Ron, et al. Re: Your misconceptions on Canada
OK, I couldn't stand by and let Mark bear the brunt of your misconceptions. First, If you think Mark misunderstood your earlier posts, then I suggest you review the tone of your messages before you post, as I, too was, let's say, " agitated" by your posts. I'm sure there were at least several other hundred Canadians tonight who were "agitated" behind their keyboards. If I may say so, the statement "Of course the US won't allow Canada to go bankrupt" is pretty self-righteous. I would argue that the US is in a more precarious fiscal position.
Let's present some facts: the Canadian Federal Gov't according to nearly all major financial institutions/analysts will post a budgetary surplus FY98-99. The majority of the provincial gov'ts have been enjoying surpluses for a couple of years now and are paying down their debt. Canada GDP forecast growth for this upcoming year is the highest of the G7 (as forecast by the OECD). Yes, Canada does have a high debt, but it ranks about middle in the G7 (Italy is first, Japan second). The Bank of Canada has not sold gold in over a year. The Province of Ontario is in the process of a 30% Income tax CUT and the province of Alberta is poised for a similar cut. Our dollar has been sliding because the US dollar has been rising against all other currencies as capital moves to the last (supposed) safe haven. There is a global currency crisis going on. Eg Have you seen the beating the Australian dollar has been taking?
Our heath care? There will always be people criticizing it, but its doing fine. You have to understand that Criticizing is a recognized national past-time. A personal healthcare anecdote: a friend of mine was diagnosed with severe heart disease early nov. He went in for bypass surgery at the end of Dec (after alternative procedures, such as angioplasty has been explored). I work as a air ambulance helicopter pilot and am in quite close contact with the health care system. Long-term or terminally ill patients here never have to face exponentially rising health insurance premiums or refusal of insurance coverage.
I'll be the first to admit that our system is far from perfect, but I'll also be the first to state the same about the U.S. What bothers me is that there are some very misinformed statements being made. Understand that Canadians know a great deal more about Americans than Americans know about Canadians. That's not because "We're smarter", its because the US is a global political, military, social and economic power, and Canada is, let's say, is a tad less interesting (OK, maybe we're a global hockey power). I don't think most Americans realize the we look into your country every day and observe, through the myriad of US channels that most Canadian households receive (ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, CNBC, etc). The opposite is far from true. To quote a Canadian comic "We never have to worry about the US invading Canada because all we would have to do is remove our name off the maps and they'd never find us"
Thank you for letting me stand on my soapbox.
Rob |
