Why Canada and the U.S. Should Merge, Eh?

[Berkut]

The imperial system is better for the everyday stuff, because it is based in the human body.

how is it based in the human body?

Yeah, if only the decimal, errrh, I mean metric, system were based on some standard that had something to do with the human body!

[garbon]

The imperial system is better for the everyday stuff, because it is based in the human body.

how is it based in the human body?

One foot is actually the length of garbon's foot.

Damn...and you know what they say about men with big feet...

[lustindarkness]

Open border sounds sensible.

[Berkut]

I would guess also temperature would be another daily use of the measurement system for most people. But again, whether an individual thinks of "32" as "cold" or "hot" is not really that important.

As grumbler says, when doing calculations is where metric really shines. But most people do not do calculations involving the measurement system on a day to day basis. Where they do, those fields often use metric and even when they don't we're talking people who use these measures every day (like construction trades), so I doubt they struggle much with the concept of 12 inches to a foot or etc.

Your basic argument is that we should use an outdated and antiquated system of measurement (and more importantly we should continue to use TWO systems of measurement) because in the cases where it matters and is measurable, we've already changed, so therefore, we should NOT change in those cases where the benefit is not so objectively measurable.

That isn't a very good reason to keep two conflicting systems around.

And I don't think we should legislate anything - I just think the government should switch all signs, use only the metric system in any kind of government work and communication (much like the military already does) and we should standardize all public education using only the metric system.

If people want to keep buying measuring sticks with feet on them, they can go right ahead.

[crazy canuck]

The imperial system is better for the everyday stuff, because it is based in the human body.

how is it based in the human body?

One foot is actually the length of garbon's foot.

Damn...and you know what they say about men with big feet...

A foot that is only one foot in length isnt that long.   It is after all the standard measurement 

[Kleves]

And I don't think we should legislate anything - I just think the government should switch all signs, use only the metric system in any kind of government work and communication (much like the military already does) and we should standardize all public education using only the metric system.

Maybe you should look up what legislate means. 

[Ed Anger]

By god, I will keep my cubits!

[OttoVonBismarck]

Your basic argument is that we should use an outdated and antiquated system of measurement (and more importantly we should continue to use TWO systems of measurement) because in the cases where it matters and is measurable, we've already changed, so therefore, we should NOT change in those cases where the benefit is not so objectively measurable.

That isn't a very good reason to keep two conflicting systems around.

And I don't think we should legislate anything - I just think the government should switch all signs, use only the metric system in any kind of government work and communication (much like the military already does) and we should standardize all public education using only the metric system.

If people want to keep buying measuring sticks with feet on them, they can go right ahead.

I don't see any benefit to the Federal government changing all its signs. None. I'm not saying that the benefit is not so objectively measurable, I'm saying there is virtually no benefit to justify it. If a majority of people think in kilometers and such, then switch the signs. Until then, there is no reason to do so.

As for standardizing education (which would require legislation), the reality is in any kind of high school science class even in my day we used metric (SI) measurements. The only time I remember using feet and customary is in things like math word problems in school or in grade school when we learned how many feet were in a mile and feet in a yard. I think if we're going to start standardizing education (which we've poorly done as is), there are probably much more important action items than this one. But still, yes, I'd be fine with teaching kids in school nothing but the metric system. But I also believe in the classes where units of measure are important they already primarily use the metric system. It's only in very elementary classes where they are teaching the measurement system itself, and in esoteric math problems that they use customary units. I don't know that it's a big deal to switch that out, so whatever. It won't change much, though.

[garbon]

The imperial system is better for the everyday stuff, because it is based in the human body.

how is it based in the human body?

One foot is actually the length of garbon's foot.

Damn...and you know what they say about men with big feet...

A foot that is only one foot in length isnt that long.   It is after all the standard measurement 

Average shoe size is smaller though.

[garbon]

As for standardizing education (which would require legislation), the reality is in any kind of high school science class even in my day we used metric (SI) measurements. The only time I remember using feet and customary is in things like math word problems in school or in grade school when we learned how many feet were in a mile and feet in a yard. I think if we're going to start standardizing education (which we've poorly done as is), there are probably much more important action items than this one. But still, yes, I'd be fine with teaching kids in school nothing but the metric system. But I also believe in the classes where units of measure are important they already primarily use the metric system. It's only in very elementary classes where they are teaching the measurement system itself, and in esoteric math problems that they use customary units. I don't know that it's a big deal to switch that out, so whatever. It won't change much, though.

A downside for me was that I don't think using the metric system, so while I calculated all those things in science class - they didn't really mean much to me apart from experiments where we had to measure things out.

[derspiess]

Damn...and you know what they say about men with big feet...

They're clowns?

[crazy canuck]

The author seems to acknowledge that a true political union is both undesirable and wouldn't happen, but I'm all for more trade and closer integration of economic activity. I don't see any real benefit to a combined currency though, unless there is some benefit on the Canadian side I'm not seeing.

Yeah, a true political union would be unworkable.  No Canadian would want to give up their single payor health care system (other than perhaps BB) and few Americans would want to adopt the Canadian system.  Even if we could ever get past the numerous other issues, this would always be the deal breaker.

But really I think what the author advocates mostly already happens. We already do much of what she's advocating. Her painting a closer union as a way to magically weaken China makes no sense, as I think our current relationship in no way makes us more or less vulnerable to China nor is it particularly frightening to me when China buys an American pork producer or invests in Canadian natural resources.

It is true that what she is talking about mostly already happens.  But since that terrible day on September 11, 2001 the movement of goods, services and people between our nations as, in my view, become needlessly difficult and inefficient creating substantial costs for both our economies.

I dont think you should be as unconcerned about state capitalist enterprises (ie Chinese interests) buying up Canadian resource companies.  The main reason this hasnt registered much on your radar is because the Canadian government has resisited most such attempts.  But imagine how secure US energy and resource reserves would be if Canadian resources were being shipped to fuel the Chinese economy.

But I would be happy to see the border more easily crossed, it's stupid how long it takes these days (least the last time I drove it) and as I understand it border communities on both sides regularly deal with a lot of headache because of the traffic backups. I'd be fine with going back to pre-9/11 style no-passport wave-through crossings and would probably be fine with no real border controls at all on the land borders. Although I suspect the American pharmaceuticals lobby would be opposed to it as it would make getting Canadian pharmaceuticals essentially zero-effort for Americans living near the border.

That would be nice.  But I doubt I will see it again.  Online pharmacueticals are now sold routinely into the US. I dont think that is the major issue.  Security issues seem to be the big deal - whether real or imagined.

I would also be fine for cross-border employment to be a bit saner. I've known of a lot of situations where a company in the United States is working with a company in Canada, and the company in Canada does stuff like corporate training. Well, when one of the Canadian corporate trainers needs to fly into Chicago for a week to do a training session there's more paper work and short term visas etc because they are "working" in the United States. I tend to think as long as your paycheck is paid by a Canadian company you should be able to do actual work in the United States without any kind of visa requirement and vice-versa.

Yeah, this becomes needlessly complicated given the kind of integration of cross border businesses.

[crazy canuck]

Average shoe size is smaller though.

The world is built for small people

[garbon]

Average shoe size is smaller though.

The world is built for small people

Yes it is built for shorter people.

[viper37]

In daily living, in the US, encountering the metric system is not a common occurrence.

It wasn't in canada until the 70s-80s.  There was massive opposition to the change, raising much of the same arguments as is used here.  Resistance to change can be very strong, sometimes.  But I'm glad the gov't didn't listen to these people.  at first, from what I remember, both systems were used in parallel in retail stores, and gradually, it phased away.