As a conservative with libertarian leanings I USED to think that a single payer...

Nurses General Nursing

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system would be bad for nurses. However, after exchanging information with nurses from Canada and Australia, I am no longer so sure that this would be the case. Consider for instance, that under such as system that the DEMAND for healthcare would probably INCREASE since there are many people like myself who don't have insurance, and who therefore won't go to the Dr. short of being on the verge of coding! This increased demand on the system would probably mean that nurses would have to be paid higher wages in order to avert a truly critical shortage. Are there still two or three libertarians or conservatives out there who can throw a wrench in my analysis?

since, at 15K in income (and that mostly from school and governmental grants), our contribution within a Canadian style system would be quite low or nonexistant. In fact we have been advised that we qualify for Medicaid, Food Stamps, and governmental housing assistence if we cared to apply for them. We have decided against doing this because we can make it until we graduate so long as we are very frugal. Also, keep in mind that bankruptcy (for those that utilize such as system) is NOT a free ride. The lowered credit scores that ensue from such a decision means higher rates on loans, as well as auto and often even homeowners insurance. Personally, I seldom go to the Dr. choosing instead to pursue alternative approaches such as herbs, vitamins, massage therapy, exercise and prayer. I truly believe that MOST chronic maladies such as Type II diabetes and heart disease could be treated with alternative modalities as effectively as the allopathic approaches being taught to me in nursing school (and which I was required to use as a corpman in the Navy).

It would be facinating to do a study which looked at the after tax income, AND the cost of living for say a thousand people accross a variety of income levels in both the United States, Canada, France, and elsewhere. I remember once reading about an economist who came up with something called the "Big Mac Index" in a variety of countries. This index looked at how long someone had to work in order to earn enough after tax income to buy ONE Big Mac in their country of residence. I would like to take this concept and apply it to a "typical basket of goods" which most people buy in the course of their life (groceries, rent, auto payment, insurance ect). This would give a more accurate accessment of the cost of expanding government under a variety of circumstances. I don't beleive under ANY circumstances that the government has a right to anymore than about 50% of what I make. WE used to have taxation rates that exceeded 90% for those in high income tax brackets! What is worse under current federal income tax guidelines, my wife and I will be classified as "rich" the day we graduate from nursing school! (based upon us each earning around $25.00 per hour and working about sixty hours per week, she already has offers for over $25.00 to work in several local ICU's).

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I don't mean to imply bankruptcy is easy or a free ride. It is a nightmare and I feel terrible for anyone who has to declare it for health reasons. The long term consequences are rough. Under the Canadian system you would be paying very little right now, but I suspect when you graduate your earnings would increase and you contributions would increase and to me, that evens things out enough. People in low brakets not contributing as much as me doesn't upset me, because they are contributing something and will contribute more when they are able.

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Also, you indicated that you don't use NP's as much. Does that mean as much, or not at all? I have always told my wife that if I couldn't live in Hawaii, I would want to live in Alaska or the Yukon or North West (Vancouver Island would be my next choice) territory (I could go gold prospecting instead of surfing on my days off or maybe Bigfoot hunting if we settled on Vancouver!). Are there nursing jobs in Yukon territory (and wives since I will probably need to find a new one if I make such a move). I am actually half serious, the few times that I have been to Canada have left meet entranced with the place. Baniff National Park and Lake Louise may be the most beautiful place that I've ever seen in my life. Would they take more than fifty percent of our money in taxes (say if we grossed about 100k a year total). Thanks

I don't mean to imply bankruptcy is easy or a free ride. It is a nightmare and I feel terrible for anyone who has to declare it for health reasons. The long term consequences are rough. Under the Canadian system you would be paying very little right now, but I suspect when you graduate your earnings would increase and you contributions would increase and to me, that evens things out enough. People in low brakets not contributing as much as me doesn't upset me, because they are contributing something and will contribute more when they are able.
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Roland,

RNs and NPs from the US can generally transfer fairly easily, but some provinces require a Bachelor now (BC, Ontario, PEI). The Yukon and the Northwest Territories are ALWAYS looking for nurses, they use NPs more than other places, and you can make A BUNDLE!!! A friend of mine does outpost nursing. She lives in Ontario, but they fly her up to the NWT for 10 weeks at a time each summer (she teaches the rest of the year). They pay for her accomodation and she makes about 30K for her 10 weeks of work. They look for nurses with experience in emergency and intensive care in particular and new grads are generally not accepted. Some of the nurses there have taken primary care courses to learn extra skills before going. I'll try and find you a link. I was just at a job fair this weekend and the presentation by the woman from the NWT was amazing! If I had any interest in looking after adults, I would be there in a second.

As far as taxes... I have no idea. I have never paid 50% of my income in taxes. My total deductions are about 30% of my paycheque. I think you would do best if you just did one assignment a year, because you get most of your taxes back that way.

Hey! Bigfoot hunting in Vancouver:rotfl: That's like deer hunting in LA:) You'd want to settle somewhere a little smaller:)

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http://www.hospitalsoup.com/ExternalWebFrame.asp?HospitalID=9001541

This is a link to the NWT. You can go to http://www.hospitalsoup.com and click on Canadian hospitals. Then you put NWT or the Yukon as the province and you can link to jobs. Alberta is also on there.

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http://www.hss.gov.yk.ca/recruit/

Here's some from the Yukon

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http://www.fin.gov.nt.ca/taxonincome/

Apparently someone who makes 50K would pay about 9 in taxes. It's a fairly simple tax system.

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