Close X
Sunday, September 22, 2024
ADVT 
National

Calgary Man Writes New York Times' Most Popular Comment Of All Time

The Canadian Press, 30 Dec, 2015 01:54 PM
    The most popular comment ever made on the New York Times website was penned by a Calgary man.
     
    Bob from Calgary, as he is identified on the site, received some 7,040 recommendations for his comment on a 2010 column about wealth and privilege written by Paul Krugman.
     
    The newspaper, which fields some 9,000 comments each day, says Bob's is the top post "of all time."
     
    The runner-up, posted on a story about the mass shooting in Charleston, S.C., drew roughly 5,489 recommendations.
     
    In his comment, Bob praises Canada's public schools, universal health care and banking system and says his tax bill is only two per cent higher than it would be south of the border.
     
    He also says he doesn't feel Canadians are in any way less free than their American counterparts.
     
    "My household makes just over $250,000 here in Canada. One of the best bargains I get for my money is living in a place where I and everyone I know sends their kids to public schools because they are really good," his comment reads. 
     
    "We end up with few criminals, because students learn how to be productive good citizens in schools."
     
    Other "bargains" of living in Canada include health care "whenever you need it without worry about not being approved," modernized infrastructure and public universities "where my children and the children from all types of households can go to and graduate with a big debt, but not a devastating one," he writes.
     
    Paid maternity and paternity leave also "ensure that parents and kids bond and families have some time to look after one another," he says.
     
    "Lastly (there are more, but I have to get back to my work), we get governance. This includes a banking system that is there to support the economy, not end run it to make a few $$," he says. 
     
    "With all of that said, I have to say that along with this, I enjoy one of the freest countries on earth. Our business freedoms are as extensive as the USA. We are free to hunt and own guns (aside from assault weapons and who needs those anyways). In fact, I have lived in the U.S.A. and I have to say, I can't see any freedoms there that we don't have here."

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Missing Cheetah In B.C.'s Interior Still On The Lam, Calgary Zoo Offers To Help

    Missing Cheetah In B.C.'s Interior Still On The Lam, Calgary Zoo Offers To Help
    As of Sunday evening, conservation officers were still urging people to phone in any sightings of the big cat.

    Missing Cheetah In B.C.'s Interior Still On The Lam, Calgary Zoo Offers To Help

    Police Investigating Death Of 33-Year-Old Pitt Meadows Man Found In Parked Car

    Police Investigating Death Of 33-Year-Old Pitt Meadows Man Found In Parked Car
    Police say a 33-year-old man from Pitt Meadows was found dead in a vehicle early Saturday morning.

    Police Investigating Death Of 33-Year-Old Pitt Meadows Man Found In Parked Car

    Fatal Hit-And-Run In Langley, B.C., Collision Specialists Called In To Analyze

    Fatal Hit-And-Run In Langley, B.C., Collision Specialists Called In To Analyze
    Police responded around 2:30 a.m. (to the 2900 block of 200th Street) to find a 44-year-old pedestrian had died.

    Fatal Hit-And-Run In Langley, B.C., Collision Specialists Called In To Analyze

    Forecasters Offer Gift Of Fair Weather To B.C.'s Christmas Travellers

    Forecasters Offer Gift Of Fair Weather To B.C.'s Christmas Travellers
    KAMLOOPS, B.C. — Christmas travellers in British Columbia shouldn't face a gruelling trip home if they are planning to drive across the province this week. 

    Forecasters Offer Gift Of Fair Weather To B.C.'s Christmas Travellers

    Increased Pension Contributions Only Partly Offset By Lower RRSP Savings

    Increased Pension Contributions Only Partly Offset By Lower RRSP Savings
    The report noted that there is some reduction in RRSP investments when pension plan contributions are increased, but the automatic increases are a net benefit.

    Increased Pension Contributions Only Partly Offset By Lower RRSP Savings

    Federal-Provincial Finance Ministers Talk About Fresh Equalization Figures

    Federal-Provincial Finance Ministers Talk About Fresh Equalization Figures
    Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau is expecting to hear from his provincial counterparts Monday about a familiar, contentious subject: equalization payments.

    Federal-Provincial Finance Ministers Talk About Fresh Equalization Figures