central planning. It even accomodates some wealth redistribution without killing the "goose that lays the golden egg", vis. the "Robin Hood" school property tax redistripution in and around places like Dallas. But, by remaining fairly local, there is strong citizen pressure for efficiency and accountability -- in other words, it has to be provably better than "everyone for themselves".
This sounds like a good idea, the problem I see with this though is that this only works were there is enough money already around. What happens to areas that are poor?
Think of it this way: Where would you draw the line, what is still local and what isn't? I have the feeling that if this would be implemented the Rich parts of the country would very quickly clamp down and proclaim that only within their boundaries taxes should be paid, this would leave a large part of the poorer country out. An already existing gap would be growing even wider, the poorer communities would need to raise taxes to provide essential services while the richer parts could lower the taxes.
Of course by my understanding Toronto who has / had a very healthy taxbase got bled to death by the province who needed the money in other places.
My idea, my understanding of society is that we should try to help those who can't help themselves, and as such we have a responsiblity to make certain of that. To use the Marines: "No man is left behind." And that should be true for a society in total as well. Of course that's idealism, we're all way too selfish.
I never claimed it was "free" as in free as beer. I am very much aware that I paid for it with my taxes.
But having said that, I am also aware that I don't have to worry if either my health care carrier OR if I personally can afford for example an MRI or an Operation (yes, there is a huge waiting list for MRI's in Ontario right now, I know because I was on one).
But you're right, there are no free lunches, but ask yourself this: Is a lower income tax everything?
Correct me if I am wrong, but the way tax works in the US (by my understanding) is that you have a Federal Tax, a State Tax, than you can have a county tax and (if you're really lucky) a city tax.
Which means I might pay four different taxes when I buy something.
In Canada for the most part you have a Provincial (State) and General (Federal) Tax, cities and counties don't get anything extra. Both taxes combined come to 15%, most food is non-taxable (there is a huge list somewhere) minus Junk Food for which you pay GST & PST. Of couse there are ton's of extra taxes like Alochol, gas etc. But that isn't much different in any other country I have lived in.
If you look into Germany it is even more "simple" you have the VAT (Value Added Tax) which currently stands at 16% for most goods (food, newspapers and books are at 7%).
They get you, one way or the other, if it doesn't go to the state it goes to a company, does it matter in the end? If the money isn't in my pocket I don't really have to care on where it goes as long as I receive something I want / need in return.
If I pay for it with Taxes or with my credit card does at the end of the day not matter for me.
You're right: There are no free lunches and it is an illusion to think that at the end you get ahead in any country just because a certain tax is lower, they give it to you with one hand and take it with the other, sometimes the taking hand though belongs to someone else.
The car I looked at was a Mazda Protege....
their reasoning: "Because you obtained your driving license in a foreign country we cannot accertain your proficcency(sp?) level and as such have to put you high risk."
Yeah thanks, we all know that drivers ed in Germany is absolutly useless, we don't drive there ourselves, we get driven around. (Note the sarcasm).
Actually I have lived in: Germany, USA, Netherlands, Switzerland and now Canada, and all the $ amounts I quoted where "local".
The cheap gas in the US is a two edged sword, it is not the real price it should cost, if you factor everything in, not even the price of 1.50 Euro / litre in Europe is. As much as I hate to say it: We should pay for what it really costs, but then we would probably look at $5/litre and I don't think that is sellable to the public.
I see some of your points but I also think that the balance that is struck in Canada (although not perfect) is still more preferable than what is happening in the US (or can happen there to you).
The same arguments you are bringing up right now about the Canadian System I constantly hear from people in Europe, the funny thing is: Nobdoy ever really WANTS to pay for something they do not consider they need. Insurance is one of those funny things, how many people would get a car insurance if they wouldn't be legally required to get one? But if you need it and it's there you won't complain.
I had intimate relations with both the US and the Canadian Health Care System and both worked and did what they were supposed to do, the only difference was that I was $500 out in the US for getting an X-Ray, some painkillers and a crutch while I didn't pay a dime here in Canada.
Yes, the thing that happened to your Dad is a sad thing but I seriously doubt that the doctors didn't tell him what they had discovered when they were aware that there was a cure in the US.
The middle class in the US is by all accounts disappearing as well, it is a sign of times that the idea always is that people should be responsible for themselves, the government in Ontario tried that too ("Let's privatise Healthcare, like the US does, see how much money we can save.") and they got their ticket, the majority of the people doesn't seem to like that kind of idea. I wonder why if the system is so utterly flawed? Fear?
