How will fall of Canadian dollar affect your buying?

[Stronguy]

You see, what most people don't know is that hospitals in the US must provide care to you if you go in... it's the law.

 

Actually that is incorrect. ER's are required by law to provide care in emergent situations, not any situation. However, by the time a patient is screened to see if it is an emergency or not it is easier to just see the patient. You can be refused to be seen for a runny nose, low grade temp, cold, or any other non-emergency.

 

Right... maybe I should have said ERs and not hospitals. Since I was responding to Kevin's post where it was a life threatening situation I was talking about major things, not the cough/cold BS.

 

 

[Stronguy]

OK so the hospitals care for you... but what about the charges after?

Will the hospitals treat for free?

 

They will treat you for emergencies regardless. What runs up the cost (at least to some extent) are those who abuse this system. There is an entire subculture of people who have been indoctrinated in how to abuse it.

 

A woman I used to know (I guess I still know her but I haven't seen her in many years) had Sickle Cell. Any time she had a flair up she would go to the ER, get admitted and treated (usually for 3+ days) then just walk out. In the 5 years I was around her she did it at least 4 time I knew of.

 

One time I asked her how much she was screwing the hospital for each time and she said probably $25,000. She would bounce from hospital to hospital doing this, give them bogus information and then leave when she got to feeling better.

 

I asked her where she learned to do it. She said that's what her mother would do and she had been doing it all her life... her entire family did it and so did almost everyone she knew.

 

I ask her if she felt bad about sticking the hospital with the bill. She said no... it was payback for all those years of slavery.

 

She never purchased health insurance (and she could have gotten it very cheaply from her employer) because she never needed it. She said it was just a waste of money. However, she was the first one to always stand up and complain about the cost of healthcare. She almost mess a brick when the free clinic wanted her to pay $10 for 3 months of birth control pills.

 

It's people like her that help make the system what it is.

[Kevin Boyd]

For half of what you paid in taxes you probably could have gotten yourself a really good policy and been out the door for a $100 copay. Or you could have just not purchased any insurance (as many here in the US do) and mooch off the rest of society. You see, what most people don't know is that hospitals in the US must provide care to you if you go in... it's the law. The beauty of our system is that you have the option (freedom) to take care of yourself or not. No one is yanking money out of your paycheck every month to pay for those who don't see healthcare as necessary. And before someone chimes in and says insurance is too expensive... many, many, many of the people who don't have it choose not to of their own free will. I didn't have insurance for about 7 years because I just didn't need or want it.

 

And the hospitals will send you a bill, after they've taken care of you.

 

The beauty of our system is that everyone has to participate as a tax-paying citizen - citizens don't have the right to "opt out", and our society benefits in the long run. We actually take care of our sick (and don't bill after the fact), and we don't live in fear of being sick. But I realize that's socialism, a dirty word to many of you.

 

And your insurers cover certain procedures, not everything, unless you want to pay more for even more coverage. On top of that, insurance companies are for-profit businesses and will look for loopholes not to provide coverage if they can.

 

As for your personal decision to go uninsured for 7 years - sure, you didn't want it because you wanted to use the money elsewhere, and you were lucky that you didn't need it.

 

Most people will do nothing when everything is fine. If given the choice I would probably not have had insurance so once again, I'm thankful that I didn't have to make that choice.

[Kevin Boyd]

 

Totally agree with your sentiments Kevin \(worship\) I also don't know of anyone paying an income tax rate of 50% whether they make $25,000 a year or $250,000

 

Jim

 

I'd have to look at my recent paystubs, but I'm thinking I pay around 25-30% in taxes that are taken off, and that includes the company health plan (that covers medication and upgrades above basic services such as a private room if I was hospitalized). But not all of that money I pay in tax goes towards health care, but other government services.

 

The people that always seem to complain about taxes paying for anything are the people that don't need that something at that specific time in their life... be it healthcare or costs associated with having kids. When you get sick or have kids you realize how lucky we are here.

 

 

 

 

[Kevin Boyd]

They will treat you for emergencies regardless. What runs up the cost (at least to some extent) are those who abuse this system. There is an entire subculture of people who have been indoctrinated in how to abuse it.

 

A woman I used to know (I guess I still know her but I haven't seen her in many years) had Sickle Cell. Any time she had a flair up she would go to the ER, get admitted and treated (usually for 3+ days) then just walk out. In the 5 years I was around her she did it at least 4 time I knew of.

 

One time I asked her how much she was screwing the hospital for each time and she said probably $25,000. She would bounce from hospital to hospital doing this, give them bogus information and then leave when she got to feeling better.

