I guess the city-slicker equivalent is, “you think a $200000 salary makes you rich, but try living on that in NYC or LA!” Well, then just move somewhere cheaper if it doesn’t work for you.
He was pranked – a buddy connected his meter to da Swisha’s mains.
More seriously, for homeowners in the sticks, there’s a lot to be said for insulation and alternative energy production.
@leachim
*If *you can move *and *keep the salary that’s certainly the best choice financially.
Some people can pull that off. Usually folks who work online and don’t need close personal contacts to line up their next gig. Otherwise the $200K e.g. lawyer finds he’s earning $50K after he moves to the country.
I work for a Fortune 500 and live around Miami. Miami is hardly the cheapest of the sticks, but my employer would pay me exactly the same wages to live in San Francisco or Boston or NYC. I live much better here on the same W2. Actually on more take-home since unlike those locations I don’t have state income taxes.
Yeah, I used to live in Santa Fe, NM and was making about 2/3 of my current salary and was just raking in the dough. Currently I work in NYC (and live upstate) and while the money is nice, it’s not spectacular.
The point is, there are tradeoffs, and folks tend to forget what comes easy in various locations when complaining about what comes hard. Especially when forming sentences that start with “You shouldn’t tax <x> because”.
Pretty well, it appears.
Justin Trudeau would win another federal election tomorrow: Ipsos poll
It must be the hair. Which doesn’t bode well for Kevin O’Leary. 
I’m very glad to see Leitch sliding in the Conservative leadership polls. I’m concerned that O’Leary is doing so well. There seems to be more than a few people in Canada who want a Trump-like leader and were looking to Leitch and/or O’Leary to provide such a direction. Leitch mainly on immigration and O’Leary as a political outsider/“successful” businessman. If O’Leary takes the leadership it will be an interesting test for Canada. I hope we pass.
For the record, I’m not anti-Conservative party. I tend to be a very independent voter. I’ve voted both PC and Liberal in the past but I would never vote for Leitch or O’Leary.
Overall, I’m pretty happy with Trudeau. My main concern right now is that the deficit is climbing (that by itself is ok) but it is unclear to me what we’re getting for it.
It’s the degree that’s climbing. As a mostly conservativ e voter (I’ve voted Liberal, federally before, but never provincially) I’d be happy with Maxime Bernier as head of the Conservatives. No Leitch or O’Leary for me.
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Ah, that should say debt, not degree. Tapatalk…
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I don’t hate Trudeau. He seems like a nice guy and sll, (certainly not an asshole, like some other … cough … countries have elected) but Garneau would have been a much better choice.
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I think it is both deficit and debt. I’m willing to cut him some slack on the 1st year deficit because I think Harper was overestimating income to make the books look more balanced.
I’m fine with spending a lot of money but I want the country to get something out of that puts on solid footing for the future. In particular, one of things I approved of when voting for Trudeau was that we were going to get our infrastructure fixed. Cool, I’m down for that. We know that for decades politicians have been ignoring infrastructure because it is expensive to fix and they didn’t want it on their record. So I applaud the bravery of a politician who says, in effect, “We need to spend this money that we should have been spending all along to fix our infrastructure.” If we spend all of this money and we don’t get improved infrastructure out of it, I’m going to be a very upset voter. The latest budget did have a lot of spending on infrastructure, just have to wait and see what the results are.
Also, Trudeau is spending a lot of money on training and innovation and I strongly approve of this. We know that the automation era is here so spending money on training people to fill the types of jobs that will exist in the future is a sensible investment.
So yeah, overall, I’m reasonably happy. Come election time I’ll be looking to see if the money was well spent or not though. If I think he’s set Canada on the path into the future that’s a big plus to me. If I feel like it has been squandered, especially the infrastructure spending, that will be a big minus because we would then still need to spend even more money to fix our infrastructure.
When I was in the Canadian Forces, one of my commanding officers used to say quite often “We need to be good stewards of the public’s money.” And he really lived it, he didn’t want to have to approve any expenses in advance but when any amount of money was spent over a certain amount (and it wasn’t that much but I don’t recall the exact number) he wanted a report on how, why and what steps were taken to reduce cost. Not a big report just a one page memo. Anyway, that really stuck with me. That’s I want out of our politicians when it comes to spending. To be good stewards of the public’s money.
Welcome aboard. Where do you live, and are you happy with your country’s leadership?
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Agreed on all points. I think Trudeau is well past the point now where anyone could accuse him of just being a “name” – I think he’s demonstrated real leadership in the principles he’s set on matters like science, climate, gender equality, and human rights, and he’s restored international respect for Canada that Harper had so badly tarnished. There’s more than I can remember offhand, but maybe the most important at this early stage is that he’s reversed many of Harper’s most damaging actions, like the muzzling of federal scientists and trashing the environment; he’s reversed Harper’s ill-considered cancellation of the important long-form census, and scuttled the ill-advised plan to increase the eligibility age for social security, and much else that Harper had done that’s all too easy to forget. With the turmoil going on in Europe (and don’t even get me started about the US) Trudeau has emerged as a unique icon of enlightened progressivism among the G20.
