Quote:
Originally Posted by Bootstrap Bill
Can you think of anything negative that would come as a result of an open border between the U.S. and Canada? One that would allow free movement of people and goods - like you see in Europe.
The economy on both sides is very similar. I don't see millions of Canadians rushing the border (or vice versa). I think it could work here.
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The important part of the free movement policies in Europe is that the countries have agreed to allow any citizen of a member country to live and (most importantly) work in any other member country.
Until the US and Canada come to an agreement that allows this, the border will never be as open as it was pre-9/11 (I still remember crossing between the US and Canada in the late 1990s where the border "guard" barely glanced up from his newspaper to look at you before waving you past).
The US and Canada have different policies on immigration and work permits for immigrants/visitors. We have different policies on taxation. And of course there is the healthcare difference as well.
I don't think the US is concerned about Canada's ability to keep terrorists out, although I doubt the US State Department is happy that Canada will happily provide cover to any US citizen that boards a flight from Toronto to Havana (IE, don't mark the person as having left Canada).
This is why I say blame Congress. We have come to hundreds of agreements between the two countries. There is no reason why we can't make this agreement, especially since the two economies are so similar.
Of course, if such an agreement happened, you would get a lot of protests claiming discrimination against Mexico.
EDIT - it seems like the easiest way to do this is to set up a system where any employer that wishes to employ a citizen of the other country withholds taxes related to retirement and healthcare (optional) that correspond to the country of citizenship. An American working in Canada would have SSA/Medicare withheld and sent to the US. A Canadian working in the US would have the equivalent withheld and sent to Canada. The employer gets the option of covering the worker's healthcare as if they were a citizen and then that employee must deal with it (IE the Canadian can't go back to Canada for a "free" operation) or if the employer does not offer such a thing then they can withhold cost of a policy in the other country and send the money there. Income taxes would only apply in the country in which the person worked.
The key is to streamline the process so it is not a burden to the employer. I am a household employer (I have a nanny) and the IRS and the state of Illinois both have streamlined the taxation process so much that I question why people take the risk and pay under the table. If they can streamline it for this they can streamline it for cross-border employment.
Under a system like this, the social safety net of both countries is not burdened.
Those that worry that a flood of Canadians would come to the US and take away our jobs are not seeing the big picture. If the conditions were such that there is a max exodus, the Canadian business owners would simply move their businesses here to avoid shutting down. Frankly, I can't imagine a scenario that doesn't strengthen the economies of both countries.