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For measuring the success of a society I would look at metrics like GDP per capita, productivity, purchasing power, real wages adjusted for inflation, human development index, and quality of life For example, you can make a ton of money, but if it doesn’t buy you much, that’s a problem. If you’re sitting in traffic for 2.5 hours a day, that detracts from quality of life. If your housing costs eat up too much of your income, that’s a problem. If too much of your income services healthcare and other essentials, that’s a problem. Bottom line: After paying my taxes and for all my essentials (housing, health, commuting, etc.) what disposable income do I have? How much can I save? Am I upwardly mobile? Are there opportunities? Do I have access to quality education? Quality healthcare and other services? Amenities like sports stadiums, golf, etc.? Can I afford those Leafs tickets once in a while? Is the infrastructure in good shape or tatters? My general takeaway is that we’re overtaxed on energy costs, our commutes and transit are substandard, our cost of living is too high, our wages are growing tepidly Our essential services like healthcare have declined in quality in terms of waits and access to diagnostics. Basically life became more expensive and has declined or stagnated in terms of quality of live over the past several years We had a nice moment in the mid 2000’s to early 2010’s when our dollar was strong, our taxes declining, our tax credits up, and our infrastructure expanding, without the insanely rapid immigration and overwhelmed services that we see today. Basic services like getting a passport are a pain in the ass today I avoid hospitals now because I know I can’t get out in less than 4 hours no matter how minor the ailment. The roads are clogged Wages can’t keep up with inflation My kids can’t afford homes If I want to eat out, I have to decide whether I want to pay for that $20 burger, fries and drink for everyone in my family How often am I splurging now as compared to even 5 years ago? I think there’s an undeniable financial and quality of life squeeze for most Canadians today.

It is comical that when I travel to Canada for work, I get interrogated and have to bring a statement declaring that I am not there to work or perform any jobs Canadians can do and that I promise to leave when I am done with said business trip promptly... But if I sneak across the border from Africa, I guess I get to stay and live?

It was a very good speech in that it laid out problems in general and simple terms and followed that with solutions that were easy to understand. The speech attacked (mostly) policies and praised so many people. It had touching moments when talking about the people hurt in the shooting. They will attack him for "getting economic advice from a waitress" and jokingly saying he's buying votes (by making the economy better).

Sure. Tell that to Mike Pence, or Liz Cheney, Brad Raffensberger or any number of Republicans who simply did their jobs. And they're getting literal death threats for simply doing the right thing instead of following Trump. And people like Paul Ryan, once the VP nominee simply left because there was no room in the Party of Trump for conscientious disagreement.

I think August is right, it's mainly our massive population growth that hides the real picture. https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/economics/2024/07/19/population-growth-masked-canadas-recession-like-economic-backdrop-rbc/ Though Canada’s economy is not technically in a recession, economists say it “feels like one,” given the current economic circumstances, as high population growth prevented an economic contraction. Nathan Janzen, RBC assistant chief economist, and RBC economist Carrie Freestone said in a report Wednesday that as per-person output is declining in Canada’s economy, population growth “prevented outright declines in Canada’s gross domestic product (GDP).” The report notes that this is occurring alongside unemployment rate increases that would be expected in a typical recession. “Higher interest rates alongside decades-high inflation in 2022-23 ate away at household purchasing power. Weaker demand spurred a rise in the unemployment rate of a size that historically only happens in recessions,” the report said. “But decades-high population growth has masked this recession-like economic backdrop. Canada has added 2.1 million additional consumers since mid-2022.”

“The US is not a Democracy” is one of those untrue talking points that Republicans suddenly started saying circa 2014 when Putin started grooming Republicans with online influence campaigns that included this message . The US is a democracy….at least for now….look it up. A Republic is type of democracy.

You're saying that to deaf ear's, blind eye's and mouths the size of 1000 watt sub-woofers.

I would put it another way, Joe collected the most ballots of any presidential candidate in history.😉

It wasn’t illegal or political violence. Stealing the documents was illegal and the “raid” was a polite and professional search arranged with Trump security in advance with FBI agents discretely wearing civilian clothes so as not disturb the other guests.

These numbers are based on projections of population growth. Note that the IMF does not refer to real GDP per capita. The economies of Canada and the US are growing because we have more people. Government leaders typically don't care about GDP per capita. They care about total GDP because this represents how much they can tax. When Xi sits down with Trump or Biden, the question is the waterflow they can divert through the hydro generators. They don't care about the height of the falls, their beauty or even the overall volume of water.

No, no, get this. Hunter. Wouldn’t that be hilarious? She probably owes him a favour. Nudge nudge, wink wink.