I certainly agree with you about Leitch, who gives me the creeps. Her “Canadian values” thing sounds like a manifesto from the Republican Freedom Caucus; she doesn’t even try to hide her bigotry. And I say this as someone who, like you, has in the past voted both Liberal and Conservative, and in fact NDP on occasion, too.
As for O’Leary, my problem here is that I’m stuck with this imagery of him that comes from his appearances on Dragon’s Den – if a presenter had a bad idea, no one could dispense an insult as scathingly as O’Leary! I’m sorry, I know I should take him more seriously, but I just can’t shake this image of him as a sort of lovable Oscar the Grouch. 
But it’s OK, I’d still never vote for him.
Fidel should’ve gotten a pass on all of that, because:
- It was a long time ago.
- He merely killed tens of thousands, not millions, like most massacres perpetrated by left-wing loonies in the 20th century.
- A lot of them were gay anyway.
- It was a long time ago.
- Justin loves Fidel, therefore Fidel is good!
- Long time ago.
Justin Trudeau has been an unmitigated disaster for Canada. His atrocious treatment of women is absolutely abhorrent.
He visited a mosque, where women were forced to watch him from balcony not being permitted on the main floor.
Subsequently, he was questioned about this open and blatant discrimination.
While watching him speak, his reaction can be summed up thusly:
“Must champion women! Must champion brown people! These brown people do not champion women! But they are brown and therefore wonderful! Must criticize right wing ideology! But Muslims have most right wing ideology in the world! Must not criticize ideology of the brown! But these brown do not champion women! Must champion women! What to do? Underpowered liberal brain overloading!”
Trudeau isn’t a leader, but an entitled name/smile. Nonetheless most Canadians are (and will continue to be) satisfied with his tepid governance. This will change when/if the Tories get a well respected leader and the Libs get bogged down in scandal.
I’m all for electing any party with a well-respected leader. If the Tories got one I’d evaluate him or her on their merits. One of the main motivators for many people to vote for a particular party is having a well-respected leader, and guess what – that’s why the Liberals won: because – to quote Monty Python – they already got one! Bummer for you that you don’t like him, but that’s life. The further slight problem with your logic is that (a) I don’t see any scandals on the horizon, and (b) I don’t see any “well respected leader” anywhere within a country mile of the Tories. All I see is are raving bigots like Leitch and unqualified mercenaries like O’Leary.
But perhaps the problem is that Canadians are just incredibly stupid. Yes, that must be it. Look at this, if you can believe it:
Justin Trudeau would win another federal election tomorrow: Ipsos poll
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau‘s approval rating has dropped somewhat over the past year and a half, but it remains the envy of most world leaders, according to a new Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of Global News. The poll found that over half of Canadians (56 per cent) continue to approve of the Liberal government, down from 61 per cent since the New Year.
That drop, by the way, is quite normal following the conventional honeymoon period.
So obviously Canadians must be really stupid. That probably explains why the Liberal party both federally and provincially has traditionally been so strong, and in many provinces even the leftist NDP has held power. Indeed it was the even more leftist predecessor of the NDP in Saskatchewan that inflicted on all Canadians the curse of single-payer health care, so that every Canadian resident is guaranteed all medically necessary health care whether he likes it or not. Bloody socialism! That’s one of the main reasons Tommy Douglas is widely regarded as “the greatest Canadian”. Geez, Canadians are dumb! :rolleyes:
But the former Tory leader Steven Harper has a legacy, too – the guy who was kicked out of power and then ignominiously slunk away from politics altogether. Just like Tommy Douglas’ “Greatest Canadian”, or Pierre Trudeau remembered in so many ways, including the Pierre Trudeau International Airport in Montreal, Stephen Harper will be remembered in the following enduring sentiment: “Don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out”.
No, Canadians aren’t stupid. Please don’t put those words in my mouth. Harper lost because of his scandal ridden government and Trudeau won due to his respectability.
And guess what…Ultimately these are the reasons why we will vote out the Libs. Canadians never elect a new government out of fear mongering (Islamophobia is red meat of the Tory base, but a dead end for electoral victory), we simply make our choice and stick with it until 1. they piss us off and 2. the government in waiting appears ready.
This is really a blindspot for me, but I honestly don’t understand how some Canadians get unbelievably protective of our political leaders. Mock them. They are not angels, nor are they demons. And as much as they smile and try to emotionally manipulate you into identifying AS THEM, THEY ARE NOT YOU.
Trudeau, in particular, is an PM that is bred and image sculpted into an acceptable left-wing devil-may-care Pierre jr, saviour of Canada. He’s not half the free-spirited, intellectual, and political batsman as his father. He’s a smile in a coat. And, frankly, most Canadians are satisfied with that (for now).
Yes, clearly you care an awful lot about praising murdering dictators.