 

I asked her where she learned to do it. She said that's what her mother would do and she had been doing it all her life... her entire family did it and so did almost everyone she knew.

 

I ask her if she felt bad about sticking the hospital with the bill. She said no... it was payback for all those years of slavery.

 

She never purchased health insurance (and she could have gotten it very cheaply from her employer) because she never needed it. She said it was just a waste of money. However, she was the first one to always stand up and complain about the cost of healthcare. She almost mess a brick when the free clinic wanted her to pay $10 for 3 months of birth control pills.

 

It's people like her that help make the system what it is.

 

All of this reminds me about why I'm happy medicine is socialized here in Canada.

 

If that woman with sickle cell was working here she would be paying taxes that included healthcare. She would then not have to conceive scam scenarios to receive treatment (conceived by earlier generations or not) for her illness, she could actually go to the same place more than once and not have to worry about skipping on the bills and getting caught.

 

By giving her the choice not to pay - she didn't - and she, like God knows how many others, is out there abusing your system because you've given them the choice not to pay for insurance and they'll use the existing loopholes to avoid it if they must pay after the fact. Not just individually... but on generational, ethnic and class lines.

 

 

 

 

 

[wasonff]

Totally agree with your sentiments Kevin \(worship\) I also don't know of anyone paying an income tax rate of 50% whether they make $25,000 a year or $250,000

 

Jim

 

I'd have to look at my recent paystubs, but I'm thinking I pay around 25-30% in taxes that are taken off, and that includes the company health plan (that covers medication and upgrades above basic services such as a private room if I was hospitalized). But not all of that money I pay in tax goes towards health care, but other government services.

 

The people that always seem to complain about taxes paying for anything are the people that don't need that something at that specific time in their life... be it healthcare or costs associated with having kids. When you get sick or have kids you realize how lucky we are here.

 

 

 

 

Well said Kevin.

 

If I'm remembering my numbers correctly I think health care spending by the Canadian government reached approximately 160 billion dollars last year which translates into just under $5000 per Canadian citizen. I would gladly pay that amount (or more) to have the security of knowing I will be cared for in hospital during an illness and/or surgery.

 

I am fortunate (or unfortunate depending on how you look at things) to have worked in healthcare part time for the better part of the last fifteen years in Canada. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard people come into hospital saying "I haven't been to a hospital a day in my life but am I ever glad it's here NOW when I need it". So that $5000 figure looks like a bargain now doesn't it?

 

Drew

[Ares]

[Monkeyman]

Totally agree with your sentiments Kevin \(worship\) I also don't know of anyone paying an income tax rate of 50% whether they make $25,000 a year or $250,000

 

Jim

 

I'd have to look at my recent paystubs, but I'm thinking I pay around 25-30% in taxes that are taken off, and that includes the company health plan (that covers medication and upgrades above basic services such as a private room if I was hospitalized). But not all of that money I pay in tax goes towards health care, but other government services.

 

The people that always seem to complain about taxes paying for anything are the people that don't need that something at that specific time in their life... be it healthcare or costs associated with having kids. When you get sick or have kids you realize how lucky we are here.

 

 

 

 

Well said Kevin.

 

If I'm remembering my numbers correctly I think health care spending by the Canadian government reached approximately 160 billion dollars last year which translates into just under $5000 per Canadian citizen. I would gladly pay that amount (or more) to have the security of knowing I will be cared for in hospital during an illness and/or surgery.

 

I am fortunate (or unfortunate depending on how you look at things) to have worked in healthcare part time for the better part of the last fifteen years in Canada. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard people come into hospital saying "I haven't been to a hospital a day in my life but am I ever glad it's here NOW when I need it". So that $5000 figure looks like a bargain now doesn't it?

 

Drew

 

This info is not exactly right, but gives a general idea of the income tax a Canadian pays.

 

- 1st $6K-$7K of income is not taxed

- after that, up to $30,000 is taxed at 30%

- $30,000 to $60,000 is taxed at around 40%

- Everything over $60,000 is in the high 40s

 

We also pay about 13% in VAT on all purchases we make. There is actually no "duty" on comics coming across the border, just the sales tax that would have been paid if the item had been purchased from a store in Canada.

 

The percentage of taxes that goes to health care is very high. I believe that I have paid enough "health care tax" over the last 20 years to get a full body replacement. It is very expensive! That being said, the system does provide a safety blanket if you ever get really sick and would be billed 10s of thousands of dollars for the treatment required.

 

As far as the drop in the C$ is concerned, I have a C$ budget every month. I will still spend it and just get less comics. So I will in fact be buying less, but still spending the same number of C$s.

