From: cmk@athena.mit.edu (Charles M Kozierok)
Subject: Re: Death of America
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Date: Sun, 13 Dec 1992 04:04:16 GMT

In article <1992Dec13.020752.8648@news.columbia.edu> gld@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Gary L Dare) writes:
>an030@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Broward Horne) writes:
>>
>>      My friends I stayed with in Toronto had interesting things to
>>  say:
>>
>>        Their property tax was raised 5% last year.  They felt they
>>     were "lucky" since they knew others had been raised up to 14%
>>     more.
>
>That's a local city tax, just like in the United States.  Nothing to
>do with the federal government.  Even my German in-laws in New Jersey
>had their property taxes raised big in (Republican) Bergen County ...

has a lot to do with the prevailing attitudes though.
>
>>   They receive no interest deduction for house payments.
>
>That's an aberration of the U.S. tax system.  Everything's relative.
>Does the U.S. give you a deduction for expenses in running a power
>saw?  Order a federal tax form from a Canadian consulate or embassy.
>It's in there.  It has it's own little outlined section ...

you have made some good points in other areas of this discussion, but
the above is absolutely ludicrous. you're comparing home interest
deductions to running a power saw? what percentage of candians buy
homes and what percentage buy power saws?

call it an "aberration" or whatever you want -- you sound like you
work for the government. for a home-owner with a $200,000 mortgage
at 10%, that "aberration" saves somewhere around $30,000 in taxes
over the first five years of the mortgage. more than enough to buy
all the power saws a guy could want.

>
>>      I think NOT!  Not from what *I* saw in Toronto.  About the
>>      only difference I could find between it and L.A. was that 
>>      the gangs weren't spraying graffiti or littering.
>
>Could you please explain the "gangs" in a realistic manner that is
>consistent with what someone living in Toronto could confirm?  Where
>are the shootings?  Where is the crack?

everywhere. toronto is still a good city for its size, but it is a
shadow of its former self. i felt safer walking around downtown 
at night when i was 15 than i do now, and it is not because of increasing
awareness or maturity.

>>      The gas tax ALONE is a killer.  It effectively DOUBLES the cost
>>      per gallon.
>
>We do not have toll booths up north.  

more power saws. what kind of argument is that?

gasoline costs about $1/gallon more in canada than here. the average
car drives about 12,000 miles or so at about 25 mpg. that is an additional
cost of around $500 a year. you think people spend $500 a year on tolls?
some do, but most don't. and there are many people who *never* pay a toll.
it is only on a small number of roads.

>
>>      I've seen the future.  It's highly bumming to think that the 
>>      U.S. will be like this by the end of the decade. 
>
>Canada hasn't been like that, as you've exaggerated; I'm not denying
>the warts (check the companion article to this one; I'm a free trader)
>but we are reconfiguring.  It's not necessarily a matter of socialism,
>as I realize that Canada and Western Europe are now a favourite target
>of McCarthyists in the new world order, but note that we suffered the
>scourge of Victorianism, which has not had very good effects on our
>efforts in commerce.

please tell me how Bob Rae is not socialistic.
please tell me how canada, even compared to the US now, is not socialistic.

>
>As much as I can sympathize with your friends' complaints, I'm afraid
>that you should be a little more critical before accepting every word
>at face value rather than taking caution for any exaggerations and/or
>artistic licence ... I realize that goes along with your general frame
>of mind at the moment (I don't mean that as a flame; I've enjoyed
>reading your articles), but do pause and take a deep breath ...

i don't see much of what he wrote as an exaggeration.

--
charles