Also, in TV and movies, the filming location is always in Nova Scotia, since Maine doesn't look "Maine" enough, so they go for Maine on steroids, i.e, Nova Scotia. Also the tax breaks help.

Most countries with universal healthcare are not paying 45-50%, that is really only a few countries that also have huge safety nets and public services well beyond healthcare (not to mention the Americans spend more on healthcare costs than other country on earth). If you want to show the math state by state and country by country, you better sit down and pay some tuition. When you are paying 6-15 GRAND in healthcare premiums each year, you better believe no one in other countries have this burden. No one moves to the USA to escape taxes or reduce their tax burden, it just doesn't happen. Personally speaking, I have lived in about a half dozen other countries (although I am one person, and this is purely anecdotal), the USA is one of the highest burdens with regards to taxes and income reduction I have encountered. This nonsensical American exceptionalism, where we can't compare it to any other country, because "apples and oranges" is a defeatist attitude, and a flight from the reality on the ground.

Except I didn't say "in line", I said above and beyond. Also even without healthcare, many states with sales and income tax are more than many countries. It's the states with no sales tax or income tax that bring the average down in the USA, as this does not consider property tax, fees for services, and other forms of taxation not normally calculated in international stats. One of the issues with a such a huge country with many levels of govt, it's hard to see the price you pay on the ground as a regular person.

Health insurance premiums in the USA are the highest in the world, the average for a single person being $500 a month and for a family $1300 a month. This doesn't include max out of pocket deductibles an other co-pays etc. That's brutal. Sure this is not a tax, but it is a de-facto required expense, as if you go without this, you are putting your life and livelihood at risk along with your family's. So it is not brining it "in-line" with other countries it is going above and beyond. Not to mention things like property tax and other forms of taxation in these states with no income tax or sales tax gets hidden from international comparisons. Honestly talk to anyone who moved to the USA from places like Canada, Australia, many places in Europe. They often think they will be free from high taxes, only to discover it gets transplanted to other places, and they are paying for it elsewhere.

When you include insurance premiums and out of pocket costs for healthcare, hell the USA has some of the highest taxes in the world.

Well that's because you're looking at the old provincial parent subsidy program, which is unrelated. You seemed to have gone down a rabbit hole. The 10$ a day childcare was just instituted a year ago roughly with the federal govt and will be fully fledged over the next 5 years with half a billion invested. This will result in the average daily cost for childcare being 10$ per family by the end, but savings for families are already being seen. There are no income limits currently and all can access, regardless of income. This is modelled after Quebec which has had this for decades, and is being rolled out in all of the other provinces and territories over the next 5 years. Quebec found they did not have to increase taxes to fund the program as they garnered more tax income from the increased participation in the workforce by parents. This has been well documented.

Every province and territory has a deal with the feds now for 10$ a day childcare for all families: feel free to peruse:

https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6400123

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/nb-signs-daycare-deal-1.6283596

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/federal-provincial-agreement-605-child-care-funding-1.6100441

https://globalnews.ca/news/9257368/ontario-child-care-program-10-a-day/

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/more-10-a-day-child-care-spaces-1.6636946

https://globalnews.ca/news/8101331/manitoba-child-care-federal-plan-reaction/

Nevertheless, participation is early but heavy. My own sister who lives in Alberta, and her family make great money around $200,000 a year. Her childcare costs already went down from $2000 a month to $500 with two kids. She could go back to working full time. Hell, some provinces like Ontario are actually giving retroactive rebates for parents who paid more before the program started. Overall while the program is young it outstrips the weakly funded Maine subsidy program by leaps and bounds already. Even the most conservative provinces in Canada saw the economic value of the program, and early stats show economic benefit.

Meanwhile next door in New Brunswick they are reducing childcare to $10 a day. The program essentially pays for itself, as people who would otherwise stay out of the workforce due to the high cost of childcare, start working again and increase the tax revenue, and GDP of the province/state. Creates a stronger economy and increases population. The only issue is that it's too popular and people start having kids and need to get their kid enrolled in childcare upon being born to ensure their spot. Luckily Canada has up to 18 months of parental leave.

Damn , hope Canada is sending Ohio a bill .

What bothers me more are the regular (non high beam) headlights that are usually on pick-up trucks, that reenact the Eye of Sauron on the slopes of Mount Doom. My retinas are sufficiently fried. How are those legal?

I thought so, but I am not a lawyer or an expert. But I can't find any concrete answers. Someone said 6 years, but I believe that is just the Medical Debt Statute of Limitations, so creditors can't collect after that timeline.

Don't they have to bill you with in 6 months?

