And They Wonder Why I Hate California

[JH27N0B]

One mystery that I would like to know the answer to, how is it that many people in Sweden with their high taxes, still have the means to buy up expensive classic American cars, pay to ship them over there and pay any import taxes that they have there?
And it's not just Sweden.  The owner of a restoration shop near here restored an FJ5 Superbird he owned, and after showing it off for a year or two, decided to sell it.  He advertised it and trailered it out to many shows to display without much interest.
Then someone from Australia bought it, paid to ship it over there, and according to him, had to pay about a 50% tax on it when it arrived "down under".
So not a single person in the USA was interested in buying a concours U code Superbird for around $125K, but someone in Australia with much higher taxes was happy to pay close to $200K when all was said and done, for it?
Is it that we Americans are cheap? 

[70 Challenger Lover]

I have wondered about that...Americans being cheap. We are spoiled in that we get goods from all over the world and pay little import taxes plus our dollar is usually very strong compared to most other currencies. Not all though. I think a little bit of it though is Europeans don't have a lot of choices in American muscle so they pony up the money and just do it. Not like they are gonna come across barn finds. Many Americans cry about how these muscle cars were so cheap only a few years back and they hesitate to pull the trigger on cars they want, hoping they will come across some deal (but usually don't).

The a Swedish guy I just sold my car to obviously had money. I'm betting he was a 1 percenter over there. My car was his ninth muscle car and he had storage for his collection. When I told him what I wanted, he agreed without even trying to get me down on the price. The car is even being painted this winter so he can enjoy it in the spring. I'm not sure what the average muscle car enthusiast looks like in Europe but I'd bet they are generally pretty well off compared to their other countrymen. It makes me a little sad to see our cars going overseas but it is comforting to know that most of those enthusiasts truly relish the hobby. I doubt you will find these cars rusting into the ground like so often happens here.

[Cudakiller70]

If you look at any socialist country those at the top enjoy riches and privlages the rest aren`t  even allowed to have.

I don't think so? Depends on your definition of socialist I guess. I consider Canada a socialist country. Higher standard of living than most.
Sweden is socialist. Not a bad place to live. Neither 'deny' people any privileges. You work for it, you earn it, you get it.  Now if you meant Communist, like China, I completely agree.

It works that way when a country goes hard left...or... hard right. The extremes in either case don't work well for the general population.

I thought Canada is a parliamentary form of government?

[Chryco Psycho]

It is , but it is still socialist

[nsmall]

I go to this thread daily.  I live in SoCal and I am extremely conservative and extremely liberal...depends on the issue.  It has been nice to see this thread not go sideways fast. 

  I have really enjoyed living in CA for 15 years, but I have big plans to move to North Idaho, and Lord willing, soon.  My kids are 3, 4, and 9 and I dont want to raise them here.  Its been a great ride, but I'll be leaving soon. 

[torredcuda]

If you look at any socialist country those at the top enjoy riches and privlages the rest aren`t  even allowed to have.

I don't think so? Depends on your definition of socialist I guess. I consider Canada a socialist country. Higher standard of living than most.
Sweden is socialist. Not a bad place to live. Neither 'deny' people any privileges. You work for it, you earn it, you get it.  Now if you meant Communist, like China, I completely agree.

It works that way when a country goes hard left...or... hard right. The extremes in either case don't work well for the general population.

I thought Canada is a parliamentary form of government?

Ok, I`ll modify my post to say that yes it is allowed but made a lot more difficult in a socialist type economy. I have read about  and talked to people from other countries that have universal healthcare and other government run programs and there are a lot of problems that go with that - no thanks! Hopefully we don`t go too far left, I have worked hard for everything I have and give enough of iyt away in taxes now to support the government and other people, some who are just milking the system.

[anlauto]

I have read about  and talked to people from other countries that have universal healthcare and other government run programs and there are a lot of problems that go with that - no thanks!

When I had kidney stones and went to Emergency they gave me an Ultrasound. I got medication and was told to book a follow up Ultrasound after the pain went away....I passed the stone and the pain went away in about 24 hours....The closest "follow-up" Ultrasound appointment I could get was FOUR weeks later.... it's rediculous 

[70 Challenger Lover]

I have read about  and talked to people from other countries that have universal healthcare and other government run programs and there are a lot of problems that go with that - no thanks!

When I had kidney stones and went to Emergency they gave me an Ultrasound. I got medication and was told to book a follow up Ultrasound after the pain went away....I passed the stone and the pain went away in about 24 hours....The closest "follow-up" Ultrasound appointment I could get was FOUR weeks later.... it's rediculous 

That's the kind of thing that worries me. I might be okay with a cradle to grave government if they could actually do it right but they can't. DMV, IRS, public schools, etc. are all great examples of how the government never makes a thing better. Only screw it up. Every time they try to fix the healthcare system in this country, they make it worse. At least financially. The care aspect is still not managed by government thank god so depending on the insurance company, it can actually work well. I know if several people who had nasty cancers that got exceptional care and beat it. I myself had a ruptured disc in my lower back and the pain was truly unbearable. From the time I first saw my doctor until the time I had my surgery, it was only three weeks. They had me seeing specialists, MRI, epidural injection, etc. I was so grateful to have such great insurance at the time.

