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Perfect description and so very true. I wonder some days did America, intentionally allow what has happened to it. Its no longer the country I grew up in. One thing that hasn't changed though. Health Care has basically always been a luxury for many in the US. I imagine that will never change. Disgraceful and Inhumane as far as I'm concerned. Thankfully I'm well insured. I have no idea how those without manage.
I'm from the US but like you, my values dont match up with today's America. I'm rather ashamed of what I'm seeing more and more.
Excellent Post
Same here. I have excellent health care that came through my employment and that I took with me into retirement. As a matter of fact, before I started coming to Canada frequently, I checked to see if I could use my healthcare if I were to get sick here, and I can. I have "in-network" and "out-of-network" coverage, so Canada is all out-of-network, which means they would pay 80% and I would pay the remainder.
But I know so many people in the U.S. who have no coverage or really crappy coverage. It just should not be.
It's also a mirage that the U.S. is a "let the free market decide" type of economy, as so many of their industries and agricultural sectors can be heavily subsidized. They often point the finger for this at other countries including Canada but they do the same.
The most common reasons I heard are protecting American business, national security or reciprocate measures.
The most common reasons I heard are protecting American business, national security or reciprocate measures.
Well, those would be somewhat logical to assume but not the only reasons as evidenced by farmer subsidies when the U.S. year after year pays the same multi billion dollar subsidies (well over 20 billion) to various Aggra businesses (in direct violation of NAFTA by the by) to OVERPRODUCE for market demand. ??????
Knowing this in advance, and knowing that U.S. dairy farmers numbering in the thousands, are encouraged to overproduce, AND knowing that Canada buys more dairy from the U.S. than the other way around...……..the scenario is set for U.S. dairy farmers to have no recourse but to "dump" their product into the Canadian market at less than it costs to produce due to them being reimbursed through direct U.S. subsidies!
You now have the perfect storm of U.S. government paying American farmers to overproduce with the possible result of essentially wiping out the Canadian dairy industry by selling their product at a loss-to-cost-ratio ....DUMPING......hence; Canada's high tariffs upon the imported diary products above the agreed-to quotas within NAFTA.
Trump conveniently forgets to mention the U.S. subsidies creating this problem in the first place while screaming about Canada's "unfairness".
Now, segueing to softwood tariffs imposed upon Canadian softwood; he conversely finds those perfectly fine for exactly those reasons he disses Canada for their dairy tariffs. The man is amazing in his ability to whirl like a dervish without awareness of the irony upon a topic he knows nothing about.
I live in Pittsburgh and feel the same way. South Carolina and Tennessee felt more different to me than Ontario ever could.
I think culture shock or foreignness is less about the US Canada border and more about regional differences around the continent. I live in Tennessee, you find my state more foreign than Ontario...makes sense. I see New England, the Northeast in general to be quite foreign. All of Canada is quite different than the southern US. Canada and Northern states like Maine, Minnesota or Michigan however are not foreign to each other at all. Most people in Michigan or Minnesota know the Canadian national anthem (hockey obsession likely responsible for this). Most Ontarians visit bordering US states frequently. Does a familiarity with Michigan mean those Ontarians would fit right in here in Tennessee or in Alabama...Texas maybe? No not likely. Quebec is foreign feeling to most Americans or Canadians. Same can be said for Hispanic regions in the American Southwest. Regional values have more to do with the culture shock one would feel moving about North America than does the US/Canada border.
Trump conveniently forgets to mention the U.S. subsidies creating this problem in the first place while screaming about Canada's "unfairness".
Now, segueing to softwood tariffs imposed upon Canadian softwood; he conversely finds those perfectly fine for exactly those reasons he disses Canada for their dairy tariffs. The man is amazing in his ability to whirl like a dervish without awareness of the irony upon a topic he knows nothing about.
To our Canadian friends: Please bear in mind that most of us did not vote for Trump. He sits in office due to an antiquated quirk in our electoral system that values winning states more than accumulating actual votes. The man is an orangutan, and most of us can't stand him either.
The differences might be more apparent to someone like myself who doesn't travel often to the States any more. I purposefully boycotted during Dubya's term and then went once during Obama's term. Then my husband's health changed and I won't go anyway while Trump is in office.
But before that during a visit to a small town not far from the border, while having lunch in a diner, I overheard a conversation at some tables between farmers that I have never heard in Canada. Basically it was about guns and one guy saying that if his neighbour stepped foot on his property during the night he would shoot him dead. It was to my ears, a clownish conversation, so bizarre you wanted to laugh. Another farmer brought up how he had heard that in England even though they didn't have guns the murder rate was very low, and another farmer (or good ole boy type, rural, anyway) responded with the wisdom that New York City had more people than all of Britain so that didn't count.
My hubby wanted to open his big mouth at that point, and I was hissing at him to shut up because based on their conversation, I figured they were all carrying big, loud, dangerous things in their pickups and most likely wouldn't take kindly to a northern neighbour laughing his ass off at them. I could understand why my hubs wanted to laugh though. None of the conversation seemed for real, and that's saying something, having heard my share of country conversations in the "bull****" corner of the local diner.
Aside from that, I have always found it different. Totally different vibe. More aggressive. As far as flags go, a flag on a house is rare enough in my area to make my head turn.
Well now, that's quite the load of horsesh-t there netwit.
As mentioned, it must be regional. I don't see that out here in the Metro Vancouver area at all. My mother lives in a suburb and I would say maybe one out of 50 houses may have a flag.
Wanna see a lot of flags? Go to London. The Union Jack is everywhere!
Well now, that's quite the load of horsesh-t there netwit.
You are eminently qualified to recognize verbal horsemanure no doubt. Being from Trumplandia and all.
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