[lbo-talk] Re: Vive La France!

Jordan Hayes jmhayes at j-o-r-d-a-n.com
Wed Jun 1 19:20:11 PDT 2005



> They would have better care than who in the U.S.?
> Better than those who have no health insurance and
> use prayer to heal?

Hah! No, better than those who pay for it (or have it paid for them). Federal tax rates in Canada are much higher than in the US (for mid- and lower- income levels) and on average, 42% of it goes to the healthcare system. So uh, it's not free.


> As for high taxes: about 40% of my paycheck is poof gone
> by the time I cash the check.

I guess you don't own a house? My net tax burden [(Fed+State+FICA+Medicare+SDI) / Net Income] was 18.5% last year. I seem to recall that you do pretty well for yourself, and it's true: if you make more than the median and you don't own a house, you get to pay a lot of taxes.


> Some goes for SS which, I am told, I should not expect
> to see much of when I retire ...

SS is not a savings plan, you shouldn't expect to see any of it. You should, however, hope that the kids below you kick you some :-)


> and most goes for military spending about which I have no say.
> Forget health care, education, etc.

I think you're exagerating. Health care (sure, not for you: but for seniors) is a much bigger piece of the pie than the military.

---

Marvin says this:


> Doug has already noted that numerous studies show the US
> spends more on health care with poorer outcomes than in Canada ...

I don't think this is relevant to this thread. The total health care spending in the US is warped by the extreme costs of high-end care that's simply not available in Canada. I think, for the purposes of this thread, it's important to keep your eye on my claim: that for the same dollars, (average) individual Canadians could (probably) do better in the US.

Joanna, go to this page:

http://www.taxtips.ca/tax_rates.htm

Figure out your tax bill (ignore currency differences) if you lived in Ontario or Quebec (where 80+% of Canada lives), take 42% of it, and call Blue Shield and ask them what you get for it. I bet you'll be surprised.

/jordan



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