HMO healthcare through my employer in Ca. these days costs me nearly $1500 per month now and it goes up every year. That's $22k per year! The yearly increases are bigger now that Ca. gives free healthcare to homeless, illegal immigrants and others who can't pay. I can't opt out and go elsewhere. I must pay that amount. And that's the cheapest option. When I retire, my healthcare premiums will be based partly on income. Because I will have a decent sized pension, I can expect to have massive monthly healthcare premiums. Many of my retired coworkers leave the state simply because they are forced to financially and healthcare is one reason. You can blame it on greedy insurance companies but you should not ignore all the times government has stepped in with new laws, regulations, rules and in every case made premiums higher. Here's a crazy thought....they should undo all those changes and let the system correct itself for a few years. I bet premiums would drop a lot.

[cuda hunter]

Insurance companies won't let the premium's go down ever again.  I'm 43 and pay 1200 a month for just my own healthcare.
I don't use it.  I just pay for it.  The premium goes up every year because these insurance companies take care of CA and some who don't deserve it.  we all must pay for what that state does. 

Insurance is in a lot of ways a sham.  However, if you have serious problem usually we can get taken care of better than a lot of those other countries with "universal" healthcare.   In some ways insurance works.  Mostly because the Doctors charge so much for any treatment.  A regular person with no insurance will just die without the insurance.  Costs on both sides of the healthcare system are out of control !!

[Cudakiller70]

I can see Canadian health care is socialist, but you have a free market business economy?

[rebelyell]

How the government runs the VA tells me all I need to know about what an entire healthcare system run by the government would be like. No thanks. Not even going to mention how bad of a cluster the "Obamacare" rollout was. Government as a whole is too big and taxes are too high.

<snip>

The yearly increases are bigger now that Ca. gives free healthcare to homeless, illegal immigrants and others who can't pay. I can't opt out and go elsewhere. I must pay that amount.
<snip>

This is why it's so expensive. Now you're forced to pay for something other people use.

[YellowThumper]

With a country such as ours there should be universal care for everyone. Basic care should be a right for all. Basic... anything above basic to be severely limited because anything more is simply unsustainable. For the above basic it then becomes part of the market. The more you can afford, the more benefits you get. As these "above" plans are not supporting and paying for the masses, they end up costing less to fund. As for Obamacare it was a failure before pages were even printed. Too broad for acceptance and too burdensome to the already burdened. Forcing companys to pay minimum percentages of premiums that are out of control only made it harder for older persons to be employed.
Small company my wife works for has several older workers. One who was almost 75. Company had to pay the same percentage of his premium as the younger employees. His premium was about 3 times as much. This turns into an unfair financial bonus for him over the young ones. It also cost the company significantly more to have him employed there. Previously they paid XXX same dollars for every employee. Personal "benefits" were the same for all.

All this IMHOP of course.  Thanks Cody and mods for allowing this "venting". It is obvious from the start of this everyone has continued to self police it.

My2c 

[IRON MAN]

How the government runs the VA tells me all I need to know about what an entire healthcare system run by the government would be like. No thanks.

Are you a military veteran? Do you use the VA Health Care System at all? Is so, when was the last time you visited a VA Health Care facility?

I was with the Kaiser Permanente Health Plan through my employer over twenty years with no deductible. I still chose to go to the VA for most of my medical needs. Here in the SF Greater Bay Area the VA Health Care System is excellent.  For the last 15 years I have gone to the VA for health care in Sacramento or Martinez for issues related to my service in Vietnam, and general health care. I have zero complaints. Pres. Trump has seen to it the VA Health Care System is run much better than it was five years ago.  There are so many improvements.

[torredcuda]

How the government runs the VA tells me all I need to know about what an entire healthcare system run by the government would be like. No thanks. Not even going to mention how bad of a cluster the "Obamacare" rollout was. Government as a whole is too big and taxes are too high.

<snip>

The yearly increases are bigger now that Ca. gives free healthcare to homeless, illegal immigrants and others who can't pay. I can't opt out and go elsewhere. I must pay that amount.
<snip>

This is why it's so expensive. Now you're forced to pay for something other people use.

Many don`t pay for healthcare or pay any taxes for other services they use - police, fire etc., us working people have to pay a higher % and it`s just getting worse.

[rebelyell]

How the government runs the VA tells me all I need to know about what an entire healthcare system run by the government would be like. No thanks.

Are you a military veteran? Do you use the VA Health Care System at all? Is so, when was the last time you visited a VA Health Care facility?

I was with the Kaiser Permanente Health Plan through my employer over twenty years with no deductible. I still chose to go to the VA for most of my medical needs. Here in the SF Greater Bay Area the VA Health Care System is excellent.  For the last 15 years I have gone to the VA for health care in Sacramento or Martinez for issues related to my service in Vietnam, and general health care. I have zero complaints. Pres. Trump has seen to it the VA Health Care System is run much better than it was five years ago.  There are so many improvements.

No, no, and about a month ago.

I work with dozens of veterans with a much different experience than yours. I have an uncle who has gone through hell with the VA. Can't get an appointment and can't get seen. My grandfather had the same problem. The people I work with have such a hard time getting appointments that when they ask for time off for one, it doesn't get denied no matter how much work we have. It's the kind of things I don't want to see happen with the private health care system.