Hacker News Reader

Comment by bovermyer | Hacker News Reader

I have been working on immigrating to Canada from the USA for about a year now. In that time, I have read much and more on the state of things in Canada, both for immigrants and generally. Blogs and the internet, yes, but also print books.

I've also traveled to Canada to see things in person.

It's definitely a high cost-of-living country. Wages are much lower for my profession (devops) than in the USA. The author of this book makes some good observations.

However, after all of my research, I still believe that Canada is right for me and my family.

The trick is in getting the Canadian government to agree with me.

View on HN

Healthcare is a simultaneously a scam and a nationalist inferiority complex coping mechanism.

Taxes are high and getting higher, and a couple duopolies have captured the entire economy.

I am glad I got out when I did.

You are crazy to leave USA for Canada.

spoken as someone who doesn't need health care (yet) spoken as someone who doesn't need schools (yet) spoken as someone who doesn't need reliable infrastructure (wtf?)

Better take-home pay only counts if you don't need the things taxes pay for, or (apparently) don't need a supporting community that does need them. That situation, though, is a lot like saying "I'm a CEO with my own jet - I don't need no stinking' roads" but then can't sell anything because all of their product and all of their employees need roads to get to work, to ship, to function.

> Taxes are high and getting higher

What if you're retired and have no taxable income, only financial gains from some investment portfolio?

Are you assuming no pension payments, just living off your capital? I doubt there is such a thing as non-taxable income. Also remember income tax isn't the only kind. How about property, VAT, automobile, etc.?

Yes, assuming no pension payments, i.e. someone who has yet to reach retirement age.

> Also remember income tax isn't the only kind. How about property, VAT, automobile, etc.?

My question is about the yearly national/federal+state taxes. Ignore consumer taxes.

> a couple duopolies have captured the entire economy

This is by far the most horrifying component of being Canadian. Every single thing you interact with in your life is dominated by 2-4 companies with, collectively, 100% market share, and they all have tacit or actual agreements with each other not to tread on the other’s territory or to rock the boat in any real manner. Prices are way higher than they should be in nearly every aspect of your life.

But we feel good about not being American because we don’t have mass shootings or Trump. Honestly, our entire coping mechanism is looking at the worst aspects of America and ignoring the best.

If it makes you feel better, this is the glorious endgame for American companies as well, and the fact that it hasn't yet come to pass is not by virtue of the federal government being effective.

You have no idea what my motivations and situation are. Just like I am in no position to judge whether you are best served by leaving Canada, you are no in position to judge whether I am best served by _entering_ it.

Neither of you know anything about one another.

Perhaps it’d be more useful to ask questions to make sure you have the best information to make a decision with.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com