I haven't posted in a while and have a couple of things I want to get off my chest.
I was having a chat with a recently American friend of mine. She grew up in the greatest country in the world but moved south - she is extremely happy there and has a great life and a wonderful family, I am very happy for her. But... talk about drinking Koolaid! OK, so, health care and taxes. Her taxes are lower and her health care is covered, with some user fees, I imagine by her husband's employer. Except that for 10-15% of her fellow citizens, that is not true. And... Unfortunately her taxes are by every definition I can come up with substantially higher!
How is this possible, you ask, Paul? "Everyone knows" that US taxes are lower than those in Canada. Well, not so much. If you look at the combined tax burden of your average Canadian and your average American, I will acknowledge that there is a difference in your average American's favour. The calculation would be complex and I am not an economist or accountant but, sure, say 10% lower, not more than that, perhaps less. Two things that justify those tax differences:
- You get what you pay for! We have a medicare system which covers everyone with high medical standards and minimum wait lists. Sure there are wait lists, particularly in lower population areas of the country - for non-critical procedures and tests. Not so in the major centres. I have had three tests of late and none of them has had a wait time of more than six weeks, due to my travel schedule, and the shortest time from request to test was 20 minutes. Further our pension system is balanced, our EI program supports people with dignity, our roads are good, our infrastructure is in pretty good shape.
- Things cost, whether you pay for them now or not. My friend claimed that her taxes were lower. Sure. on the surface, perhaps. The US is now running massive deficits - those have to be paid for. Putting something on your credit card means you pay for it tomorrow, you defer payment. Running deficits with lower taxes means you are deferring higher taxes. It is a false belief that US taxes are lower, they are ridiculously undertaxed. And we should note that the deficits were incurred under GWB not BHO.
Sigh, so many people to enlighten, so little time!
OK, so, onto bad habits by Restaurateurs. Went to a place this evening for dinner. Wanted a burger but, given that wasn't the healthiest choice, wanted to offset some of the damage with a salad as opposed to fries. THEY WANTED TO CHARGE ME $5.00 for a side salad "upgrade". This in a time where everyone is talking about healthy choices, obesity, health crises brought on by bad food habits.
How about this. This restaurant has a young healthy clientele - they are located right next to the volleyball courts and running boardwalk on the Toronto Beach. How about you get your burger with a side salad - that is standard. You want fries? $1.00 extra! You want fries and gravy - $1.50 more! You want Sweet Potato fries - $3.00 more and god help you, if you want poutine with it, $5.00 more!
Design your systems to drive the outcomes you want in mind. I believe that this resteraunt would please their existing clientele, improve their bottom line and garner customers by taking this approach. Or, if not, if they want to go about it the old way - charge $2.00 for not giving me Yukon Gold Fries and instead putting a bit of lettuce, tomato and cucumber on my plate.
OK, I have ranted enough!
Back again soon - sooner than of recent posts, I promise!
Paul
