Alberta as 51st US State

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by ram crazy

This right here! And education is another biggy as well

Then again, Cuba has free health care and free education including university, but after being there, a person soon realizes that free services are not always adequate. If Canada keeps going deeper and deeper into debt, we simply won't be able to afford to maintain the level of health care we have now. It may still be free, but will it be worth having?

[Jeff336]

I would gladly trade a little less an hour at my job there for gettin reamed out with taxes here. Also. Last year I had a bit of a medical scare. I started having “neurological epidsodes” and was put off work for about 20 weeks. I got the privilege of applying for EI because that’s essentially what your medical benefits are. I received less than a third of my regular wage because you top out at 550 a week. It was a very stressful time. If we didn’t have to pay EI, I would have saved enough money from the time I started working at 14 til this happened last year at 26 to easily support myself. On top of that I had to wait 10 months for a an MRI from Alberta health services. That fact made me sick. Good old socialism. I called Mayfair diagnostics and had one booked for 2 days later. I gladly bit the bullet and paid out of pocket for the piece of mind I wasn’t having a stroke. In the position I’m in I could afford the insurance so I would jump at the chance to make a switch. Don’t get me wrong. I appreciate the neurology department in Calgary and the doctors, but the system is out of touch.

[1899b]

Originally Posted by fordtruckin

You need to double check where you’d be applying for as a paramedic. Even an EMT in my town of less than 1500 makes high 20s an hour. Another buddy who is a Paramedic in billings makes over 80k year. Much higher than 12-15$/ hr your touting...

Your health care system is still friggen grabage though...

[Wiz]

It’s bound to happen one day. This country has no vision of what it was ya to be, while sitting on almost unlimited natural resources...

[browning21]

I am in, we are very aligned with the north central states as far as values and economies. This is a bit dated but still very relevant!
http://www.americanuckradio.com/blog...zen-of-alberta

[sns2]

Trudeau is driving us away at break-neck speed. All avenues are being considered at this moment is my guess. Let's see how tough Kenney can actually get. So far, he's no more successful than Notley was if one is honest. Let's see what happens with Teck. This is bad folks. Really bad.

[Smoky buck]

Without negotiations regarding the terms of becoming part of the US it is hard to say if it would be worthwhile for Alberta. It could be a big improvement or could be stepping into another mess just different

Separation right now lacks a solid plan of direction and till that changes it’s a gamble

The present situation with this confederation is not working though and holding our noses hoping things change is not a good option. Personally don’t see things truly changing with out renegotiating Alberta’s terms of being part of Canada. We might be able to vote in a party that will exploit Alberta to boost the countries economy. Alberta would see economic improvement from this till the shift of power changes again. Right now when it comes to federal politics Alberta is of little importance so no political party will put Alberta’s interests in high priority


Something needs to change and if renegotiating Alberta’s place in Canada is not possible then development of a plan to separate or negotiations on terms with the US should be considered. Change is always a risk that can come with both positive and negative impact but doing nothing is not going to solve a bad situation either

[MountainTi]

Originally Posted by 1899b

Your health care system is still friggen grabage though...

Oddly enough all those Americans I worked with sure never had a problem with it. One of my coworkers actually needed an MRI on his knee so he booked it and got it done.
For myself working down there the insurance was cheap. Cheaper than what I pay in taxes here to cover my "free" healthcare

[cody j]

Originally Posted by Wiz

It’s bound to happen one day. This country has no vision of what it was ya to be, while sitting on almost unlimited natural resources...

Oh, the people running the show have a vision for the country and I definitely do not share it. I don’t need some *****le from Quebec (or the UN) telling me how to live and what to think while they Destroy our economy

[cody j]

Originally Posted by 1899b

Your health care system is still friggen grabage though...

I had some family who lived in New Jersey, they always said they were glad they didn’t have the healthcare system we have up here. No doubt though, someone who doesnt have insurance would not agree with this

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by 1899b

Your health care system is still friggen grabage though...

I have a handful of friends who moved to the US and proffer their healthcare system. They say health insurance is reasonable and the ability to actually get treated vs waiting months or years to receive treatment under Canada’s “free” healthcare is a big plus. None of them suffer from chronic illness and in this situation their opinion may change

I know lots of Canada’s who leave the country to get medical treatment because of wait times or the treatment is not available in Canada. As well

It’s not an amazing system we have in Canada and you still pay for it through taxation

[Dynamic]

Originally Posted by MountainTi

It's best to judge an entire country of 350 million based on the actions of one person...Can you imagine if Canadians were judged by the actions of sparkle socks?

ps, I spent a couple years working down there, and worked with quite a few americans up here. Some great people

Ya I am generalizing ALOT and yes not the best way to make my point. Yes I’ve worked some great people from down there as well but what I was trying to say is that there is a much larger percentage of their population that I will only say are very regressive on all fronts. The USA does a lot of great things but there plenty of not so great things that could only happen there.

