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Some of us who made the choice to move to the US from Canada did so with eyes wide open. We are well aware of the faults AND positives of both country. We lived in both, we have been subjected to the media and propaganda of left/right/miscellaneous wing of both country.
Was career opportunities a reason I left? Yes. Was it the only one? No. Better salary? Yes. But again, not the only reason. I was young, and I had nothing to anchor to me to any particular geographical location. It was very much about trying something new...taking a risk when I can afford to do so. I knew what it was like to live and work in Canada (and also Asia), so why not the U.S. when I got the opportunity? It was the right move for me, and I have no regrets.
Personally, there is negligible difference between my quality of life in the US then what it would've been in Canada. But I chose to live in a city (San Francisco) that is culturally/politically close to where I grew up (Toronto).
Going to see the doctor and getting medical treatment is a service provided, much like you have a haircut, why does everyone expect it to be free? You buy health insurance, just like you buy home insurance, auto insurance etc, what's wrong with it? Does anyone expect free car insurance?
Maybe it's just me. Whether health insurace is free or not is not an important factor in the decision. I'd prefer it to be not free as a matter of fact, because more than likely I am subsidizing others out of my own pocket. It is a zero-sum game and the "government" doesn't really make any profit to pay anything for me. My taxes do.
Because
a)Healthcare is a human right
b)It's cheaper for the government to run or manage it than otherwise. Americans pay much more for healthcare than any other developed country.
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Originally Posted by Shooting Stars
Where do you get your information? I live in the U.S. and pay for my own health insurance.
I pay $2,746.48 per year as a 53-year-old woman. My business partner pays $4,402.20 per year as an 58-year-old man. We have low deductibles.
And this is after the typical increases in premiums that happen after you've been with an insurance company for a number of years. If we switched companies, we'd most likely save a lot. Younger people of course would pay less.
Our health care system has issues here, but you are off-base with your costs.
Also, your second statement isn't accurate. Most plans pay 80% up to a certain expenditure and then switch to paying 100%. Many plans have no limit, or not a limit that you'd ever be likely to reach.
It also depends on where you live. Some places have many more options than others. But the average American pays over $7000 a year in healthcare, and that doesn't include the burden that employers have to carry.
It's not written in our Constitution that health care is a "right". You may want it to be (and lots of American liberals think it should be) but that is not the reality. Any country that treats it as such still has to put limits on it.
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Originally Posted by imokay
b)It's cheaper for the government to run or manage it than otherwise. Americans pay much more for healthcare than any other developed country.
It's true health care costs are a total rip off in the US. What American liberals won't tell you is that our publicly funded health care programs (about 50% of our health care dollars are publicly spent) are NOT any cheaper than the private ones and their costs are spiraling up just as fast as the private plans are. All the public health care programs do is hide the cost better to the end user.
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Originally Posted by imokay
It also depends on where you live. Some places have many more options than others. But the average American pays over $7000 a year in healthcare, and that doesn't include the burden that employers have to carry.
Simply not true. I paid around $500 last year (single person) and my employer kicked in another $2500 and I live in high cost California. But costs do vary widely with both public and private insurance. That's because our health care system has very limited competition and limited choice (yet another reason why our costs are a rip off). Our government has not proven it can do any better with the publicly funded programs. They've had more than 50 years to do so with Medicare (the program for senior citizens) and they have failed miserably.
Everytime I'm in a beautiful resort area of the US enjoying our warm winter areas I come across tons of Canadians. They are always fun to be around and never say the things I read on this forum. How come those Canadians are so positive and effusive about the US? Are they afraid of the reaction they might get if they let their true feelings out?
This is a discussion 99 percent of the population has no interest in having, this site has maybe 100 canadians out of 34 million.
Originally Posted by botticelli Canada of course has its own advantages - we all know about it - and it is only good for certain groups of people, the less ambitous, less money-driven, those who prefer a stable life over excitement and risks. There is really no good or bad. yeah all my family in alberta a bunch of lazy do nothings, and my mother pulling in 130 k a year has no ambition and pays every scent she makes in taxes
one thing i absolutely don't agree with is "canada has a higher quality of life" or "canada is just a us without its problems". In fact very few people believe in that in reality - much fewer americans move to canada vs canadians moving to the us, and the us still attracts far more immigrants than canada, despite it being much more difficult. Canada happens to work better for some and the us for the other. i'll agree with you here that canada no better but no worst either, it's just another middle class country, this notion that there's some massive divide between first world countries is a joke.
