drunkennewfiemidget: Yea, I can't help but vote NDP in this upcoming provincial election; the Dalton McGuinty is a lying assclown, and John Tory scares the daylights out of me. Fund private schools? Are you farking insane?

Seriously, is that madness or what? Next thing you know, you have publicly-funded Islamic indoctrination centres popping up all throughout the 905.

Good thinking there, Mr. "Conservative."

Mr_Ectomy: Yea, even here in Cambridge, you are *just* going from the 'sleazy dump' into 'modest house' pricerange in the $190k area. My house was $170k, but it is relatively small, and needs a lot of work. It's not a sleazy dump, but it's not for the faint of heart, either.

That said, I'm 24 years old, and I have the time and energy into making this place really nice. Normally 170k will get you the square root of not much around here.

drunkennewfiemidget: Yea, I can't help but vote NDP in this upcoming provincial election; the Dalton McGuinty is a lying assclown, and John Tory scares the daylights out of me. Fund private schools? Are you farking insane?

Yikes, not only private schools... private RELIGIOUS schools. What the hell are we, Americans? Do we really want to see kids going through school being taught creationism in science class? Yeesh. Also, I think that Ontarians should remember what happened the last time the province was in conservative hands for a decade. What I'm most excited about though is the referendum question. The ability to get some MMPs in based on the public vote. I think the NDP has been underrepresented at Queen's Park because of the old system. It'd be good to see a few more people worrying about things like public transit, affordable education and supporting the infrastructure in the government.

drunkennewfiemidget: Yea, I can't help but vote NDP in this upcoming provincial election

My town actually has substantial NDP support, and I generally vote left... but I've only heard two things from the NDP about their platform so far:

$10 minimum wage, province-wide
abolish nuclear power.

*sigh*.

call me sj: For the book prices thing, why not just exchange Cdn currency into US currency and pay the US price?

Automatic 15%-20% savings. Or am I missing something

They'll nail you the exchange at the counter. They still have to figure the price in CAD for sales tax.

mrshowrules: You're absolutely right about Bob Rae, but at the same time, we've been screwed so many times by the Conservatives and the Liberals, I figure maybe Howard Hampton can do better than Mr Rae did. I hate to punish Howard Hampton for Bob Rae when following the same logic I should be punishing John Tory for Mike Harris and Dalton McGuinty for... Dalton McGuinty.

How much is Duty at the border? Any links Farkers?

and we are below $1.00 again.

Yet another reason to GTFO of the US.

Yeah, the whole patriotism thing goes over real well, until you realize it's a red-white-and-blue wool over your eyes as you get fleeced by Corporate America. Canada isn't much better in that regard, but fark me, they got free health care. That helps a LOT.

I'd rather pay more in taxes than pay more in hospital bills.

wow...somebody triggered some stops

Actually, I do know some people who have houses in the scary East End of Hamilton, and actually like it there. Apparently the sketchiness mostly keeps to itself, and the houses are mindbogglingly cheap. You pay about a third what you would for the same house in Westdale, living a 15-minute drive away... of course, none of those people have kids to worry about.

reasonyousmile: How much is Duty at the border? Any links Farkers?

Dunno, but I've done a lot of single-day shopping trips in the US, and never been asked to pay anything even though you're supposed to for a single-day trip (never brought home more than $200 in merch, though).

Thread Hijack... you know, with global warming and all, Canada's future is looking bright :)

GuyCaballero: drunkennewfiemidget: Yea, I can't help but vote NDP in this upcoming provincial election; the Dalton McGuinty is a lying assclown, and John Tory scares the daylights out of me. Fund private schools? Are you farking insane?

Seriously, is that madness or what? Next thing you know, you have publicly-funded Islamic indoctrination centres popping up all throughout the 905.

Good thinking there, Mr. "Conservative."

The Karl Rove wannabe who floated the idea in a PC strategy backroom in June better already be looking for a job in another field. After 8 years of watching similar religious bullshiat south of the border fail, I can't believe anyone would've even considered this would fly in Ontario.