 

Mike

[piper]

Totally agree with your sentiments Kevin \(worship\) I also don't know of anyone paying an income tax rate of 50% whether they make $25,000 a year or $250,000

 

Jim

 

I'd have to look at my recent paystubs, but I'm thinking I pay around 25-30% in taxes that are taken off, and that includes the company health plan (that covers medication and upgrades above basic services such as a private room if I was hospitalized). But not all of that money I pay in tax goes towards health care, but other government services.

 

The people that always seem to complain about taxes paying for anything are the people that don't need that something at that specific time in their life... be it healthcare or costs associated with having kids. When you get sick or have kids you realize how lucky we are here.

 

 

 

 

Well said Kevin.

 

If I'm remembering my numbers correctly I think health care spending by the Canadian government reached approximately 160 billion dollars last year which translates into just under $5000 per Canadian citizen. I would gladly pay that amount (or more) to have the security of knowing I will be cared for in hospital during an illness and/or surgery.

 

I am fortunate (or unfortunate depending on how you look at things) to have worked in healthcare part time for the better part of the last fifteen years in Canada. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard people come into hospital saying "I haven't been to a hospital a day in my life but am I ever glad it's here NOW when I need it". So that $5000 figure looks like a bargain now doesn't it?

 

Drew

 

This info is not exactly right, but gives a general idea of the income tax a Canadian pays.

 

- 1st $6K-$7K of income is not taxed

- after that, up to $30,000 is taxed at 30%

- $30,000 to $60,000 is taxed at around 40%

- Everything over $60,000 is in the high 40s

 

We also pay about 13% in VAT on all purchases we make. There is actually no "duty" on comics coming across the border, just the sales tax that would have been paid if the item had been purchased from a store in Canada.

 

The percentage of taxes that goes to health care is very high. I believe that I have paid enough "health care tax" over the last 20 years to get a full body replacement. It is very expensive! That being said, the system does provide a safety blanket if you ever get really sick and would be billed 10s of thousands of dollars for the treatment required.

 

As far as the drop in the C$ is concerned, I have a C$ budget every month. I will still spend it and just get less comics. So I will in fact be buying less, but still spending the same number of C$s.

 

Mike

 

Where's Greggy when you need him?

 

Two points of clarification:

 

1. The tax rate is applied in increments:

 

Federal Tax

 

15% on the first $37,885 of taxable income, +

22% on the next $37,884 of taxable income (on the portion of taxable income between $37,885 and $75,769), +

26% on the next $47,415 of taxable income (on the portion of taxable income between $75,769 and $123,184), +

29% of taxable income over $123,184.

 

Provincial Tax

 

Alberta 10% of taxable income

 

2. Sales Tax varies by region. In Alberta, I pay a whopping 5%.

 

 

How much more is that than the median US state? Personally, it seems like a reasonable price to pay to ensure that all Canadians receive basis health care.

 

[AussieRuss]

As for "free healthcare"... I've given half my income to the government for several years now and I have yet to visit the Hospital as a patient.

 

In two weeks it will be 2 years since I had had a severe allergic reaction to some shrimp that made it's way into my chicken dish at a Thai restaurant. I collapsed on the way to the emergency room and had to have a crash cart revive me just enough to get me to the emergency room at Mt. Sinai hospital. I woke up a few hours later in the intensive care ward and I'm lucky to have survived the experience.

 

If I lived in the US I'm pretty certain I would be trying to kill myself paying the bills for the procedures used to save my life. As it was I have our free healthcare system to thank for keeping my alive and not in debt (financially, that is) to the people that saved me.

 

Tax away, Canadian government, tax away.

 

***

 

As for the changing dollars... sell more, buy less. Will this last? Hard to say.

 

Totally agree with your sentiments Kevin I also don't know of anyone paying an income tax rate of 50% whether they make $25,000 a year or $250,000

 

Jim

 

Here's a snapshot of the 2009 Australian income taxation brackets.

If you earn over 180,000 its not to far away from 50%

 

Tax rates

Income Tax Rates 2008-09 - excluding Family Tax Benefit[3]

 

Taxable income Tax on this income Effective Tax Rate

$0 – $6,000 Nil 0%

$6,001 – $34,000 15c for each $1 over $6,000 0% – 12.3%

$34,001 – $80,000 $4,200 plus 30c for each $1 over $34,000 12.3% – 22.5%

$80,001 – $180,000 $18,000 plus 40c for each $1 over $80,000 22.5% – 32%

Over $180,000 $58,000 plus 45c for each $1 over $180,000 32% – 45%

 

 

As far as the original question goes.

