“Here in the States, you get nothing—well, except the bill”
What do you expect? Are you currently paying taxes for socialized medicine?
“Oh, and rumor has it that Canada’s equivalent of our Social Security is actually solvent,”
You forgot your /sarc tag. Social security cannot be solvent as long as the older population continues to live longer. Wait, perhaps the socialized medicine takes care of that.
LOL
Have you tried buying private insurance out on the open market, without the benefits of buying through an employer or being "needy" enough to fall under government plans?
You forgot your /sarc tag. Social security cannot be solvent as long as the older population continues to live longer.
No, actually, I didn't.
Social Security here is in trouble largely because the Federals played accounting games with the so-called "trust fund," using excess receipts to fund spending binges and creating deferred tax increases down the line for future generations.
At least Canada's CPP equivalent invests in more than just effectively worthless U.S. Government IOUs. Plus, the tax rate is lower: 4.95 percent of the employee's wages up to CAD 43,700 (USD 39,070 at present exchange rates) vs. 6.20 percent of the employee's wages up to USD 106,800 (CAD 119,455 at present exchange rates) under Social Security, and that's before any increases by the Obama administration and the Democrat-controlled Congress. Oh, and the retirement age is lower: 60/65 in Canada vs. 62/67 here.