Do Canadians get Teddy Grahams?

Do they get them in different flavors than we do, like Double Flavored Honey and Chocolawesome?

/cries in a corner
//at least Californians get better weed

mrshowrules: I actually don't know anything about Hampton but I will do my homework.

What I've heard so far from Hampton itself, it's mostly populism. Cut/freeze lower-middle income living expenses like power, property tax, tuition, etc. Hire out more cops to ease the drug-violence worries. No mention on how to pay for anything. He mostly comes off as a union rabble-rouser, so the looney-lefty stuff comes from the NDP party itself, not him.

Anarchangel: I'd rather pay more in taxes than pay more in hospital bills.

lol, where do you think your extra taxes are going? I would rather pay for health service when i am hurt, and not pay for lazy bums.

reasonyousmile: How much is Duty at the border? Any links Farkers?

It's "free" if you've got the right kind of car, heh heh.

Anarchangel: Do Canadians get Teddy Grahams?

Do they get them in different flavors than we do, like Double Flavored Honey and Chocolawesome?

/cries in a corner
//at least Californians get better weed

Yes. Yes we do.

Are you sure about the weed? I've heard BC bud is among the best in the world.

Mrstupid7: Man Canadians are getting ripped off now. I bet everything up there is still priced 20% higher than here. Imagine the savings when the dollar is only 75 Canadian cents.

i thinks you are knowing it!

/just outside of toronto

mrshowrules: I'm in that group of people that considers himself socially very liberal (pro-choice, pro gay marriage, keep religion out of the government, let people do what they want behind closed doors, butt the hell out of my life), but fiscally very conservative (stop throwing money at stupid programs, balance the farking budget, don't spend more money than we have). I would vote liberal based on the party's platform and political leanings, but unfortunately, they're about as trustworthy as a shifty-eyed salesman at a used hyundai lot.

the_geek: Mrstupid7: Man Canadians are getting ripped off now. I bet everything up there is still priced 20% higher than here. Imagine the savings when the dollar is only 75 Canadian cents.

Yep, it's already very obvious on books. If you look at the back cover they usually list the US and CA prices. The CA one was always higher by 10-20% before. I wonder what they'll do about that now.

Went to the bookstore yesterday, many books now have printed stickers over the CDN price. I'm still unsure why they don't just do that across the board, like they do for CDs, games ,etc...

trifthen: Sgian Dubh

Oh yeah... we don't pay any taxes in the US. I totally forgot about that. Thanks for reminding me!

Lesse... 28% Fed, 3% state, and FICA at 7.65% (which I'll likely never see again), and you get 38.65% before I ever see a dime. But wait! There's still 9% sales tax here in Chicago (and a proposal has gone through to raise it to 11%). So make that 47.65%!

Fortunately, whining and lying are still untaxed.

28% Fed is a marginal rate -- that's just what you pay on the amount you earn between $74,200 and $154,800, AFTER deductions, assuming you're single. If you earned $100K, and didn't make a single charitable contribution, a single contribution to a retirement account, nothing, you owe under 20%. And, let me add, my heart bleeds for you.

FICA is only assessed up to $97.5K this year, so your last $2.5K doesn't get taxed for it. Neither does anything you make above $100K.

So, if you're greedy and selfish (no charitable contributions), make no plans for the future (no IRA or 401k), and too stupid to avail yourself of any other deductions, you're paying well under 28% to the Feds. Then, you're paying 3% of what's left over to the state (remember, federal taxes are deductible!), making your total tax burden around 30%. Now, if you spend every damn penny of the remaining 70% on goods subject to the state sales tax, you're up to almost 37%. Oh, and congratulations -- you apparently aren't paying rent or a mortgage (which aren't subject to sales tax), and you apparently aren't eating (since food is taxed at 1% in your state, right?).

