The irony is that in 2028, a state with the same population as Canada might hold a referendum about leaving America. This trade dispute just might push California over the edge, and I am not talking about earthquakes.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/01/24/country-of-california-secession-newsom-trump/77907859007/

and more recently

https://theharvardpoliticalreview.com/calexit-california-independence/

If America is so out of control and beyond the reach of the Rule of Law and the Constitution that it can elect Trump (recall that he is considered to be potentially a traitor to the Constitution by the Supreme Court), then it is definitely within the realm of possibility that California could separate.

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[–] Dead_or_Alive@lemmy.world 1 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

I never said countries should be run like business. But they do have to be run responsibly. You can print money out of thin air… but print too much and you’ll have inflation print waaay to much and you’ll have hyper inflation. Investing tax dollars in a sector that brings in income is a great way to boost revenue. But focusing on one industry like oil production or AI will hurt other parts of the economy.

I very much doubt Canadians would give up their free healthcare or retirement. Which means the US would suddenly need to take on even larger amounts of debt to fund it. Taxpayers in the other 50 states would not want to foot the bill so that one new state could have free healthcare when they do not.

So yes you are right governments don’t need to be run like businesses. But they do have their fiscal limits as well. Germany spent A LOT of money over two decades integrating East and West Germany. But they had a common culture. While I think America and Canada have similar cultures they aren’t nearly as close as Germany’s.

This talk of integrating parts of either country is stupid because it fiscally

tax payers are only going to support so much.

[–] SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca 2 points 4 hours ago

You can print money out of thin air… but print too much and you’ll have inflation print waaay to much and you’ll have hyper inflation.

Or... pay taxes?

Healthcare costs an average of around $8K per capita per year in most developed countries. The US pays around $14K per year because a bunch of companies gotta make that profit I guess. $8K is significant chunk of the average person's taxes, but healthcare is a valuable service so it's worth it.

You seem upset that I'm saying that you're thinking about government like a business, but you really are. You can't fathom pay taxes for important services, but that is how it works in most countries. And most people are paying ~$8K in taxes per year for healthcare, while Americans are paying ~$14K per year in health insurance and medical bills.

I very much doubt Canadians would give up their free healthcare or retirement. Which means the US would suddenly need to take on even larger amounts of debt to fund it.

Again, you seem have forgotten tax revenue is a thing.

Also Canada's debt to GDP ratio is lower than the US. So it would be Canada assuming US debt burden, not the other way around.

Germany spent A LOT of money over two decades integrating East and West Germany. But they had a common culture.

Yeah... there are some things more important than money. Not everyone makes every decision based solely on finances.

While I think America and Canada have similar cultures they aren’t nearly as close as Germany’s.

Yeah, Americans can only think in terms of money while Canadians consider other things (like our sovereignty) to be more important than money. Americans struggle to understand this, which is why we're currently in a trade war.