In Germany right now with the rising unemployment and an expensive social state you hear a lot of people argue similar: "Get rid of this, yeah it is great that we cover everybodys asses but the ones who really want to go ahead, who really want to invent something and who really could create workplaces can't because the tax burden is so high, we're all mediocre." Sounds familiar? It's the same argument and I am starting to wonder if the priorities in peoples lifes is just a bit skewed. Is it really only about money these days?
As for Company premium healthcare, ALL the companies I worked for in Canada were offering this as well, they paid for everything that wasn't covered by OHIP and in one job they even paid 100% dental (something you don't even get in Germany).
Reality is that in Canada you pay one lump sum with your taxes and with that you also subsidize other people, but in the US (by my experience) they nickle and dime you to death.
I think Quality of life is more than just how much money you have in the bank at the end of the day or how big your house is, but maybe I am still too idealistic? Maybe my views change if I have my own family and kids?
Judging by your CV you're in your late 30's maybe when I am there I see things similar, for now though I tend to disagree.
Actually I did, I also lived in Europe (that's where I grew up).
I don't hold a Canadian Passport, I still have a German one and as such I am not here to defend the maple leaf, but a couple of things I would like to comment on:
Back in Canada, again on a competetive salary doing the same thing, I can barely afford a home 1/2-2/3 the size, my kid can't get a hot lunch in school, barely afford one car (insurance and fuel), and I can barely afford dialup and cable, and certainly not "perks" like paid lawn care, pest control, monitored alarm, etc.Okay, maybe I am a snob (and yes I am single, and no I don't have kids) but Car Insurance in the States killed me quite nicely as well. For a midsized car they wanted me to pay $500/month, right now I pay $250.
Dialup and Cable. Don't know the prices for Dialup right now, but cable (with Rogers) is what? 49.95? That is roughly on par with what you would pay in the States, no?
School Lunch: Okay, again I am probalby snobby but why not cook at home? Granted I am not a fan of eating out but quite frankly after reading "Fastfood Nation" and understanding a bit more about the US Meatindustry I don't think I would want my kids to eat at school.
Size of Home: Okay I can see where that might be a factor with a family, though I have to say that living in the 'burbs around Toronto is still cheaper than the places I was living in the US (near D.C.). Dallas and Houston I think are rather funny places in the way they get developed and by my understanding your "nice neighbourhood" there can turn into a slum within a year. The NYT Magazine had an interresting article about this a while back.
Taxes and Gas: What can I say, I grew up in Europe, looking at my tax burden here I still have to laugh all the way to the bank every payday because of the small (compared to Germany) amount of taxes I pay here. Same goes for the gas, to be able to fill up my Mazda for 40 Bucks (with the high gas prices right now) is cheap to what I paid back in Europe (I was lucky if I got away under 100 bucks).
Finally:
Those that exchange the essential liberties of others for the illusion of their own security deserve the festering rot of Dante's ninth level of Hell, for they hath betrayed their fellows' lives.I'll take it you are not a fan of the "social state" that Canada is?
Well, here is a small example from a friend of mine: Her mother developed cancer, on her salary she would have never been able to afford the treatment but thanks to the Canadian Health Care System she could. The mother is alive and kicking. By her own account if she would have been in the states she would have been bancrupt by it.
As for your sons Ultrasound: You can get additional healthinsurance that would cover that, you don't really think that you got it for free in the US, did you? Your company paid for it and that's where it's it, somebody is always paying, nothings for free.
At the end you pay for the things you use, one way or the other, there are no free lunches, and why not pay it via my taxes if after that I can lean back and don't have to worry about it that much anymore?
... and define "Middle Class" for me. I am currently living in Canada and I can't quite see that much of a difference.
Nope, I was talking of REAL tea, nice leafs, boiling water and such.
Never saw that in a restaurant, the worst thing really is when you end up in a 5 star restaurant and they give you a teabag and a glass of warm water. Yuk.
If you think coffee is at a sorry state (or was) in North America you never had a good tea.
M.
Well let me see.
:)
Basically as soon as I was off the bottle I was on the veggies and I know some parents who do this as well, they cook their own food and the kids love it, the oldest one I am aware of is 5 and loves carrotts and other veggies.
As for eating habit, it all depends on the person, I virtually have no lapses changing my eating habits, I went from meat eater to veggie basically cold turkey, then onto Paelo within a week.
It's all in the mindset I guess and maybe I am outside of the norm
M.
Nope, just going from my own experience as a kid. Yeah I didn't like certain stuff but there is a lot more to veggies than just one and in the end I ate them and as far as I can remember never made too much fuzz about it, even spinach.
Of course that didn't start once I was in school but when I was a baby according to my mom.
Are you?