The canadian dollar had no effect on me as most of the books I purchase are all bought/sold using US dollars.

 

The Aussie dollar has also dropped. it was near parity with the US$ a few months ago but is now worth under 70 cents. I have virtually stopped buying except for a few pedigreed books that I have been paying off.

 

Reduced buying is the down side.

 

What is absolutely fantastic is that if I were to sell my collection it is now worth about 30% more in Australian dollars than it was a few months ago.

 

Russ...

 

[the blob]

"The market correction I'm speaking of is that there is a widespread acceptance to price low-mid grade at 50% of guide, and the notion of getting Heritage like returns on low-grade to VF'ish range books is practically non-existant"

 

You mean like when Overstreet dropped all the prices on low and mid-grade books back in 1998 or thereabouts??? Where's the "market correction", it's been that way for the last 15 years I've been collecting.

[the blob]

"If I remember correctly candians are taxed beyond belief for all the "free" stuff. I think he equated to something crazy like 50% of wage is lost to tax( I may be wrong)"

 

If you're upper middle class and live in a high tax state like New York, once you factor in social security, property tax and sales tax, you're probably at or around 50%.

 

[the blob]

With that said, New York seems to be getting close to having coverage for anyone who "can't afford it". We're pretty socialist here. So, if you can disguise your income and work off the books, you can probably squeeze you and your family into some program.

 

With that said, 85% or so of americans have health insurance of some form, whether private or through the government. Of course, that leaves 45 million...more than the population of Canada. And while not every insurance covers every procedure, I seriously doubt every procedure is covered up in canada. I do know that my (crappy) insurance allowed me to see a top orthopedist at 11 a.m. when I woke up in the morning and realized my knee was shot (torn patella tendon).

 

And I have to say that Medicare allowed my father to see a lot of top doctors in NYC and have procedures that I doubt would be allowed for someone of his age/condition in many socialized medicine countries. Hindsight being 20/20, there was probably too much cost to society in extending his life another 16 months particularly in a debilitated state.

 

With that said, my insurance can be a real PITA. sometimes they just pay the doctor and sometimes they just cut me a check and tell me to pay the doctor. WHY? I don't want or need more headaches!

 

As for schools .. yes, you can get a university education here for not such an astronomical sum. The state university of new york is around $6,000/year (not including room and board, which is actually more expensive on campus than tutition). And most new york residents who did well in high school will often qualify for a $1K scholarship. And while this is a shocker for a parent who is not used to paying or for the student who is used to spending their work money just on themselves...considering I pay close to $25K a year for a childcare a mere 5 days a week until 7 p.m., $6K would be a huge relief!

 

Luckily, my wife gets free tuition at the university she works as researcher (a top 10 school -- so Baby Blob has to get in, not a foregone conclusion) and half tuition anywhere else. Too bad we have to wait 15 years to take advantage!

[piper]

With that said, New York seems to be getting close to having coverage for anyone who "can't afford it". We're pretty socialist here. So, if you can disguise your income and work off the books, you can probably squeeze you and your family into some program.

 

With that said, 85% or so of americans have health insurance of some form, whether private or through the government. Of course, that leaves 45 million...more than the population of Canada. And while not every insurance covers every procedure, I seriously doubt every procedure is covered up in canada. I do know that my (crappy) insurance allowed me to see a top orthopedist at 11 a.m. when I woke up in the morning and realized my knee was shot (torn patella tendon).

 

And I have to say that Medicare allowed my father to see a lot of top doctors in NYC and have procedures that I doubt would be allowed for someone of his age/condition in many socialized medicine countries. Hindsight being 20/20, there was probably too much cost to society in extending his life another 16 months particularly in a debilitated state.

 

With that said, my insurance can be a real PITA. sometimes they just pay the doctor and sometimes they just cut me a check and tell me to pay the doctor. WHY? I don't want or need more headaches!

 

As for schools .. yes, you can get a university education here for not such an astronomical sum. The state university of new york is around $6,000/year (not including room and board, which is actually more expensive on campus than tutition). And most new york residents who did well in high school will often qualify for a $1K scholarship. And while this is a shocker for a parent who is not used to paying or for the student who is used to spending their work money just on themselves...considering I pay close to $25K a year for a childcare a mere 5 days a week until 7 p.m., $6K would be a huge relief!

 

Luckily, my wife gets free tuition at the university she works as researcher (a top 10 school -- so Baby Blob has to get in, not a foregone conclusion) and half tuition anywhere else. Too bad we have to wait 15 years to take advantage!

 

Wow, NYC appears to be a very expensive place to live.

