Would you sneak into Canada if

[Mend]

times got really, really bad here politically and economically? Would you go to a rich, free country over the border in the dead of night to try to be free and get a job and feed your family?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. I don't know

I think I would have to meditate on that for a long time. I volunteer at a nonprofit clinic and I know we're doing good for a lot of folks, plus there is the work with the Dances of Universal Peace my husband and I do. I would have to feel that there was a need for me to go there before I went-otherwise, I would think I was to stay here and help those who are suffering.

[Clutch Cargo]

2. Yes

But would Canada let me stay if I came over that way?

[BiggJawn]

3. I think the REAL question is: Would they let us STAY?

But they're gonna have the Minuteman Marching Club gaurding all the ways out...

[ComerPerro]

4. Interesting question

I assume you are wanting to discuss illegal immigration?

[Mend]

8. I was empathizing with the Mexicans and South Americans and

thinking of the 30,000 people who are losing their jobs at GM. Where do they go....greeters at Wal-Mart? Canada is looking so good, economically and politically and if a family couldn't pass the immigration rules but had no other opportunities, what would they do? This is not about me, I actually passed the test they give so I guess I could get in legally.

[ComerPerro]

21. See, I wasn't sure what your angle was

if you were just going for a hypothetical spin on the immigration issue to take another perspective (that many people don't often consider) or if you had something more specific in mind.

Interesting angle.

I don't know what all those GM employees will do. I hope they land on their feet.

[LosinIt]

5. yes, in fact, I'd offer you all boat rides across Lake Ontario

in the dead of night. The new Underground Railroad.

[leftchick]

36. I will be just outside of Rochester...

waiting for you! :hi:

[LosinIt]

37. pick you up in Sodus Bay

hold on to your hat, it can be one hell of a ride.

[shenmue]

6. I'd go...

hey, I'd go tomorrow if I had the money.

[Robert Cooper]

7. Why "sneak across"?

Honest folks, we're open to immigration. The latest stats show we're not having enough kids to replace our population, so the government is going to increase the numbers of immigrants permitted into the country.

And Lord knows we can always find space for more left-lib citizens :-)

[Mend]

9. not everyone passes the entrance test. eom

[Freddie Stubbs]

16. What kind of test is it?

:shrug:

[mmonk]

10. I would go to freedom in Canada

or I might go the Bimini Islands or the British Virgin Islands and plot my family's future from there.

[HereSince1628]

11. No.

Bad politics and bad economies are a passing darkness. Things to have a light shown on them.

Someone must stay and keep the flame if only a tiny candle burning.

[mmonk]

13. Would you have stayed

in Italy or Germany in the 30's and 40's?

[HereSince1628]

23. Maybe yes. It's hard to know for sure isn't it?

I am a product of the United States as it was experienced in the North Central US beginning during the Korean War.

The values I was raised on promoted human dignity: liberty, justice and equality. At a relatively early age I witnessed struggles for civil rights, labor rights, women's rights, the peace movement and the environmental movement and saw some victories in each.

I wasn't raised in another time, in another country. I don't know if such a place would be bereft of my sentiments and easier to leave.

[mmonk]

26. If I didn't have

two sons, I might would stay. I can't sacrifice their future though.

[HereSince1628]

29. Perfectly understandable, everyone would have to make personal decisions

We could hardly expect everyone's circumstance to lead them to the same choice.

[marmar]

12. I would go to Canada under just about any circumstance...

It's the country that best represents what I think an ideal country would be like.

[Deja Q]

14. Yes, and this is why I am proud to say the fact:

I am an intelligent, hard working man. Multitalented and willing. I keep getting told by my fellow Americans (the corporate sect) that I am stupid, uneducated, and lazy. They particularly chant this everytime somebody questions "offshoring".

I want to live in a country where people with WITH each other (not against) and put each other as a value. Not just money.

Canada is Shangri-La by comparison.

And, this is the hardest thing for me to say, America is a cancer of this world. All it does is sicken people and turn them against each other. Even from within.

[Melsky]

15. We did go to Canada

We have been very happy here. We are here on a temporary permit for my husband to work. But we don't have permanent residence yet but we are applying for it.

There are still problems in Canada though. Don't think it's some kind of paradise. I think things work a lot better than the US though for the most part. But you do pay more in taxes and things like groceries and clothes are more expensive. Housing seems like a bargain to me but then again I am from California so most other places seem cheap in comparison.

I miss Trader Joe's a lot, that is what I miss most. I also think zip codes are way better than postal codes.

[CatBoreal]

20. Tax question....

My FIL always bitches about taxes being too high up here and says he wants to move to the States for that reason.

I've asked him, and now I'm asking you, do you feel you get more for your taxes in Canada than the US? If you combine the amount you paid in Canada with the fact that you get universal health care (there are other benefits such as lower post secondary school education costs as well), is that cheaper than paying US federal and state taxes plus health insurance? Is there a savings there?