Being from Germany already but now living north of the Border I wager a guess here:
It's the water. Whatever it is, but while living in the DC area the water had a really really really bad taste that really messed with everything, something not even the filter could get out.
So my guess would be: Get water, bottled one should be fine and use that to brew your coffee. Then dump crap like the Folgers stuff that is really bad.
The Starbucks whole beans aren't THAT bad but nothing necessarily to write home about, try to find a local store who roasts their own beans and only buy enough beans that you drink in a week.
It is a stupid thing to say that kids don't eat Veggies because their kids. When I grew up I had a lot of Veggies I liked them (and like them) and I never thought not to eat them (yes even Brussle Sprouts).
If the parents at home would actually CARE for their kids and make sure they grow up on that stuff they will like it, but I guess a lot bought into the idea that "Kids don't eat veggies anyways" kind of crap.
Instead of buying those really nasty "Lunchables" you can see in the supermarket pack their own lunches.
Don't blame him, he probably had some of this blueberry coffee ;)
To avoid being sold crappy food using this technique, don't buy the cheap-ass prepared foods. To avoid being sold crappy food entirely, don't buy prepared foods at all.
I never really liked the prepared food stuff, but since I started racing Triathlons I see food more as a tool and as such I don't really have ANY prepared foods at home (okay, some ice cream in the fridge and some coffee, but that's about it).
The reality is that cooking from scratch isn't that much more time consuming but it allows you to know exactly what is IN the food, if you buy precooked stuff read the labels (not only the nutrion information but the actual ingridients list) and you'll be surprised.
With todays technology they can easily make a piece of plastic taste like cheese and I can gurantee you if anyone can make a buck by doing this they will, I rather cook stuff myself.
Preserving a pencil drawing?
Those bands usually sell a lot less CDs AND at the same time foot the bill for the production and duplication themselves.
Having said that, a CD that sells a million times shouldn't cost $15/piece, considering that thanks to mass production the profit is going up, no?
Yeah CIBC was down, stood at Sobeys and my Bank card didn't go through, Visa worked though.
They told me CIBC was the only one affected.
We got a couple of used Sun A1000 Disk Arrays in. When we hooked everything up I looked if I could find any file systems on it, and lo and behold I did. We mounted them and found two complete oracle DBs on it. The DBA was even able to open them up and we were able to look into it.
I never understand why people don't scrub disks, Sun even has a document on this on their blueprints website.
M.
That would be my thought as well but that might actually kill the idea.
A lot of the Audio CD drives nowadays (e.g. in DVD Players) use a Data "grade" pickup, as such they would only see the WMP files and couldn't play it back....
Unless Microsoft convinces all the car manufacturers and DVD producers to enable WMP playback.
In Germany when they first introduced SMS they were free, they later added packages and you paid I think 29 Pf (around 10 cents?) for a message. SENDING I might add not receiving.
Now I am in Canada and my current provider (Fido) charges me 10 cents for each message I receive (and sent) that is pretty bad I must say.
I don't use SMS much, first of all hardly anyone here knows that AT&T and Fido offer this service and even if they rather call.
The only time I use it is to send messages to some friends back in Germany who are too lazy to use email.
It is not like the West hasn't done anything before the attacks. Anybody with two braincells was aware of the fact that sooner or later something like that would be happening.
If ANYBODY today still claims they didn't see something like that coming than they are beyond help.
There is ALWAYS a cause and effect, hardly anytime something happens out of the blue, the problem is though: We tend not to look critical at ourselves.
Or to quote the Bible of which Bush seems to be so fond of: "How can you see the splinter in the eye of your brother if you cannot see the tree in your own?" (Sorry, probably not the correct phrasing).
M.Heck,
I need a new PDA and I am still crying over my Newton that broke down some years ago (screen) and couldn't get repaired.
If Apple would release a new PDA I sure as hell would buy it, I don't like the Windows PDAs and the Palms make me wonder as well, I never liked Graffiti.
Then there were the Psions which I REALLY liked (Keyboard, yeah!) or a Blackberry, but I don't need mobile e-mail so a Blackberry would be a waste of money.
Michael
>>I understand (and agree) that Americans exercise far too little. However, depriving everyone of efficient transportation in the current system is not the solution. That system exists to give us time to do other things and everyone will be loath to give that time back to less efficient transportation methods.
Excercise alone is NOT the problem (that's what the fitness industry wants you to think). The problem is what you put in your mouth on a daily basis, have you ever read what it is IN that microwave food you just ate?
Reality is be cautious of what you eat and yes, spent the hour a day walking and you'll be off way better health wise than driving around in your car (or segway), eating microwave food and going to the Gym.