It's not tangential in the least. You said:
You've been dismissive of the problems of size, and quite critical of quality of life issues in the US. Fair enough -- except you have difficulty facing the very real problems of your birth province and home province.
So your argument that it isn't what you have but what you do with it doesn't bode well for Nova Scotia does it? After all, it was home to most of Canada's wealth in the 1800s and founding province of two of Canada's major banks.
Yet it all slipped away. Perhaps it was bad luck. Or perhaps it was the province's history of electing left leaning governments with a taste for deficit spending, pork barrelling, and the "dole" (if I get that regionalism right).
Now all of this would matter for naught if we were talking broadly about where the world is today, but you turned it into a dissertation on liberalism and the failures of the US.
Perhaps it would be better to discuss the issues of how we all got here than to make this an issue of comparative politics. 'Cause your arguments have serious gaps... probably because you have a narrow view of the broader issue of the shortfalls of liberalism now playing out in Canada, Germany, UK, and other places.
I say this as a PBS watching, NPR listening, social liberal retiree... in case you incorrectly assume I'm a MAGA hat wearing, gun totin' 'Merican... which I'm not.
Ah, I get what you mean now. If I give the impression that I'm dismissive of America's problems, that was not my intention. And, I certainly didn't intend to turn this discussion into a "dissertation on liberalism and the failures of the US" - it just seemed to shift of its own accord into a debate about American domestic social policy. When I started this thread, it was just to vent about POTUS' clumsy and irresponsible statements about Huawei and Meng. But, as others jumped into the discussion, it morphed into a different discussion that I admit, I got sucked into.
I freely admit to Atlantic Canada's issues - I think my previous post indicates that I have a pretty good grasp of those issues. What I mean by "it's what you do with it", is that Canada's poorest provinces don't experience the same level of poverty as the poorest states - probably because of the social safety net here. As I understand it, the poorest states tend to be low tax states and public services tend to suffer as a result. By contrast, Canada's poorest provinces tax at higher rates, so public services don't suffer to the same degree. For example, I keep hearing complaints about how bad public schooIs are in poor areas in the US. While you may find some variation in the quality of schools in Canada, it's certainly not to a degree that is worthy of serious concern. I wouldn't hesitate to place my kid in any public schooI in the country. If I gave the impression that Atlantic Canada is another version of Greece, I can assure you, it most certainly is not.
My family and I have a comfortable income and I feel neither over-taxed, nor under-served. This is actually a fantastic place to raise a family, despite its economic problems.
As for "gaps in my arguments", I think it would be more accurate to describe it as difference of opinion. You describe yourself as a "social liberal". I don't wish to make assumptions, but since you you didn't state otherwise, it implies that you are a fiscal conservative. Would that be accurate? I am socially progressive and economically centrist by nature - Keynesian, if you will. If my arguments seem a bit too lefty to you, I can't help that. That's the problem with being a centrist - you're straddling a line. So, when you make an argument that leans a bit left, you're just another pinko to the conservatives. If you voice an opinion that leans the other way, you're just another fascist to the lefties. I get into plenty of "discussions" because of that. But - and I'm sure you're aware of this - it's the centre vote that tends to decide elections.
That's it. I will (try to) refrain from further comment on US domestic policy. I wish nothing but the best for our southern neighbours.