[Redhorse Ranch]

Cost and availability of health care in the US seems to be a big stumbling block. According to the U of Wiki (!) only about 9% of the population have no coverage, but they will be seen at a hospital through charity care. The cost of coverage seems to run about $4 -5 k/year for a single, and $12-15k /yr for a family. Couple that with a lower cost of living, and much lower tax rate, and private insurance seems to be completely do-able. Again, these are Wiki estimates, so take that for what it's worth.

Some others have said, "If you like the US so much, emigrate!" If I could hook onto my farm and pull it 350 miles south, I would. But Canada has a departure tax, which can range up to 75%. That means I'm effectively a prisoner here.

In the immortal words of Waylon, "We need a change..."

[colvert]

Originally Posted by Bigjohn87

We will leave eventually, and the sadder the day is for you the happier it will be for me.


Alberta first Canada second.

shouldn't that be the opposite?

[ganderblaster]

I really do not want this to happen but hard to see a downside. The cost of living in the States seems to be a lot cheaper. This province is at its breaking point change needs to happen. What the answer is I am not sure but when the pain of keeping things the way they are becomes greater then the pain of changing, change will happen.

[cody j]

Originally Posted by Redhorse Ranch

Cost and availability of health care in the US seems to be a big stumbling block. According to the U of Wiki (!) only about 9% of the population have no coverage, but they will be seen at a hospital through charity care. The cost of coverage seems to run about $4 -5 k/year for a single, and $12-15k /yr for a family. Couple that with a lower cost of living, and much lower tax rate, and private insurance seems to be completely do-able. Again, these are Wiki estimates, so take that for what it's worth.

Some others have said, "If you like the US so much, emigrate!" If I could hook onto my farm and pull it 350 miles south, I would. But Canada has a departure tax, which can range up to 75%. That means I'm effectively a prisoner here.

In the immortal words of Waylon, "We need a change..."

Departure tax? I don’t like the sounds of that

[Mr Flyguy]

Great idea NOT! Think about it:
Half a million CDN $'s on savings now becomes 1/3 less in value.
Onerous taxation system.
Fishing, hunting licenses in BC and Saskatchewan would be more expensive.
American flag on your backpack when travelling (yikes).
Don't even think about getting sick.

Nope, glad to stay in Canada despite its faults.

[JULIUS]

I am not a fan of walking away from a problem. I am still hoping someone can find a way out of this political mess Turd has gotten us into. We need to fix it not leave it. Otherwise we will just turn into war torn Europe. Which with all the unrest and road blocks is looking more and more inevitable.

I vote to stay Canadian ---- for now

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by colvert

shouldn't that be the opposite?

We are not governed by a PM who puts all of Canada first or equally represent the needs of the provinces.

It has gotten a lot harder for people to put Canada first when it fails to support their needs and attacks their values.

[DOGFISH]

I could look after my own health care. I am in for becoming part of the US. It's not perfect but is slowly getting better than western Canada. Oil could bypass BC by going South than West to tidal waters and Eastern Canada could not do a damn thing about it.

[JD848]

x3^^^^^^

[zabbo]

Originally Posted by ganderblaster

I really do not want this to happen but hard to see a downside. The cost of living in the States seems to be a lot cheaper. This province is at its breaking point change needs to happen. What the answer is I am not sure butthe when pain of keeping things the way they are becomes greater then the pain of changing, change will happen.

Unfortunately, it seems we are crashing headlong to this point. Been a very proud Canadian all my life! 65 years. Don't know anything else. The current status quo is becoming more and more intolerable at an ever accelerating pace. The last week alone has been a glowing display of how our leadership, if it can be called that, is totally out of touch with reality.

All the while the turd is in Africa garnering votes for a U. N. security council seat, that I'm quite sure most Canadians could care less about. While in Senegal, he makes no mention of human rights, or gender equality. This, in a country that just last month made rape a criminal offence. Prior to that, rape was considered a minor irritation. So much for gender equality. Hypocrisy at it's finest!

This pretty much sums up what good a seat on the council will be.....

[Salavee]

Originally Posted by CanadianPsycho

Thats a big nope for me. While I do find many of the USA's ideals align with mine, mainly 2nd amendment, right to self defense, responsibility for ones actions and the similar trends. I find their lack of support for publicly funded health care and education disgusting. In this day and age to feel ok with people being bankrupted because of a broken ankle is just downright barbaric. Taxes are a part of life, and I would rather pay a few percent more than have to worry about not getting an education or health care because I'm not rich enough. Also, perhaps selfishly, I would have to re-educate myself into a new job. Im a paramedic, I am not going from making a resonable wage in Canada, to making 12-15 an hour as an american medic. screw that.

