Do Canadians think US healthcare would help US workers?

Lupe Sancen: The main problem with that is that the money paid for health care in America by the citizens is used to keep the ball moving on everything and I really dont think a socialist based health system would work in a country that relies fully on capitalism as the main cog of survival when the US relies so much on trading to gain many resources they do not have in abundance naturally.

Davina David: On a slightly different question, do you Canadians think Windsor, ONT autoworkers are better off than Detroit manufacturers because of Canada's healthcare easing the burden off employer-provided healthcare you have in the states?That if the USA had healthcare removed from the employer payroll for GM and Chrysler it would be cheaper to do business in Detroit?Do Canadians think the US auto industry should invest in alternative fuels or should the industry discontinue?What do Canadians think can be done to revive Chrysler and GM in both USA and Canada?...Show more

Sol Bayn: I have always thought that US legislation was unfair to workers. Not only does private health care place a larger burden on companies, but it places a larger burden on the employees. There is pressure on the companies to subsidize benefits. On the upside for employers, private insurance does make job mobility a little more difficult. For example, if I (or someone in my family) find out that I have diabetis, cancer...basically anything that could be considered a pre-existing condition I will be more likely to stay with my job, because I (or the person in my family) will likely be denied insurance by another company if I am to leave. Many Americans (mostly republicans) will argue that US businesses are better off because of a lower tax burden. The truth is, in Canada, around 10% of our GDP goes toward health care, and for small to medium sized start up businesses, many provinces have tax relief programs in place. I don't think that it would be cheaper to do busine! ss in either place, because of the taxation vs insurance costs! .As for the alternative fuel investment question, I don't necessarily feel that it is the responsibility of the auto industry to invest in alternate fuels and energy sources. The governments in Canada and the US should be making these investments and the auto industry should be working at improving their production of alternative energy vehicles to make them more affordable to the general public. We looked at purchasing a hybrid SUV, but decided not to because of the extremely high cost when compared with a traditional model. If places like GM could have more afforable production of these vehicles, then they could pass the savings on to the consumers. Or, alternatively, government could offer tax rebates to those who chose to drive environmentally friendly vehicles. If I knew that I would get back even 5% of the value of my environmentally friendly vehicle in taxes, then I definitely would have purchased one. As for reviving the auto industry, Canada passed a legislation to! provide anyone making home improvements with a tax rebate for their costs. I think that the government, instead, should have put this money into providing anyone purchasing a new vehicle with tax rebates....Show more