(06-11-2018 10:30 AM)shere khan Wrote:  

(06-11-2018 07:39 AM)TigerBlue4Ever Wrote:  We should just invade Canada and make it the 58th state.

Everything west of Ontario at least

I'd welcome Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. I guess I could tolerate British California (or is it British Columbia).

(06-11-2018 11:43 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  I wonder sometimes. We have become so split between the two coast on the one hand and flyover country on the other, while Canada is experiencing tensions between the western provinces (particularly Alberta) and the east (Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritimes) which the west is heavily subsidizing. And Canada's provinces have a right to secession.

What I'm wondering is how it would work if we split into two (or possibly three) countries along the following guidelines:

1) New England, the mid-Atlantic, and Great Lakes states together with Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritimes.
2) California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington, plus at least part of BC, which could either join with 1 or be its own country.
3) Remaining US states plus western Canadian provinces.

There are a few that might go one way or the other--Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Nevada, and BC come to mind off the top of my head. I think you'd end up with more homogeneous countries. I could see a situation where I'd rather live in any of the three than in either the US or Canada as presently constituted.

Only if we can keep them blues out permanently.. They would just frick up where they live and sneak across our border.

If it means a few more Canadian teams in the NHL then I'm good for it.

Bring back the Nordiques (and the Hartford Whalers)!

(06-11-2018 12:24 PM)thespiritof1976 Wrote:  If it means a few more Canadian teams in the NHL then I'm good for it.

Bring back the Nordiques (and the Hartford Whalers)!

Hey! Something we can agree on!

(06-11-2018 12:16 PM)Lush Wrote:  even if you don't like trump, canada got the short stick on trust fund presidents. oh canada. i hope they know they don't have to vote for him again

They technically don't vote for prime minister...

Regardless, Trump is uniting Canadians behind Trudeau with his recent antics.

(06-11-2018 12:31 PM)BobcatEngineer Wrote:  

(06-11-2018 12:16 PM)Lush Wrote:  even if you don't like trump, canada got the short stick on trust fund presidents. oh canada. i hope they know they don't have to vote for him again

They technically don't vote for prime minister...

Regardless, Trump is uniting Canadians behind Trudeau with his recent antics.

that's not shocking. do you like the guy?

(06-11-2018 12:34 PM)Lush Wrote:  

(06-11-2018 12:31 PM)BobcatEngineer Wrote:  

(06-11-2018 12:16 PM)Lush Wrote:  even if you don't like trump, canada got the short stick on trust fund presidents. oh canada. i hope they know they don't have to vote for him again

They technically don't vote for prime minister...

Regardless, Trump is uniting Canadians behind Trudeau with his recent antics.

that's not shocking. do you like the guy?

I preferred him over Thomas Mulcair or Stephen Harper in the last federal election. I think he's done a satisfactory job as Prime Minister thus far... and I generally support the Liberal Government's platform. Plus I applaud his decision to buy the Trans-Mountain pipeline from Kinder Morgan.

I must admit the stunt he pulled in India was a bit embarrassing. And I think the changing of the national anthem to be gender neutral was pretty dumb.

Will he live up to his father's legacy? Probably not. But I don't think he has been a disaster for Canada.

I certainly don't think he deserves "a special place in hell"

(06-11-2018 11:26 AM)JMUDunk Wrote:  

(06-11-2018 08:20 AM)BobcatEngineer Wrote:  

(06-11-2018 01:15 AM)JMUDunk Wrote:  

(06-10-2018 06:25 PM)umbluegray Wrote:  

(06-10-2018 05:59 PM)Marc Mensa Wrote:  Its been interesting watching the party of free teade turn into the party of protectionism. Only goes to show, most in the GOP were never economic conservatives... most were social conservatives who hide their prejudices behind their spoonfed understanding economics.

What do you mean by "free trade"?

UM, it's free "teade", C'mon.

In this mensa-mystery fair trade is now "protectionism"...

How does 270% sound, genius?!?

Damn

How much is US Dairy subsidized by the taxpayer?

How much of US agriculture in general is subsidized by the taxpayer?

Quite a bit, so were footing the bill twice, great. What’s your point?

Open markets, get rid of trade barriers like tariffs and maybe we can stop paying farmers to NOT produce stuff.

You telling me there isn’t enough demand put there? There aren’t hungry people to be fed?

Wow.