After trashing Canada and all Canadians arent you glad you dont live here eh!
And whats with mom paying every penny she makes of the $130K per year entirely in taxes? yeah right..
It's not written in our Constitution that health care is a "right". You may want it to be (and lots of American liberals think it should be) but that is not the reality. Any country that treats it as such still has to put limits on it.
Healthcare is a human right in all developed countries except for the US. Of course there are limits, but they are reasonable. I can't do much for those who live in a backwards country.
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It's true health care costs are a total rip off in the US. What American liberals won't tell you is that our publicly funded health care programs (about 50% of our health care dollars are publicly spent) are NOT any cheaper than the private ones and their costs are spiraling up just as fast as the private plans are. All the public health care programs do is hide the cost better to the end user.
That's not true at all. Every single developed country with publicly run or managed healthcare is cheaper than the US. Even in the US, Medicare has lower administrative costs than private insurance.
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Simply not true. I paid around $500 last year (single person) and my employer kicked in another $2500
$2500 per employee is an unnecessary burden for employees. You want to stimulate job growth? Go public.
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I live in high cost California.
I believe California is one of the states with the most healthcare options.
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That's because our health care system has very limited competition and limited choice (yet another reason why our costs are a rip off).
The private sector has failed. There is plenty of collusion to ensure you pay as much as they can get you to pay.
It simply doesn't make sense to make it profitable for a company to let you die instead of curing you. I don't see why, in the 21st century, despite growing income inequality, the poor should be discriminated even in this regards. The rich don't have more of a right to life than the poor do.
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Our government has not proven it can do any better with the publicly funded programs. They've had more than 50 years to do so with Medicare (the program for senior citizens) and they have failed miserably.
That's because the government isn't doing enough. Governments in other countries are much more aggressive and push hard for newer, more affordable technology and lower drug prices.
The problem with the US is that the government is in bed with pharmaceutical and health insurance companies.
We're straying ot. There are tons of healthcare discussion threads on here, but this isn't one of them.
My reasons for moving were primarily for a change. It's not that it was a safe destination, but just different. Having been here for over four years, and now having a green card, I can say with a high degree of certainty that my family will never move back to Canada. Between the onerous tax burden and the overall higher cost of living, and probably most importantly the climate, we just like it here too much.
Now, if I have other opportunities to move elsewhere in the world, I'd probably consider them, but the Great White North isn't on that list.
Look guys, most U.S. residents... (and I call them residents because their citizenship really doesn't confer any special rights to them; they can still be extrajudicially disappeared or killed with impunity by the corrupt U.S. fascist government at any time with no due process)... are brainwashed to think their country is the best in the world. They vehemently deny that their government has been bought and paid for by large business interests. Sadly when you are in denial, you will never break free from the status quo.
We're straying ot. There are tons of healthcare discussion threads on here, but this isn't one of them.
My reasons for moving were primarily for a change. It's not that it was a safe destination, but just different. Having been here for over four years, and now having a green card, I can say with a high degree of certainty that my family will never move back to Canada. Between the onerous tax burden and the overall higher cost of living, and probably most importantly the climate, we just like it here too much.
Now, if I have other opportunities to move elsewhere in the world, I'd probably consider them, but the Great White North isn't on that list.
Undeniably many immigrate to Canada because it is easier. I wonder if obtaining PR in the US is as easy as in Canada, what percentage of Canadian immigrants will choose US over Canada? I would guess quite high.
Jobs, tax and cost of living are usually ranked much higher than crime rate and universal healthcare in the decision in reality, at least for most people. The idea of paying $300 a month on car insurance scares many who live in the US.
Look guys, most U.S. residents... (and I call them residents because their citizenship really doesn't confer any special rights to them; they can still be extrajudicially disappeared or killed with impunity by the corrupt U.S. fascist government at any time with no due process)... are brainwashed to think their country is the best in the world. They vehemently deny that their government has been bought and paid for by large business interests. Sadly when you are in denial, you will never break free from the status quo.
Don't many Canadian believe Canada is the best country in the world, or Vancouver/Toronto is the best city in the world?
You can't blame people for holding a home bias. Most of us do.
And the atrocious government prosecution you mentioned in the US probably affects 0.00000% of the population. Hardly anyone considers that as a factor.
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Where do you get your information? I live in the U.S. and pay for my own health insurance.
