[richardknop]

> Major hit to your quality of life? I'm sorry, you may potentially have a little less money in your pocket, but you're trading direct cash for better social services (read healthcare and education).

What if "little less money in your pocket" means 50% (or more) pay cut? For software engineers you are easily looking at a substantial reduction in salary.

I think most people are willing to take a pay cut in exchange for better social services and free healthcare & education. But there is a breaking point where the comp. is too low for the extra services to make up the difference.

[kogepathic]

> I think most people are willing to take a pay cut in exchange for better social services and free healthcare & education.

Postsecondary education is not free* in Canada. It's certainly cheaper than in the US, but nowhere near free.

I paid around $10k/year for my B.Eng program (as a domestic student in the late 00's).

Also healthcare in Canada, while covering regular doctors visits and any emergency hospitalisation, is not entirely free. You still have to pay for dental/optical (unless your employer offers additional insurance) and you still pay for prescriptions (which can add up).

* maybe this is just your phrasing and you meant "better education and free healthcare"

[richardknop]

Yes, I meant better/cheaper education and free healthcare. I am not actually too familiar with education in Canada.

Being from Eastern Europe my education has been completely free so I assumed it's the same in Canada as it is seen as a more socialist/liberal version of US (at least that's the impression I get about Canada from here).

The argument expressed in my comment still makes sense though, actually it's even stronger since education is not free in Canada.

[johan_larson]

Twelve years of grade school and high school are free in Canada. University isn't free, but is significantly subsidized, and there are various grant programs for people who can't afford even the subsidized rates. The Ontario student aid program is called OSAP.

You want an education in computer science at the University of Waterloo? If you're a Canadian or permanent resident, that's $7,278.48 per term for a total of roughly $58K plus living costs.

https://uwaterloo.ca/finance/student-financial-services/tuit...

[richardknop]

$58K is crazy. How come in my home country where we have very low taxation (~20%) all of this can be paid for by taxes for everybody but in a rich liberal country like Canada you have to pay 58 grand for a degree?

And Canada doesn't even have an excuse of being the world policeman. At least US can say we have to pay tons of money for military and hundreds of our army bases around the world so there is no left over money for public education. But what's the reason for Canada?

I mean if you have rich parents who will pay it for you then you don't care but if you are normal and have to pay it yourself that means you probably need to take a loan, going into debt right at the beginning of your adult life.

That's bit unfair, you should have a clean starting slate and equal opportunity with others, not be forced to go into debt immediately.

[pm90]

Because in your home country, wages are lower, which makes everything cheaper than in Canada (I'm taking a guess here, since you mention some Eastern European country).

Also, I'm very much pro-environment and everything, but the reality is that regulations have a real cost. e.g. fire safety, parking space etc. Not to mention taxes for local, state and federal level... it adds up to make shit expensive.

[richardknop]

Sure everything is cheaper but tax revenue is also proportionally cheaper.

Average salary is 12k euro per year. So if you are collecting 20% of that as income tax, that's a small amount of revenue to work with and it is still enough to cover free healthcare and education.

My point being that everything is cheaper but in proportion to that salaries and tax revenues from those salaries are also much smaller compared to a first world country like Canada.