"A health care entity, as defined in section 1718-B, subsection 1, paragraph B, is 5 prohibited from charging a patient for health care services it provided when a billing 6 statement has not been provided to the patient within 6 months of the date health care 7 services were rendered to the patient "

Maybe I'm wrong but the law in Maine is 6 months, not 6 years

"A health care entity, as defined in section 1718-B, subsection 1, paragraph B, is 5 prohibited from charging a patient for health care services it provided when a billing 6 statement has not been provided to the patient within 6 months of the date health care 7 services were rendered to the patient "

That's a damn cheap deductible. We have two Honda civics, 2 drivers with comprehensive, and we pay 370 every six months but our deductible hovers between 750-1000. We usually bounce between progressive and Geico. Is that who you're with?

True, to be fair the shipyard in Halifax essentially didn't exist up until about 10 years ago, when the Irving's won contract to essentially rebuild the entire Canadian naval fleet over the next 20-30 years. It's crazy what they have built on the Halifax waterfront. So essentially they currently only have one customer for this particular shipbuilding plant, but they do have other shipbuilding plants.

ok, I guess I am not being clear enough, I apologize if that is the case. I am not debating about 2022 or pervious gas prices, I know those are high. I am saying the price is dropping right now, as we speak, currently, in the present. However the price for the standard is locked in from 2021/2022. So as the price falls for natural gas across the board, right now, Mainers will be stuck with one of the highest electricity rates they have had until the standard offer is renegotiated for 2024 (unless natural gas should increase again in 2023 , who knows with world events). Sheesh.

The price was high last year, the natural gas prices have fallen just this month or two. Considering they locked in those prices at the height of the natural gas price last year, it kind of sucks that those prices have been locked in, when natural gas will most likely fall even further. This will mean huge profits for energy providers using natural gas based energy to Maine. Bummer the negotiations didn't have a adjustment clause built in. Seems like an oversight.

Sources would be good, any energy consultant can still be a "trust me bro". Either way it's a moot point since the prices are locked in from natural gases high last year.

So the microcosm of new England, Maine specifically, is paying higher prices for natural gas, despite the price going down everywhere else, even Europe. I'm not seeing any evidence for that no matter where I look. What are your sources or is this assumption? Nevertheless, my original question was are prices locked in even if natural gas dropped even more in terminals or pipelines?

The Irving's are also the 5th largest land owner in the USA.

I really dont care about cmp.

So why didn't these issues you mention, double the cost of electricity 3,4,5,6 or 7 years ago, but rather did in the last 12 months? The only change I can see is that natural has increased in cost due to recent factors. Since natural gas has gone down in price the last couple of months, it would stand to reason that the cost wouldn't almost double but at least stay stagnant. Nevertheless, if they are locked in paying the 2022 natural gas screwed power rates, then we are just screwed until 2024. Unless there is some clause that allows rates to be renegotiated.

Bummer. You'd think there would be a price adjustment clause or something.

Ok but the whole shtick for the electricity price increase is the increased demand, and thus increased cost of natural gas. This was primarily the reason from 2022 anyway. Now the demand is falling and so are natural gas prices. Wouldn't this be reflected in pipeline as well. I mean this could all be semantics if the price is locked for 2023, and we are going to be stuck paying 2022 prices.

One of the richest families in the world, worth $8.4 BILLION. They own so many businesses there are researchers who dedicate their whole careers in discovering what they actually own. They are building Canada's new naval fleet in a plant in a new Halifax yard that makes Bath Iron works look quaint. They have fleets of ships supplying their oil refineries and oil storage plants. They own tire companies, trucking companies, pulp and paper plants, railways, logistics companies, Kent (Canada's version of Lowes), agricultural companies (cavendish farms), they even make diapers and tissues. The list goes on.

Yet they are synonymous with avoiding taxes. You'd never know there was a family of Canadian billionaires floating around New Brunswick and Maine.

Did they lock in a bad price from 2022? because natural gas just plummeted 9%, and experts expect it to fall even more due to lower than average usage in the USA. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-03/fear-of-global-natural-gas-crisis-eased-by-warm-start-to-winter

Honestly, most employers aren't looking at where you went to school, but what degree you received and if it's relevant to the job.

I think people are waking up to the ivy leagues being nothing special. Super hard to get into for sure, but really no different when it comes to a basic undergrad once you're there. You're basically paying for the brand, and perhaps connections once your there.

Damn that is hella cheap. We are with CMP in Portland and on the cheapest months it cost 60$ for our 1000sq home. But half of that is the CMP connection fee, so even if we used zero electricity we would still owe something.