Calgary man writes New York Times’s most popular comment of all time
PAOLA LORIGGIO
The Canadian Press
Published Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015 5:47PM EST
Last updated Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015 6:40PM EST
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.”
PAOLA LORIGGIO
The Canadian Press
Published Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015 5:47PM EST
Last updated Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015 6:40PM EST
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.”