Just so we're clear on the playing field: The US has tiny import quotas for non-tariffed dairy, and the tariffs for above-quota dairy are so punitive that they essentially amount to hard quotas. In other words, we essentially prohibit dairy imports. Without rendering judgment on whether that's a good or bad thing, does anyone think barking about the unfairness of a Canadian 270% dairy tariff is the right example to use in a discussion of fair trade?

(06-11-2018 12:06 AM)banker Wrote:  Sometimes, often times, short term pain is a necessity for long term success.

Try this, explain to me how the richest nation ever to grace the planet is $20+ trillion in debt? Yes, stupid domestic spending is part of it, but the real reason is that we have spent decades subsidizing dozens of countries around the world. We have spent trillions defending the globe while these other countries spent pennies on their own defense, we have let them have the upper hand in trade policy because they needed the money more than us, we have allowed our companies to off shore production while even incentivizing them to do it through our tax code. All that was well and good when we were a booming country with a young workforce and little relative debt, but those days are over. We are now a debt laden country with a significant aging population and are running short on time to get things corrected.

We need to start worrying about ourselves because if we can't get healthy everyone else is screwed anyway.

The good news for you youngsters is that we're (old people) dying off and that will be good news for SS and Medicare. Unfortunately, there's some oldsters that are clinging to life like the meme of that kitten on the clothesline and the caption, "hang in there baby".

It's true, medical science has made it possible to live into the 90s and it's sad really because the quality of life is not there. They're just existing. I'm not one of those that feel I want to live forever. When my quality of life is in the pits (can't get around by myself and start peeing/shiteing my shorts) then it's time to say sayonara. But God is the one that pulls the switch unless you take your own life and that's not right.

(06-11-2018 12:31 PM)BobcatEngineer Wrote:  

(06-11-2018 12:16 PM)Lush Wrote:  even if you don't like trump, canada got the short stick on trust fund presidents. oh canada. i hope they know they don't have to vote for him again

They technically don't vote for prime minister...

Regardless, Trump is uniting Canadians behind Trudeau with his recent antics.

Then good for Trudeau.

Frankly, Canadians are not our worry.

(06-11-2018 10:18 AM)Marc Mensa Wrote:  Canada does not subsidize their dairy industry and we do to the tune of about 25 billion per year. Do US farmers want to drop subsidies in order to have free access to Canadian markets?

Actually they do. They subsidize every industry compared to the US due to government run healthcare. European and Canadian VAT taxes also operate in such a way that they effectively function as tariffs on all imported goods.

The Canadian economy is much more taxed and regulated than Taxachusetts and California.

In Canada, one has to buy a dairy license to even produce milk. If you go over the allotment, there are criminal penalties. There is a 270% tariff on US dairy.

In Canada, wheat growers can’t sell their grain in the US for a higher price. They have to sell to the Canadian Wheat Board, which gives a lower price. Farmers can be criminally punished if they don’t sell there, and that has declared constitutional by the Canadian Courts. Meanwhile, in the US, there are all kinds of grain trading and buying companies.

Almost all aspects of life are much more government controlled and taxed. Albertans are more exposed to US regulations because they have so much oil. Most prefer the US system.

(06-11-2018 12:31 PM)BobcatEngineer Wrote:  

(06-11-2018 12:16 PM)Lush Wrote:  even if you don't like trump, canada got the short stick on trust fund presidents. oh canada. i hope they know they don't have to vote for him again

They technically don't vote for prime minister...

Regardless, Trump is uniting Canadians behind Trudeau with his recent antics.

So what? Do you expect them to unite behind Trump? Would you expect him to rally them AWAY from Trudeau?

The reality is that they've been engaging in unfair trade by restricting our exports... OF COURSE their people generally want to keep doing so... but Trump is OUR President, and what is good for Canada (in this regard) is NOT good for us.

The REAL question is why Democrats are against free trade and American jobs and NOT uniting behind Trump in this? I get that his style sucks, but his substance here is at least defensible.

(06-11-2018 01:57 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  

(06-11-2018 10:18 AM)Marc Mensa Wrote:  Canada does not subsidize their dairy industry and we do to the tune of about 25 billion per year. Do US farmers want to drop subsidies in order to have free access to Canadian markets?

Actually they do. They subsidize every industry compared to the US due to government run healthcare. European and Canadian VAT taxes also operate in such a way that they effectively function as tariffs on all imported goods.