And that's before medical expenses. I have a congenital heart condition, so that means frequent cardiologist visits. I have bad eyes, and drop about $600 a year on glasses, contacts, and exams. Heaven forbid I get hit by a car or need a pacemaker. My open-heart surgery in 1984? $30k. These days? I don't even want to know.

You know, it really is pretty sad if you're making enough to be in the 28% bracket and you don't have any health insurance. Maybe you should be arguing for socialized medicine after all? Of if your expenses really are that high, maybe you should be looking into deducting them...

Then you can add in property taxes, gas taxes, and a whole slew of things other people pay (I don't own a car or property) and you'll find the average American loses half their paycheck (or more) to various taxes and levies. Now, tell me, "them other socialist countries is tax happy!" with a straight face. In the real world, apparently being in any 1st world country means paying out the ass for it.

Apparently, it also means being really bad at math, at least the word-problem part of it.

drunkennewfiemidget: I'm in that group of people that considers himself socially very liberal (pro-choice, pro gay marriage, keep religion out of the government, let people do what they want behind closed doors, butt the hell out of my life), but fiscally very conservative (stop throwing money at stupid programs, balance the farking budget, don't spend more money than we have).

Most Ontarians are the same. That's why Tory is now targetting the only real social conservatives left in the province, recent immigrant populations, who would set us back 50 years if they had their way.

What an idiot. This policy is political suicide in the 416.

Dawg47: What happened to the thread a while back where the moran subby got the exchange rate wrong?

that 1 = 1.01 one?

Don't worry about it, just wait until tomorrow.

fark yeah!

Thank you Mr. Bush for doing an outstanding job sinking the American economy.
You Republican dicks are the best!
How much does the Iraq war cost a day?

Whoever voted for that monkey, I just want to say thanks.
Bwaahahahaha!!!!

jre: Tossing out my useless chunks of metal (aka US coinage) in my pocket.

Not so fast. Those nickels are worth more than seven cents apiece (new window), and older pennies are worth 2.38 cents each. Of course, melting them down would be wrong...

GuyCaballero: What an idiot. This policy is political suicide in the 416.

416 always takes it in the ass. Too much money leaving the city in taxes, not enough coming back in services.

Personally I'd love to see a unified public tranportation system that caters to the 416 and the surrounding burbs. It would do a lot to improve the lives of many people in the GTA (which, face it, is the economic engine in Ontario) not to mention do a hell of a lot to lower the amount of smog days we have each year but there's an imbalance of where tax money ends up. Tory knows you can rule the province without Toronto and that conservatives have traditionally been unpopular in population dense areas. He's making a smart play, it's just that most people won't like the outcome if he's successful.

Just checked the currency market.

1Us = 1CDN

They reached parity today and might surpass it next week.

We
Are
Farked.

Mercutio74: I don't think (and hope) he will be successful. I think we'd rather see the corrupt liberals in power than his sideways ass.

I know I would.

Although I'd rather neither of them.

drunkennewfiemidget: Sgian Dubh: I'm in a rather high tax bracket, and after sales tax, I keep ~50% of my income.

That being said, my wife needed all sorts of surgery the beginning of this year, and due to what turned out to be endomitriosis, we now have to have IVF performed to have a child.

Know how much all of that cost me? About $30 for hospital parking when I visited her.

Do you know how much I pay in tolls to drive across my country? $0.

I own my house on a fixed rate 5 year mortgage with a 25 year amortisation which I've paid down to 20 years in 1 year of owning.

I have watched my country stand up for itself, and refuse to get involved in the shiat slinging stupidity in Iraq.

I've watched your dollar fall from ~1.6:1 to 1:1 in the last 4 years.

I'll take the taxation; I'm damn happy and proud to be a Canadian.

This
Right on brother! Best wishes to your wife.

Mercutio74: 416 always takes it in the ass.

You think that's bad, try being in Hamilton, or Brantford, or any other non-Toronto dense area. Urban politicians don't give a crap about it because it's not Toronto, and 905 politicians don't give a crap because it's not suburbia.

