I am in the middle class.. And it isnt that bad!!

[bucpimpin]

Dang.. Listening to Barack in this commercial you'd think we were living in a 3rd world country and we are all miserable.

I'm a middle class guy with a kid. Life isn't bad. Americans should go visit Mexico or Canada. I think they would return with a real idea of what bad is.

[bucpimpin]

>>> this just in Welfare isnt coming back. These people are all looking for hand outs.

[cyberdude557]

Propaganda is a powerful tool.

Totalitarian leaders always have to create some type of struggle that needs to be overcome. This is how they legitimize their hold on power and keep the mass population in order.

[bucpimpin]

Propaganda is a powerful tool.

Totalitarian leaders always have to create some type of struggle that needs to be overcome. This is how they legitimize their hold on power and keep the mass population in order.

I mean in my opinion this is what makes America great... I didn't have health insurance a while back.. So I went and allpied for jobs that had insurance and was turned down to like 5 jobs.. But I kept trying and got in at a low level.. Then appreciated the chance and moved up and am now making 6 figures. (And have 6 figure debt.)

America is about having nothing.. Struggling and wanting more.. Going after it .. Getting it .. and making the best of it. (EVERYONE has this chance.)

[oregonbucfan]

Propaganda is a powerful tool.

Totalitarian leaders always have to create some type of struggle that needs to be overcome. This is how they legitimize their hold on power and keep the mass population in order.

I mean in my opinion this is what makes America great... I didn't have health insurance a while back.. So I went and allpied for jobs that had insurance and was turned down to like 5 jobs.. But I kept trying and got in at a low level.. Then appreciated the chance and moved up and am now making 6 figures. (And have 6 figure debt.)

America is about having nothing.. Struggling and wanting more.. Going after it .. Getting it .. and making the best of it. (EVERYONE has this chance.)

thats why your republican. Look at a lot of Democrats gimme gimme gimme

[cyberdude557]

We're see how long Obama stays popular when everyone's paychecks go down or they get layed off. Word is that several fortune 500 companies are putting together lay-off lists in the event Obama is elected. They feel the Democrats are going to force them to pay more corporate taxes, therefore they will make up the difference by cutting thousands of jobs.

One economist was on CNBC the other day and said Wall Street has absolutely no confidence that Obama will do anything but hurt our economy. So businesses and corporations will go into total panic.

[ufojoe]

Americans should go visit Mexico or Canada. I think they would return with a real idea of what bad is.

What are you talking about?

Infant mortality rate in Canada is lower than the US.

Life expectancy in Canada is two years longer than the US.

[kmitchell]

U.S. obesity is 6% higher too. Canada has 1.2% less of the population under the poverty line, they have a $13 billion surplus, compared to the US' $17 billion deficit.

Check the statistics for yourselves, Canada is not in a bad situation at all.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ca.html

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html

[oregonbucfan]

U.S. obesity is 6% higher too. Canada has 1.2% less of the population under the poverty line, they have a $13 billion surplus, compared to the US' $17 billion deficit.

Check the statistics for yourselves, Canada is not in a bad situation at all.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ca.html

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html

yeah for someone like you still in college who doesnt make over 80K. 

My cousion left Canada for school and didnt return the other plans to finish school in the states and live in the NW. Each their own, if you want to have a bunch of kids and work 10$ an hr its great the govt will carry you through your life.

[kmitchell]

I am comfortable here, and I would be just as comfortable in Canada. Both countries for the most part are in good shape, Mexico is a different story though.

[oregonbucfan]

I am comfortable here, and I would be just as comfortable in Canada. Both countries for the most part are in good shape, Mexico is a different story though.

Yeah mexico is actually getting better, its not what it once was

he just wants sympathy for the fact that he is going to be writing MORE welfare checks to people who dont pay anythign into the tax system, so he is shining a light on the "poor hard working middle class and their plight" so he can make everyone forget about the entirity of his plan

everyone will jump on me for saying that, but nobody will deny the fact that he focuses on this "no family making under 200,000 will see tax increases", and "95% tax cuts across the board", and completely avoids the FACT that 40% of those 95% pay nothing into the tax system and will be receiving these govt checks

[ufojoe]

We're see how long Obama stays popular when everyone's paychecks go down or they get layed off. Word is that several fortune 500 companies are putting together lay-off lists in the event Obama is elected. They feel the Democrats are going to force them to pay more corporate taxes, therefore they will make up the difference by cutting thousands of jobs.

One economist was on CNBC the other day and said Wall Street has absolutely no confidence that Obama will do anything but hurt our economy. So businesses and corporations will go into total panic.

LOL. That's all your post deserves.

[The White Tiger]

Americans should go visit Mexico or Canada. I think they would return with a real idea of what bad is.

What are you talking about?

Infant mortality rate in Canada is lower than the US.

Life expectancy in Canada is two years longer than the US.