This. VAT is a significant tariff, and while it may not eliminate our subsidy, it certainly works AGAINST it. There is a difference between paying our producers not to produce (which is an internal decision) and imposing a VAT on imported dairy. We're dumping out the product, we aren't flooding the markets with it. That's not the same as dumping the product on Canada and thus defeating their VAT and tariffs (which we COULD arguably do)

(06-11-2018 01:57 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  

(06-11-2018 10:18 AM)Marc Mensa Wrote:  Canada does not subsidize their dairy industry and we do to the tune of about 25 billion per year. Do US farmers want to drop subsidies in order to have free access to Canadian markets?

Actually they do. They subsidize every industry compared to the US due to government run healthcare. European and Canadian VAT taxes also operate in such a way that they effectively function as tariffs on all imported goods.

Ding ding ding. Winner

The three major Canadian political parties are the Progressive Consevatives (PC), which are more like Nelson Rockefeller’s politics, the Liberals and the New Democratic Party (socialist like Bernie Sanders). The NDP has never won a federal election only provincial, but their positions force the Liberals further left.

In Alberta and Saskatchewan, the PC’s are much more conservative, and in Alberta there have been major independence parties that are more like Conservatives in the US. Quebec has their Bloc Québécois party too. French speaking Canadians make up nearly 80% of federal employment, as Federal officials have to be bilingual. Formerly, English speaking Canada didn’t learn French, so they weren’t eligible for Federal jobs. Now it is much more common for English speaking students to learn French in school.

Just saw this one...





Gary Varvel, IndyStar Published 9:07 a.m. ET June 10, 2018 | Updated 2:18 p.m. ET June 10, 2018 (link)

Regulations in Canada are absolutely insane.

Years ago, while on a deer hunt in Manitoba, a game warden stopped me and a buddy out of the blue as I drove my truck on one of the main roads. We weren't hunting, just driving. Apparently he knew beforehand that we were clients of a particular outfitter.

Instead of asking us about the structure of our guided deer hunts.....questions like, does your outfitter accompany you to the blind and return to pick you up at the end of the day when the hunt is over.......this cat wanted to know who was doing the cooking, who bought the groceries, who cleaned the camp, and shtye like that.

I eventually looked over at my buddy and he just shrugged his shoulders.

Asshat cannucks.

(06-11-2018 11:43 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  I wonder sometimes. We have become so split between the two coast on the one hand and flyover country on the other, while Canada is experiencing tensions between the western provinces (particularly Alberta) and the east (Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritimes) which the west is heavily subsidizing. And Canada's provinces have a right to secession.

What I'm wondering is how it would work if we split into two (or possibly three) countries along the following guidelines:

1) New England, the mid-Atlantic, and Great Lakes states together with Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritimes.
2) California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington, plus at least part of BC, which could either join with 1 or be its own country.
3) Remaining US states plus western Canadian provinces.

There are a few that might go one way or the other--Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Nevada, and BC come to mind off the top of my head. I think you'd end up with more homogeneous countries. I could see a situation where I'd rather live in any of the three than in either the US or Canada as presently constituted.

Let me know when this begins, I'll start packing.

(06-11-2018 12:49 PM)BobcatEngineer Wrote:  

(06-11-2018 12:34 PM)Lush Wrote:  

(06-11-2018 12:31 PM)BobcatEngineer Wrote:  

(06-11-2018 12:16 PM)Lush Wrote:  even if you don't like trump, canada got the short stick on trust fund presidents. oh canada. i hope they know they don't have to vote for him again

They technically don't vote for prime minister...

Regardless, Trump is uniting Canadians behind Trudeau with his recent antics.

that's not shocking. do you like the guy?

I preferred him over Thomas Mulcair or Stephen Harper in the last federal election. I think he's done a satisfactory job as Prime Minister thus far... and I generally support the Liberal Government's platform. Plus I applaud his decision to buy the Trans-Mountain pipeline from Kinder Morgan.

I must admit the stunt he pulled in India was a bit embarrassing. And I think the changing of the national anthem to be gender neutral was pretty dumb.

Will he live up to his father's legacy? Probably not. But I don't think he has been a disaster for Canada.

I certainly don't think he deserves "a special place in hell"

That middle video about is priceless. Live up to his fathers legacy?

This guy is a lightweight's lightweight.

You currently have one country(ies) on ignore:

_x_ Canada

(Its time they go back to regular status)