Afraid and lashing out again herbie? Mommy will slide a plate of cookies under the bed for you . . . stay safe little guy.

Any one of those three would make a right pair if ever I saw one.

Do you remember when I said that they were calling the debate early because they wanted to give him a test run and make sure he'd be okay before he was actually chosen as the candidate? I honestly think they just thought that they couldn't possibly hide it anymore because it had gotten so bad. 6 months ago He could have been a hero to the party and given an impassioned speech about how "having served my life for my country I now with frail hands pass forward the torch, carry it forward with my blessing and always remember the name of Biden, who's love was so great for his country that he worked till his last ounce of strength before gallantly stepping aside! Now - to the future go! (gasps! falls off stage dramatically)" Now he's just going to be remembered as the dottering old fool who destroyed the party, lost the election and had to be pushed aside and left in a ditch.

and here I thought only brooks babbled.

No, most of the world's democracies run on a variant of the Westminster system. Certainly among the first world nations. And no, most of the republics aren't democracies. Of course it's a little hard to say, as noted china consideres itself a democracy but we wouldn't. You just make shit up and run with it. Like - didn't you think i'd either know or look? Really. Define what a 'democracy' is then. virtually every expert out there agrees that they are not democracies in the actual meaning of the word, which would mean the people rule by popular vote. The people do NOT rule by popular vote in a constitutional democracy. You need to listen more.

money printing is a hidden tax upon the working & middle classes

You say the craziest things. Today's Republican party could not be any more top-down. The litmus test for viability is loyalty to Trump--agreeing with whatever crazy shit he says next. People are not allowed to criticize him or oppose him. They must either bend the knee and kiss the ring or they are exiled and punished. If someone (even a VPOTUS, for example) doesn't go along with Trump's crooked, schemes they are risking not just their political future, but even their lives.

Agreed. He needs to get into the business of unifying this country and then just stay in that lane.

30B a yr. I'm sure we can easily do that, when trudeau's insane spending and the giving away of money comes to a end. Lol

as usual, when backed into a corner you turn to dishonesty. Why? If you find yourself having to lie as much as you do to make your point - doesn't that tell you that you don't have much of a point and maybe you're on the wrong side?

They should be arrested! People across the nation have lost jobs after posts about Trump shooting These people are saying things like "you had one job" and "next time aim better". What they are doing is a Clear and unambiguous endorsement of killing am American president. Their rhetoric is nothing less than a death threat. Imagine a troubled person, desperate to be relevant and seen as powerful. How encouraging is it to know that hundreds, if not thousands, of people will rejoice in their actions? They think they'll be heroes. The people that lament that Trump didn't die are encouraging another assassination attempt. That is worth investigating, charging and convicting them for their words. There is no first amendment right to incite violence against anyone, much less a president.

Nope, utter lie. And a lot of people who were very clearly not nazis were punched. And discussions about this were held all over the net at the time, it was quite clear that it wasn't about actual nazis any more than antifa is about actual fascists. So once again the left lies to excuse it's violence and tries to retcon it. You are a violent angry hateful people and you entirely support violence as long as it's against people you don't like. Pretty simple and the proofs in the pudding. Every time someone they don't like is subject to violence they cheer and encourage more. It was true then, it's true with trump.

Last night on PBS they seemed to think Trump's speech would give Biden a shot at getting back into this thing. No compassion for a man who was nearly murdered in cold blood just trying to rip him down after he was shot in the ear just 6 days ago

The howling outrage is what will make it all worth the effort don't you think? Poilievre will have plenty of other social partisan issues to address that should take the base's mind off the hard problems he'll be as ineffectual at solving as anyone else.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/15/trump-shooter-motive

Another opposite-of-reality post by the right. “Punch a Nazi” came about because the Right produced actual Nazis, one of whom killed a woman after ramming a crowd with his car. The claim that anyone to the right of Bernie Sander was labeled a nazi is also a made up lie. Right wingers clearly don’t believe rights are universal which is why the OP wants people jailed for insulting Trump And other influencers are consumed with “retribution” fantasies of rounding up the media, previously called for rounding up Muslims etc. A core principle of conservatism is social hierarchy where people at the top are to a certain degree “above the law” and social norms and people at the bottom are “below the law” and don’t deserve all the basic rights, which must be earned. Just look at their views they’ve regularly expressed about the death penalty, torture, civilian casualties, migrants, and so on

Younger people probably do not remember the WWF days in the 80s, when there were major wrestling cards at Trump Plaza. Hulk Hogan and Legally Elected President Trump go back a long way. The DemoNazis are wrong on all the issues. They don't have anything to campaign on except "Orange Man Bad" and "abortion." And they are going to LOSE big time in November. And they lost their chance when Legally Elected President Trump turned his head slightly and their minion on the roof missed that head shot.