That myth keeps getting spread around the internet. Usually by folks that are proponents of countries with nationalized health care systems. They use ginned up "facts" in order to provide a "solution" to an invented problem, one their party conveniently has an answer for.

Here's how this propaganda works:

http://www.biggovhealth.org/resource/myths-facts/infant-mortality-and-premature-birth/

"...Myth: The U.S. infant mortality rate is higher than that of other countries

Fact: The U.S.’ infant mortality rate is not higher; the rates of Canada and many European countries are artificially low, due to more restrictive definitions of live birth. There also are variations in the willingness of nations to save very low birth weight and gestation babies.

The ethnic heterogeneity of the U.S. works against it because different ethnic and cultural groups may have widely different risk factors and genetic predispositions.

Definitions of a live birth, and therefore which babies are counted in the infant mortality statistics very considerably. The U.S. uses the full WHO definition, while Germany omits one of the four criteria. The U.K. defines a still birth “a child which has issued forth from its mother after the twenty-fourth week of pregnancy and which did not at any time after being completely expelled from its mother breathe or show any other signs of life.�1

This leaves what constitutes a sign of life open and places those born before 24 weeks in a gray area. Canada uses the complete WHO definition but struggles with tens of thousands of missing birth records and increasing numbers of mothers sent to the U.S. for care.2 France requires “a medical certificate [that] attests that the child was born ‘alive and viable’� for baby who died soon after birth to be counted, which may be difficult to obtain..."

They fudge when you start counting and what you start counting....

U.S. obesity is 6% higher too. Canada has 1.2% less of the population under the poverty line, they have a $13 billion surplus, compared to the US' $17 billion deficit.

Check the statistics for yourselves, Canada is not in a bad situation at all.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ca.html

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html

Well - besides the fact that Canada's entire army has 90,000 troops and their total defense budget was slashed and given to the socialized medicine department - because Canada has this giant neighbor to the south who provides for the defense of their nation... for free...

Canadians are having an internal discussion on this - but it seems once you've slashed the budget in favor of health care the military begins to erode and never gets proper funding again. OK (I guess) if you have a giant neighbor to the south willing to "provide for your common defense" not so good if your neighbor calls in sick when you need him...

or a more troubling reality for America - when Canada calls in sick on us. They have become so spoiled by the readiness of the US soldier to fight their battles for them - it literally has cost them so little that they no longer think they need to fund this portion of their budget.

From The Ottawa Citizen Online - regarding the subject of "Defence":

http://communities.canada.com/ottawacitizen/blogs/defencewatch/archive/2008/02/28/is-the-financial-tap-being-turned-off-for-the-canadian-forces.aspx

The budget calls for some type of spending increase around 1.5% to 2% - unfortunately no one in the Canadian government could say what that was a % of? Government was quick to say that it is definitely not a % of GDP  - but even more disturbing is this excerpt:

"...But the questions, or concerns I now hear from the defence community focus around the issue of whether the funding tap is being slowly turned off. There’s the view among Conservatives, these military folks warn, that the government feels it has done its part for the Canadian Forces with the more than $20 billion in new equipment already being delivered..."

this is a response from a citizen to someone commenting on not feeling like defence spending was a need, when there were so many other issues that should be more important in the budget:

"...I thought that I would have a go at three of you blog items, the Canada First Policy and the neglect of the Navy both of which are linked to your latest post on the latest budget. All are fundamental to the security of this nation. However, neither will ever get the needed political attention needed for a government to show leadership. The root cause of the national security dilemma in Canada is that Governments, trained by the long Liberal reign during the last century, have lulled Canadians to believe, that effective and popular governments take great sums of tax payers earnings, create inefficient and expensive social programs, managed by a bloated bureaucracy, and buy votes. National Security and the survival of the nation tend to compete unfavorably with Heath Care and Day Care, etc..."

and the fact that when the numbers in your post were tallied with a more favorable exchange rate (it's changed recently), and the fact that the Canadian currency is backed by the value of the Natural Canadian resources (i.e. OIL, see they do drill there and they do drill NOW)...so when the values of their resources are high it looks like they have a surplus...when world prices decline their surplus turns to deficits...(ps, the price of their resources are falling...what do you want to bet their having some problems...?).

Canada headed to recession, deficits: economists

"...More and more leading economists are saying that Canada is headed for a recession, and the federal government is racing towards a massive deficit.

Toronto Dominion Bank chief economist Don Drummond is forecasting a deficit of $10.4-billion in the 2009-2010 fiscal year as well as a $9.9-billion deficit in 2010-2011...

...Even mighty Alberta is expected to see its economy retract as crude oil prices continue to plunge, as U.S. demand drops off...."

Please refrain from posting silly things like this - next you'll be telling me people in Sweden are happier because they have nationalized healthcare and socialism has made the country into a model for paradise...

[Dash Riprock]

^ excellent post