[the blob]

my guess is that NYC (well, really, mainly manhattan and a few other spots) is the most expensive place to live behind London, Tokyo and maybe a couple of other places in the world where it's expensive to live in any accomodations you might consider remotely acceptable. Maybe Dubai is really expensive, I dunno. Perhaps Dublin has shot up.

 

I could pay less for childcare, no doubt, but I wouldn't feel good about it and it wouldn't be as convenient. (For example, a friend sends her daughter to a catholic nursery school which costs $5K a year..but I think they need to pick her daughter up at 5 p.m. -- not doable for us)

 

 

[Monkeyman]

With that said, New York seems to be getting close to having coverage for anyone who "can't afford it". We're pretty socialist here. So, if you can disguise your income and work off the books, you can probably squeeze you and your family into some program.

 

With that said, 85% or so of americans have health insurance of some form, whether private or through the government. Of course, that leaves 45 million...more than the population of Canada. And while not every insurance covers every procedure, I seriously doubt every procedure is covered up in canada. I do know that my (crappy) insurance allowed me to see a top orthopedist at 11 a.m. when I woke up in the morning and realized my knee was shot (torn patella tendon).

 

And I have to say that Medicare allowed my father to see a lot of top doctors in NYC and have procedures that I doubt would be allowed for someone of his age/condition in many socialized medicine countries. Hindsight being 20/20, there was probably too much cost to society in extending his life another 16 months particularly in a debilitated state.

 

With that said, my insurance can be a real PITA. sometimes they just pay the doctor and sometimes they just cut me a check and tell me to pay the doctor. WHY? I don't want or need more headaches!

 

As for schools .. yes, you can get a university education here for not such an astronomical sum. The state university of new york is around $6,000/year (not including room and board, which is actually more expensive on campus than tutition). And most new york residents who did well in high school will often qualify for a $1K scholarship. And while this is a shocker for a parent who is not used to paying or for the student who is used to spending their work money just on themselves...considering I pay close to $25K a year for a childcare a mere 5 days a week until 7 p.m., $6K would be a huge relief!

 

Luckily, my wife gets free tuition at the university she works as researcher (a top 10 school -- so Baby Blob has to get in, not a foregone conclusion) and half tuition anywhere else. Too bad we have to wait 15 years to take advantage!

 

Wow, NYC appears to be a very expensive place to live.

 

I've been told that NYC also has some kind of city income tax, but I don't have personal experience.

 

Mike

[the blob]

NYC has a 4-5% city income tax depending on how much you make. In addition to the new York state income tax of like 8-10% or so. It hurts.

 

The one perk is that I pay about $12-$15K less a year in RE taxes than I would on an equally priced home in the suburbs, so at my modest income level it is actually cheaper for me to live in NYC than Westchester or Long Island (New Jersey is a toss-up), at least tax-wise,, although the schools in most of those locales are less of a krap shoot than sending your kids to public school in NYC. And I don't live too far away from some sketchiness, which doesn't make me too happy.

 

Anyway, none of this has much to do with Canada...but, like I said, we're getting pretty socialist here despite plummeting tax revenues and it wouldn't surprise me to see some sort of socialized medical coverage for all here before the feds do anything.

 

The sad part is that inmates get FAR better (and FREE!) medical coverage than the ranks of the lower middle class/middle class uninsured.

[comicwiz]

"The market correction I'm speaking of is that there is a widespread acceptance to price low-mid grade at 50% of guide, and the notion of getting Heritage like returns on low-grade to VF'ish range books is practically non-existant"

 

You mean like when Overstreet dropped all the prices on low and mid-grade books back in 1998 or thereabouts??? Where's the "market correction", it's been that way for the last 15 years I've been collecting.

 

The time range I'm referring to with my statement covers the last 7-8 years, wearing the lens of a Canadian buyer needing to juggle exchange rates with "pro-CGC" pricing that seemed to stay through any value correction on low to mid grade slabbed books. While the change in people's perceptions on pricing slabbed books has made values seem a little more sensible (perhaps brought on also by difficult ecomonic conditions), the value of our dollar combined with atrocious cross-border duties doesn't make it all that attractive to deal with US sellers.

[the blob]

fair enough, maybe this had not become a reality in canada until more recently, hammered home by ebay.

 

of course, after paying for shipping and taxes you're paying full guide half the time....

[drewincanada]

everybody there has free universal health insurance and goverment pays for your college.so free health insurance and free college.

 

What freaking country is this in? Did someone set up a "New Canada" where my kids can go to post-secondary for free?

 

It's called Belgium

 

Really? I thought it was called Cuba.