Id support an independent Alberta, combining the best of the two ideals, but I couldn't support joining the US

First of all , as an outdoorsman, I would not like to see our population grow to 30 or 40 million in a few short years as relocation to the State of Alberta would be a dream move for many Americans.. primarily sportsmen, who would buy up every piece of available land we have left, and then some. The shine would soon wear off for many of them and inevitably,our Alberta would permanently inherit many of the negative issues that are specific to America.

Best move, and the easiest, is that we clean up the huge mess that now confronts us and get this place moving again. That chore, unlike a Trudeau budget wont happen by itself!

[Ken07AOVette]

When we are taken over, are we told we will be given the opportunity to buy our land and houses from the new Country, or are they offered to existing Yankee's first, then if they do not want them do we buy? I am quite certain anything we own not on wheels or able to be loaded onto something on wheels will be forfeit.

Also your savings would drop 35% instantly, IF you are allowed to touch them again.

It is not all cut and dried I think.

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by Salavee

First of all , as an outdoorsman, I would not like to see our population grow to 30 or 40 million in a few short years as relocation to the State of Alberta would be a dream move for many Americans.. primarily sportsmen, who would buy up every piece of available land we have left, and then some. The shine would soon wear off for many of them and inevitably,our Alberta would permanently inherit many of the negative issues that are specific to America.

Best move, and the easiest, is that we clean up the huge mess that now confronts us and get this place moving again. That chore, unlike a Trudeau budget wont happen by itself!

The problem is that Alberta can't clean up the mess, the federal government stops every project that would provide employment and help to revive our economy. And on top of that, we pay more than our share of the CPP, as well as the bulk of the transfer payments. And unfortunately, those things are federal jurisdiction.

[midgetwaiter]

Originally Posted by EZM

I have lived in both countries, and spend a third of my time in the US.

The health care thing is a BIG ISSUE.

I agree that it’s probably the biggest issue but you a can also look at it as a symptom of a wider problem.

A couple years back I ended up with a bunch of US employees from various states that reported to me. I had to attend a training session on HR-ish things like benefits, leave policies, hiring and firing, etc. I was especially interested because I was looking at how I could go spend a couple years in Colorado or Texas. They kept telling us how good our company was to people relative to others but at the end of those two days I was over the idea of moving entirely.

It varies a lot more from state to state than it does here but all in all you have a lot less protection as an employee than you do in Canada in almost every way. In some cases I think we might go a bit too far but I absolutely would not trade systems. The whole notion of at will employment is gross when you consider how tightly your healthcare is tied to it.

I had a friend that reported to me at the time with a very sick kid, if he was working for us in Texas at the time it would have destroyed him. He’s a single dad and I was able to give him the time he needed, couldn’t do that there. The treatment his kid needed would have exhausted the “good” insurance our US employees needed in no time. It just goes on and on.

A lot of us have no idea just how good we have it here.

[Salavee]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

The problem is that Alberta can't clean up the mess, the federal government stops every project that would provide employment and help to revive our economy. And on top of that, we pay more than our share of the CPP, as well as the bulk of the transfer payments. And unfortunately, those things are federal jurisdiction.

I`m darn sure Alberta has plenty of Allies in this Country that see the same things. All we need is the Right leader

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by Salavee

I`m darn sure Alberta has plenty of Allies in this Country that see the same things. All we need is the Right leader

The right federal leader, because the provinces can't do a damned thing about federal jurisdiction. Take the carbon tax, several provinces, that make up the majority of Canadians, oppose it, yet they can't opt out of it.

[Twisted Canuck]

Originally Posted by Mr Flyguy

Great idea NOT! Think about it:
Half a million CDN $'s on savings now becomes 1/3 less in value.
Onerous taxation system.
.

That is inaccurate and simplistic. If you exchange currencies, you have less $ but more buying power and in all likelihood a lower cost of living. You won't lose squat. And the tax regime in Canada is considerably worse than most US states (depends where you live, Cali and NY have high state taxes, some states have none). We are taxed on our taxes, pay GST on carbon tax.

Originally Posted by Smoky buck

We are not governed by a PM who puts all of Canada first or equally represent the needs of the provinces.

It has gotten a lot harder for people to put Canada first when it fails to support their needs and attacks their values.

This is the problem. I'm not interested in leaving Alberta. I'm interested in leaving a Canada that treats Alberta like a piggybank, and then disrespects us so arrogantly. Taxation without representation is bull****.

And Ken....sorry buddy, but your post is fear mongering nonsense. Can't say more to it than that.

[Dewey Cox]

"Dont let the door hit you on the way out"
"Good riddance"

I would suggest that the people who are considering moving are the people you would want to keep in your country.
I'm sure the free health care will just get better as the people who pay into it find incentive to move away, and the people who take away from it only have incentive to stay.