Finally, time to invade Canada. All the beer and earl we can use.

Prepare to be assimilated.

/well, minus the stolen Moosehead of course.

Holy shiat! I clicked the button twice and saw it drop from 1.0016:1 to 1.0015:1!!!!! Now it's 1.0011:1! shiat!!!!!!

EVERYBODY PANIC! MY TEN-THOUSANDTH OF A DOLLAR IS LOSING VALUE! NOW I'LL HAVE TO WORK A FEW SECONDS LONGER EACH DAY TO AFFORD THE PRICE OF SERVICES AND GOODS IN CANADA!!!!!!

I don't purchase things from Canada often, but I can find Canada on a map. It's pretty easy: point north, and it's up there somewhere. If you hit Russia, you've gone too far. The exchange rate is probably better there, though.

H31N0US: I'd rather have "Tax and Spend" democrats than "Borrow and Spend" republicans. They don't want you to save. Saving is for the rich, and they don't want your company. Now run along and buy a big house for twice its worth, and fill it with unnecessary gadgetry!

I can't argue with your take on things.

Aww America Jr. has grown up. Yay! Who's a big boy? Yes you are!

drunkennewfiemidget: mrshowrules: I'm in that group of people that considers himself socially very liberal (pro-choice, pro gay marriage, keep religion out of the government, let people do what they want behind closed doors, butt the hell out of my life), but fiscally very conservative (stop throwing money at stupid programs, balance the farking budget, don't spend more money than we have). I would vote liberal based on the party's platform and political leanings, but unfortunately, they're about as trustworthy as a shifty-eyed salesman at a used hyundai lot.

Someone cloned me and named him drunkennewfiemidget

drunkennewfiemidget: I don't think (and hope) he will be successful. I think we'd rather see the corrupt liberals in power than his sideways ass.

I know I would.

Although I'd rather neither of them.

Amen. The Liberals are no prize but at least under their rule the living conditions of the province didn't get worse. You could see a noticeable decline under Rae's NDP gov't and a very definitive one under Harris' Conservatives. In fact, I would argue that you see less complaining about wait times for diagnostic tests and minor procedures than you used to and the teachers' union isn't constantly preaching the end of the world anymore.

I think the NDP should have a bigger voice at Queen's park, but not be the main power. The conservatives have their use as well. Maybe what we really need is a tight minority gov't that'll give us time to heal until the Liberals either clean their act up or the parties accidentally let someone with some vision and intellect end up in charge.

Here's a question: does anybody actually _like_ McGuinty? How the hell is he in charge of the Ontario liberals? I mean, they consistently have the most popular platform, but are consistently reviled for having this assclown up-front. Why does the party put up with this crap?

This: You think that's bad, try being in Hamilton, or Brantford, or any other non-Toronto dense area. Urban politicians don't give a crap about it because it's not Toronto, and 905 politicians don't give a crap because it's not suburbia.

I never thought of it that way, but an excellent point.

EbolaNYC: Aww America Jr. has grown up. Yay! Who's a big boy? Yes you are!

Pretty cavalier and arrogant for a person who's economy has been trashed by its own elected officials.

jre: Pretty cavalier and arrogant for a person who's economy has been trashed by its own elected officials

You do know who else was an elected official?

jre: Pretty cavalier and arrogant for a person who's economy has been trashed by its own elected officials.

Well, to be fair, this will probably help the US working-class economy (although it's gonna screw a lot of moneymen). Quality-of-life, not so much, but economy, yes. Less importing means more domestic production. Lower value dollar means more tourism.

Of course, the working-class quality of life will also take a nosedive. But the economy - the REAL economy, not just shuffling around numbers - should do nicely.

cerberus9: I've heard BC bud is among the best in the world.

Tis true. I live in Vancouver and spend a few months of the year in Cali. There is some great shiat down there, but there is just MORE great shiat up here.