And Unelected Joe's massive ADOLF HITLER ego will not allow him to exit the race. He is going to drag his Nazi party down to defeat.

The whole thing was perfect as far as I'm concerned. I believe he was talking about all the criminals crossing illegally and poisoning, raping and killing Americans, when he said they are vermin. Which...they are. The Republicans are now united more than we've seen in decades. I think they are going to get the vote out in droves this time. They are extremely motivated. On the other hand, the Democrats have, what is commonly known as "issues". Let the feathers fly.

Of course he's a threat to democracy. He literally attempted a coup to have himself illegally declared the winner during the vote certification of an election that he lost. How can you possibly believe that he's not a threat to democracy when he's literally tried to overturn democracy to seize power? And we have seen clearly the many, many ways that he tried to abuse his power as President. You can't deny that they happened. You can only say that you don't mind corrupt, authoritarian government.

I said that because you are so brainwashed by your media that you actually believe the nonsense you wrote. Trump is not a threat to democracy or you, he’s a threat to the Democrats. Most of the media support the Dems and the left in general, hence your badly misinformed views. The next 5 months are going to be crazy. The less media you consume, the better off you will be. BTW, the US has never been a democracy, it’s even better than that.

A. Definitely in poor taste B. Losing jobs (social consequence) is clearly reasonable C. You don't have your fascist state yet, so slow your roll. This is still, for the time being, America. Nobody is getting arrested, let alone convicted or punished for wishing someone dead. Nor even for a basic threat, which these people are not even making. To cross the line from free speech to action it has to reasonably be a "true threat."

While he was speaking to Jews in that particular conversation, the meaning of the term Pharisee in a Christian context today is someone who follows the impulse to be seen as righteous by obeying certain laws, while ignoring more important matters of the heart. Therefore the term Pharisee could apply to anyone in today's world of any race, nationality or ethic group.

The best speech was last night's with that 96 year old WWII vet who was willing to go and kick some ass if he had to. Trump's granddaughters was good too. That Don Jr really screwed up when he let that Vanessa get away in exchange for that Kim Guilfoyle tho. Yikes

Am I the only one that wanted to see Melania stage dive and crowd surf?

Me justify it? You get a big old go fu ck yourself for trying to play that game with me.

Eyeball...you're in way over your head here. @Goddess go at it. I learn so much about the jabs from you. I never felt comfortable with genetic material being shot into people. It just smells like the story line for a horror movie.

Well, I have mostly posted peer reviewed scientific studies because I know "peer review" is important to some here. When I have posted studies not yet peer reviewed, I have said so right at the beginning of the post.... And if it's an opinion piece, I point out that it is an opinion piece. How are scientific studies "NOT SCIENCE"? First you want peer reviewed studies, then when they are provided, you claim that is "not science." You're not making sense. As usual.

It isn't deceptive at all, it's more accurate than just gdp by far. No one financial stat gives the whole picture but gdp per capita is a VERY important figure. It addresses quality of life, tax to service ratios, a bunch of things.

The IMF has already weighed in on this: "The IMF projects 2024 GDP per capita growth of 1.4 per cent for Canada compared to 2.1 per cent for the United States. Canada is set to lag behind the U.S., yet again, by more than 30 per cent. Alarm bells should be sounding — Canada’s productivity crisis is set to get worse not better over the next year." https://macdonaldlaurier.ca/canada-has-a-productivity-crisis-heres-how-we-can-get-back-on-track-jon-hartley-in-the-toronto-star/#:~:text=The IMF projects 2024 GDP,better over the next year. The Bank of Canada has also raised the issue: "Senior deputy governor Carolyn Rogers gave a speech in Halifax on Tuesday in which she sounded the alarm on Canada’s lagging productivity rates." Who's "they"? Not the IMF, as far as I can tell.

Trump's new and fresh administration is going to crush a select number of Libbie liars and cheaters. He'll also have the opportunity to pack on more judges...maybe even a new SCOTUS judge or two. Enjoy the election sweetie...

A flag is not hero worship... it does not represent one person ... analogy does not work. The thread is about who? Hmm... first word in the thread title should be your first clue. Second.. what is the topic? Again, lets read that thread title. So, the bandages are very much related to the thread. If I was a partisan type, I would go to to a rally and not need the extra decorations. My presence signals my intentions.. bandages are just silly. They are free to wear them and I am free to look at it on a screen and laugh.