carepov

All audio books, and all excellent! The Dutch House - Patchett, Ann (Read by Tom Hanks) The Century Trilogy - Follett, Ken All the Light We Cannot See - Doerr, Anthony

So I wonder how New York got to the top of that list?

The world is getting better, even if it doesn’t always feel that way. https://www.gatesnotes.com/Enlightenment-Now Also: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59395031-superabundance

1) The chart tells us nothing about growth rates. 2) I see no link to immigration.

My guess is that that Ontario has the highest immigration rate. In the 20 years from 2001-2020 the population grew from 11.7 million to 14.2 million, an increase of 21 %. NY population growth was 4 %. Important to note that your chart is per capita, therefore while the NY economy increased by just over 1.4 % annually, Ontario's economy increased by 1.8% annually (https://www.statista.com/statistics/577539/gdp-of-ontario-canada/). GDP growth and GDP per capita are both important. But to pay off debt (the concern that you raised), more important is GDP growth.

I guess that we should increase immigration to grow the economy and pay off the debt...

To improve quality of life you need a growing economy. Immigrants contribute to Canada's economy. Combine a growing economy with social programs/progressive taxation and you get: "Canada’s overall poverty rate was estimated at 7.4% in 2021, up from 6.4% in 2020 and down from 14.5% in 2015." https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/news/2023/05/canadas-poverty-rate-remains-below-pre-pandemic-levels.html Canada is indisputably one of the best countries in the world. By many measures, including a more than halving poverty rate, life is getting better.

Overall, the country is much better off with immigrants. Immigrants account for 36% of physicians, 33% business owners with paid staff, and 41% of engineers. https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/2022/12/canada-welcomes-historic-number-of-newcomers-in-2022.html

I don't understand what you mean by "that". Most people have no thoughts/beliefs about such issues. According to woke, the point of laws (made by the powerful) is to maintain and even increase their power.

Yes, hyperbolic is a prefect adjective for wokeism. According to woke, rights gained are illusory, and/or never enough. Also hyperbolic are claims by anti-woke crowds. Claims such as wokeism bringing an end to free-speech, "family values", and ushering in neo-marxism. This article nails it: https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/tech-happy-life/202006/the-promise-and-problems-being-woke

No, that definition doesn't cut it. Don't you agree with Neiman that "the Left" is not "Woke"? "Wokeness rightly “emphasizes the ways in which particular groups have been denied justice,” but then grows so outraged by the fraudulence of our nation’s claims to “liberty and equality for all” that it forfeits all faith in the possibility of a society ordered by any force beyond raw power. The woke wisely demand “that nations and peoples face up to their criminal histories,” but dwell on historical crimes until they conclude “that all history is criminal.”" https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/05/do-the-woke-betray-the-lefts-true-principles.html

The ideology of woke is fascinating! Here are three very interesting approaches to defining Woke: https://unherd.com/2023/03/the-true-left-is-not-woke/ https://freddiedeboer.substack.com/p/of-course-you-know-what-woke-means https://understandwoke.com/ I took the quiz and am 7/100 - anti-woke. However, I am not "anti woke-people". There are many good ideas and intentions in the woke movement. I also, do not think that there is a significant danger coming from the woke ideology.

Why not make the world a better place? It seems like the right thing to do. Do you have any better ideas?

Good questions. Sometimes, yes, I want to live for my own happiness and pleasure. But you are right, this is not enough. I want to live so that I can contribute, to the best of my abilities, to making the world a better place.

Non-business people are usually 100 % invested in themselves... I agree with income splitting for all Canadian families, and yes it does save real money for the middle class. Of couse any business can split income with family members that work in the business (incorporated or not). RRSPs do reduce taxes if you deffer to later years when you are going to be in a lower tax bracket. The "problem" is that some people accumulate so much wealth that they make more money in retirement than what they did while working.....