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American politics and media tactics facilitate fear and paranoia among its citizens. Canada does not have this atmosphere. Period.
(I've lived in both countries, back and forth, all my life)
That's certainly my impression of American politics and how Americans relate to their politicians. There is another post on this thread that made mention of the same thing, although I believe the poster didn't necessarily see it as a negative - which is that Canadians tend to have a certain amount of faith in the goodwill of their governments that Americans don't have.
Now maybe some of that faith Canadians have in their government is misplaced - that's debatable - but what I don't understand, given how suspicious Americans seem of the motives of their governments, is how their suspicion of their own government ties into their oft stated belief that the US is the best country in the world.
Just seems to me that both ideas are oppositional and cancel each other out.
I'd get very tired if I had to keep a bunch of conspiracy theories in my head all the time. It must be exhausting.
American politics and media tactics facilitate fear and paranoia among its citizens. Canada does not have this atmosphere. Period.
(I've lived in both countries, back and forth, all my life)
Yes Prime Minister Harper has never used scare tactics in his campaign platform , I think you need to follow Canadian politics a bit more if you think it doesn't exist in Canadian society and politics. Take a look at the Ad's he is running now against Michael Ignatieff. On the flip side you have the Liberal's planting in the publics head that Harper has some scary hidden agenda and other foolishness.
This has been going on for years most recently Jack Layton accusing Paul Martin that he was responsible for the "killing" of the homeless people, because of his affordable housing policy.
I do concede that it is not quite on the level of the US, but that is the "American Way" go big or go home I guess. Canadians find comfort in knowing that their issues and atrocities are not on par with America's transgressions and would rather compare themselves to the US than focus on their own issues.....ignorance is bliss!
Quote:
Originally Posted by netwit
That's certainly my impression of American politics and how Americans relate to their politicians. There is another post on this thread that made mention of the same thing, although I believe the poster didn't necessarily see it as a negative - which is that Canadians tend to have a certain amount of faith in the goodwill of their governments that Americans don't have.
Now maybe some of that faith Canadians have in their government is misplaced - that's debatable - but what I don't understand, given how suspicious Americans seem of the motives of their governments, is how their suspicion of their own government ties into their oft stated belief that the US is the best country in the world.
Just seems to me that both ideas are oppositional and cancel each other out.
I'd get very tired if I had to keep a bunch of conspiracy theories in my head all the time. It must be exhausting.
It is actually pretty easy to deal with, you just accept that all government officials are selfish and expect the worst out of them and go about your business and live your life. The Americans you see on TV marching and acting all paranoid are usually uneducated, Xenophobic morons and no one I surround myself with is anything like that. The media will focus on this subset of society because it makes for shocking news and the extent of Canadians knowledge of the US is usually confined to what they learn on CNN or FOX News.
For every American migrating to Canada there are 3 Canadians moving to the US, as per Statistics Canada.
Personally I moved from Toronto to New England 4 months ago for a much higher salary for the comparable job in Toronto. And I like living close to where I used to vacation. Maine. Though if I had found an equivalent job in Toronto (salary and career) I probably would have stayed.
Everything in Canada cost about 10-50% more. The first time I went to Canada I had no idea there are two sales taxes-Province and National, I was shocked when I got my bill. The pay in Canada is also lower than US, but everything cost more, so relatively you end being worse off compared to someone in the US having the same job. Taxes are also a bit higher--the level is widely exaggerated, income taxes are similar
Canada is a better place to live if you are a working class or middle class person raising kids (i.e. good for people whose household income is less than $125K).
The US is a better place to live if you are a young and upwardly mobile person (i.e. yuppie making more than $125K) or wealthy (assets more than $1M).
Why?
(1) Healthcare. If you're working class or middle class (i.e. you're a schoolteacher, warehouse manager, construction, etc.) with a family, you at least have access to healthcare in Canada. Yes, it's not perfect, but at least you have it. Healthcare or the inability to afford it can potentially bankrupt a family in the US making less than $125K. Not to mention the 50 million Americans with no health insurance. Now, if you're upper middle class or wealthy in the US, you will have access to the best healthcare services in the world (and if you're a wealthy Canadian, that access is available to you since you have the $$$ to cross the border and pay for it too).
(2) Public schooling. If you're upper middle class or wealthy it matters far less if public schools are crappy - you have the option to send your kids to private schools. If you're making less than $125K, you don't have that option and are left with public schools. And Canada's public schools on the whole are more consistent in terms of quality from one district to the next (at least compared to the US where the quality of public schooling can vary far more widely).
(3) Taxes. The difference matters more when you make more than $125K. If you make less than that, the tax rates are comparable.
The US is better for the rich or highly ambitious, but Canada is better for the average folk.
Tax rates may be comparable, however available deductions are not. Property taxes, provincial sales tax and mortgage interest are not deductable from your income like they are in the US.
Tax rates may be comparable, however available deductions are not. Property taxes, provincial sales tax and mortgage interest are not deductable from your income like they are in the US.
True, but... sure that money goes back to into the American's pocket, but just so they can help themselves to buy more stuff, or get a bigger credit line? The taxes Canadians pay do a much better job of providing for the public as a whole what it really needs, in terms of national health care, social services programs, etc. Canadians, in general, don't live their young lives obsess to strive towards becoming a home owner.
And you might also want to think of the millions of Americans that are either in or on the brink of foreclosure and/or bankruptcy and ask yourself how all of these tax deductions have helped them?
Canada does have desert and desert like climate but I bet you would not know where that was. It's not Death Valley but it is still desert. It's called Osoyoos and it is in British Columbia. It is actually where the Sonoran Desert begins and runs down through the western US and ends in Mexico. Now go and find in the library a book called "Atlas" and see if you can find Osoyoos(no cheating with Google maps)
And for the hot weather, well we may just turn Florida to a Canadian province or just work little bit harder with the Turks and Caicos islands to join Canada. Whatever happened to that deal?
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, I think you need to follow Canadian politics a bit more if you think it doesn't exist in Canadian society and politics. Take a look at the Ad's he is running now against Michael Ignatieff. On the flip side you have the Liberal's planting in the publics head that Harper has some scary hidden agenda and other foolishness. 