[DrCaleb]

I thought she wasn't so bad. A couple rookie mistakes at first, but good finish. Despite UPC propaganda.

[Freakinoldguy]

As right wing as I am I still think health care should be inviolate and going to the American's system would be akin to shooting the horse because the cow got out of the barn.

We've got alot of issues like cost overruns, to many people abusing the system, not enough doctors and alot of the healthcare money is being diverted to addiction programs. But it's still better than the pay to live system in alot of ways. Especially since any system that sells "better health care" than it's competitors through continual advertising isn't a system that's really going to have the best interest of the sick at heart.

Got cancer, come to the Cancer Clinics of America, got heart issues, go to the University of Texas Southwestern. All you have to do is watch TV and you'll know by the testimonials of the survivors which is the best place to spend your money on keeping yourself alive. The problem with that is not everyone can afford these high end clinics and it must be frustrating as hell to see all these success stories when you're body is wasting away because of your finances.

We definitely need to square our health care system away before it implodes but even with that we're still light years ahead of the Americans when it comes to keeping our people alive.

[Prof_Chomsky]

Thanos Thanos:

I'll address the points made only when they're done without sneering condescension.

Oh please. What a cop out that is. Have you read one of your initial comments toward the rest of Canada?

Thanos Thanos:

And that's what the Trudeau Liberals and all the other left-wingers in this country are openly trying to do, kill the industry altogether with zero regard for the real-life consequences to Canadians. Or are Albertans even considered Canadians at all, in their view? Most days it seems like we aren't.

I admit to being an absolutist on this. Just don't tell me that the other side isn't. And, once again, if we hadn't been robbed of over $600 billion in taxation transfers since the 1960's, what kind of more diversified economy could we have built out here? We'll never know, because there was no way in hell they would have ever allowed that to happen anyway. They are against us, period. They always have been and they always will be.

I don't think you really have a rational way to defend the points I made, it's all a feeling in you that just makes you angry. You know you have it better than the rest of Canada by virtue of NOTHING you did for yourself, and now you can't defend that sense of entitlement with logic.

And your $600B figure in tax transfers is utter nonsense. First off, I don't even know where you calculated it because no number under any circumstance comes near that. Secondly, you can't just count federal taxes vs equalization because the feds spend all sorts of other money in provinces, and those numbers are VERY different. Thirdly, and perhaps even most importantly, NONE of those figures take into account oil subsidies the federal government gave to Alberta, or in support of the industry (like crown lands for pipelines for one), nor do they take into account that the average Albertan's age is 36 because a disproportionate number of you retire to BC or elsewhere and when you do, your federal pensions get tagged as "equalization" transfers to that province rather than Alberta.

[DrCaleb]

Freakinoldguy Freakinoldguy:

All you have to do is watch TV and you'll know by the testimonials of the survivors which is the best place to spend your money on keeping yourself alive.

Testimonials of those who didn't survive don't bring in new patients. But I'd still like to see them.

[bootlegga]

rickc rickc:

You are a smart guy, I know you can follow what I am saying easily enough.

I'll agree with that statement!

rickc rickc:

The snowbirds always come home because they HAVE TO, not because they WANT TO. The U.S. government only allows them to stay for 182 days during a 12 month period. I live in an area flooded with snowbirds. They always bitch about having to leave. They come here of their own free will. They leave because they have to. Even if the U.S government said that Canadians could stay forever without incurring any U.S. tax liability, they would still have to go back or risk losing their healthcare. The super wealthy Canadians (who can afford the outrageous healthcare costs in the states on their own, or their job provides it) don't go back.

Most of the snowbirds I know love the mild winters, but hate the hot/humid summers in the US, and are glad to come home. For many things, the price, when adjusted for the difference in currencies, is often pretty close, excepting the things hit by sin taxes (booze, cigarettes, etc.). In many places, I found the cost of things just as expensive, if not more.

I do agree with you that super wealthy Canadians often do move to the States permanently (or for most of the year) and you're welcome to them. I'd prefer they live the lifestyle they want instead of trying to get the rest of us to live theirs up here.

rickc rickc:

Who was scamming you in Florida? Why don't you show me some stuff that is cheaper in your neck of the woods than Florida? Car rental? Gasoline? Food? Beer? Alcohol? Water sports? Entertainment? Anything? Its not just the snowbirds. Florida probably gets more Canadian tourists in one month in the summer (when the snowbirds have all gone home) than your Province gets American tourists all year long.

When I was in Florida, almost every person I met was hustling, trying to sell me insurance, or a time share, or an expensive toy/touristy crap/junk.

As for the things you mentioned, booze was cheaper, but as someone who barely drinks, it doesn't benefit me.

Food was about 20% cheaper at the grocery store, and the selection was incredible, but eating out was roughly the same I paid at home, if you include 20% for the currency exchange. It seems like everyone and their little brother expects a tip in the US too, which adds up fast.

Gasoline was also marginally cheaper, but that's because I live in a city with four or five refineries that help keep gas prices down. IF I lived in Vancouver or Toronto, it would have been much cheaper.

Entertainment (family type stuff) was double or even triple what I would pay for the same thing back home - and I'm not including Disney in that calculation, because that is ten times or more expensive. This was one of the things I felt was the biggest scams in Florida. Everything was $50 - $80 per person US, which is far higher than going to something similar in Canada. By way of comparison, in Toronto, the CityPass there costs around $120 CDN for five pretty great tourist traps (CN Tower, Casa Loma, Toronto Zoo, etc.)