Just curious.

PS. Zip codes are for wimps. ;)

[ClintonTyree]

22. Canadians may be taxed more........

but their government takes care of it's people better than ours. Seriously, if you look at our crumbling school systems, our crumbling infrastructure etc. you ask yourself, "where does all the money go"? Two words; the Pentagon. Show your FIL this......



This is what the U.S. spends as a parentage of GNP on defense. Notice the United States is at 3.4%. Notice that Canada (hard to read, I know) is almost at the bottom is at 1.1%. Canadians get much more in return for their tax dollars than we Yanks. We spend too damned much on bombs and not enough on humans.

Stay in Canada, you're much better off as a human being. If you want to be among the most hated nation on earth, by all means, move to America. Whenever I travel abroad I tell everyone I'm Canadian (not too far from the truth, I live a stone's throw away).

[Melsky]

34. I'd rather pay the higher taxes in Canada

for the health care mostly. A lot of time your job in the US will pay most health insurance costs as part of a benefits package. So you are doing fine until you lose your job and then have no money to pay the full amount of insurance. If you go without insurance, it's harder to get coverage again once you can pay for it. So there's always this feeling of insecurity. It's also harder to find jobs that provide insurance.

Remember that insurance industry profits went up while prices went up and the number of uninsured went up. I'd much rather have the province of Ontario in charge of my health care than a bunch of heartless corporate pigs.

[Mutley]

17. It would have to be really really bad...

as in the Nazi fascist rounding up of certian groups of people and killing them bad.

[peace frog]

24. Ditto...

I would flee only if my family accompanies me, and only then if we were in danger of being rounded up, incarcerated and/or exterminated. Hard to fathom and unlikely to reach that point, but... it could happen.

[mmonk]

27. Well, the original post said

to be free and feed your family. I take it from that as meaning things would be very bad. And it comes down to my family being first.

[tavalon]

18. I'm lucky

They will take me without me sneaking in. Not so for the rest of my family but if I could support all of us on a nurses salary........

[mtnsnake]

19. We go to Canada all the time. The best thing about Canada is the people.

I go on business occasionally and my wife and I love going to Ottawa or Montreal. Great cities. We live near the border so it's not far for us. Canada has a lot to offer and, while not perfect (no place is), we would consider living there in a heartbeat, probably somewhere near Ottawa if we had the choice.

The people are really cool up there. Can't help but like them.

[lonestarnot]

25. Hell No!

[bunkerbuster1]

28. This is a "duh" question, right?

obviously I'd ignore border legalities and cross if that were the best option for me and my family in a time when things had become "really really bad."

I don't think we're anywhere near "really really bad" yet (ask a Sudanese or an Afghan what constitutes "bad"), although the US continues to shock this American citizen at times with its capacity for cruelty and small-mindedness.

[freestyle]

30. In Canada, I could become a citizen. I don't feel like one here.

I have checked Canada's immigration site, and I comfortably pass the test. My partner and I could get jobs, move to Canada, and enjoy all the rights of citizenship, including marriage equality. We can't do that in the U.S., and the expressions of hatred for GLBT people are rising. Also, for a fair number of people, the last stop on the Underground Railroad was Canada.

If not for my grandparents, who I do not want to be very far from, we may have gone already. When I complete my architecture degree, I fully intend to apply with some Canadian firms. Even if a political shift occurs, it will take decades to clean up the mess in the nation formerly known as America. I'm less sure it is worth it to stick around, and it hurts like hell to feel that way.

[peace frog]

31. My husband was hired by a Canadian firm

for a temporary (1 to 2 yr) software development project, which ended a few months ago. He says it was the best gig he's ever worked, his co-workers at the company treated him with respect and esprit de corps, and he was very well compensated for his contribution. When he left their employ, his manager told him there was a permanent job for him whenever he chose to take it.... in Montreal.

We mulled the possibility of taking them up on their offer for a while but ultimately decided to remain in the US. Hubs is currently working for a firm out of Chicago and doing fine... but he's staying in touch with the Canadian connection, just in case.

[mikelewis]

32. Si

[mntleo2]

33. Blue States Should Secede To Canada!

We would bring a whole lot to them and getting many of our problems solved in return. We would not only be getting out of a bad and unjust war, we would bring with us some of the best medical centers and universities in the world, AND we would immediately have health care! Oh and gays could marry and science would actually be taught to our children, we could actually criticize the president and not be considered "moonbats", we would no longer have to claim FAUX as part of our "mainstream media", oh I could go on and on but...

:bounce: :woohoo: All our problems solved!


Cat In Seattle <---good idea, hey?

[AZBlue]

35. Hell yeah! But I wouldn't sneak, I'd do it legally. (n/t)