My two week car rental was about the same as my two week car rental in Vancouver earlier in the year, after converting for currency.

Finally, when you add in the cost of toll roads, health care and education, I don't see any financial advantage to living in the US.

rickc rickc:

There is nothing anecdotal about Californians moving to Las Vegas. Its a fact. A fact backed up by the census, moving companies, and real estate companies.

https://www.century21.com/CENTURY-21-Ga ... 000s-14346

Glad that you have some evidence to back you up now, but your statement was anecdotal, just like mine was.

rickc rickc:

I am not surprised that someone living in a place where the various government agencies tag team you to take your wealth knows some people that have moved to California,(and you live in one of the better places to live when it comes to taxes but its still to damn high) Why not? I too would trade one tax and spend locale for another tax and spend locale with far superior weather. If I had to pick between New York and California, I would pick California every day of the week, and twice on Sunday. Thankfully I do not have to make that choice.

I don't mind paying taxes for excellent schools, great healthcare and decent roads.

The alternative I see in the US is if you make a lot of money, your kids can go to a good school in a good district, your can afford excellent medical insurance, and there's lot of toll roads for you to drive on.

To each their own, but I prefer the former.

rickc rickc:

Sorry to hear about your daughters condition. Unfortunately I do not see that problem being solved anytime soon in the states. But hey I could be wrong. Things are changing fast in the states these days. It could happen. No one thought that we would have a black President 20 years ago. I think that you are being prudent waiting for a less financially crippling situation than what you could possibly be facing in the states these days. Medical bills is one of the leading causes of bankruptcy.

Thanks. You guys are passionate about the 2A, up here it's universal healthcare for obvious reasons.

rickc rickc:

Even if the states had a one payer medical system, I do not think that you would be prepared for the outrageous cost of housing in southern California coming from Alberta. A fucking dog house in the hood goes for half a mil, (slightly playing with the numbers). If you owned a home in Vancouver island or Victoria, than it would be a lateral move, cost and tax wise. Alberta? Not so much. I had a friend a few years back bragging about how he was moving to San Fran and going to be making twice what he (and I) was making in Vegas. He is now working 2 full time jobs there.

Actually, I'm fully prepared for the outrageous cost of real estate in California - I know several people who live in Silicon Valley and the prices there are shocking.

However, we've looked at a retiring in California (near San Jose), and while real estate is pricey, between our income, retirement assets, home and other investments, it's doable.

My biggest hesitation is that the place I'd like to live is frequented by too many disasters, be it earthquakes or wildfires, the last of which I only see as getting worse in the coming decades. I'm not about to buy an acreage just to watch it burn to the ground a few years later.

[bootlegga]

Prof_Chomsky Prof_Chomsky:

Medical care is a right, not a privilege.

+5

[bootlegga]

BartSimpson BartSimpson:

bootlegga bootlegga:

I know several people who have moved to California, and frankly, if the US had a decent health care system, I probably would too. But given that my daughter has a 'pre-existing condition' that she was born with, odds are, I will NEVER move to the USA.

May I ask what your daughter's condition is?

Sorry, it's not my right to disclose such personal information, but fortunately, she is on an experimental protocol that has improved her condition significantly in the past year.

While I rag on the US health care system, I have nothing but respect for the professionals in it, including the group at NIH in Bethesda who are monitoring my daughter's health and working with her physician here to ensure she has great medical care.

[Freakinoldguy]

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[DrCaleb]

Environmental law charity Ecojustice files legal challenge of Alberta public inquiry

[Freakinoldguy]

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

Environmental law charity Ecojustice files legal challenge of Alberta public inquiry

Fucking disgusting. First they work to destroy the industry and then they try and prevent the truth about foreign interference from being exposed under the old standby. It's a witch hunt.

Sadly these environmental groups are just another wing of organizations like the Tide Foundation and to prove that all you have to do is Like they say, follow the money.

https://business.financialpost.com/opin ... oney-trail

[Thanos]

I fully expect the full-Canada bullshit routine to happen someday when these "charities" get exposed as having their activities funded by taxpayer dollars under some insane federal program. Just the usual Canadian hilarity, some extremist cranks getting fully financed by the same people whose jobs they're actively trying to destroy. Same as it ever was, same as it ever was.

[DrCaleb]

Freakinoldguy Freakinoldguy:

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

Environmental law charity Ecojustice files legal challenge of Alberta public inquiry

Fucking disgusting. First they work to destroy the industry and then they try and prevent the truth about foreign interference from being exposed under the old standby. It's a witch hunt.

They didn't destroy anything. The Saudis did, along with fracking in the US.

And you are right, it's a witch hunt to take away a group's right to freedom of speech to criticize a government or an industry if they feel it needs some.

And as I quoted earlier in the article, the industry that receives the most foreign funding in Alberta are churches. Where is the inquiry into that?

[Thanos]

Except for the real kook evangelicals most of the churches aren't actively trying to hurt people. Can't say the same about these enviro-radicals though.

[DrCaleb]

Thanos Thanos:

Except for the real kook evangelicals most of the churches aren't actively trying to hurt people. Can't say the same about these enviro-radicals though.

What if it weren't churches, but Mosques? StatsCan just lists 'religion', not which ones get foreign funding.

And what has EcoJustice done that is so radical?

[Thanos]

Anyone or any group saying things like "shut down Canada's fossil fuel sector altogether" should be considered a radical. The economic and personal devastation such a policy will cause will be unmatched by anything except for maybe the Great Depression.