Atmosfear in Vancouver

LostKause said:
Why should it cost that much money for you Government to allow you to leave the country for a short time, for business or pleasure.

It doesn't just allow you to leave the Country. It allows you to travel anywhere in World, and it's good for a decade. That's less than $9/year.

In other words (and in a very conservative estimate), it's less than 5% of what most of us spend on rolley coasters in a given year. And traveling might actually lead to some sort of, I dunno, learning or something.

But some people will travel out of the country as a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Its only $9 a year if you are traveling out of the country many times over that decade, but for those who don't do it as frequent, that price could be a pretty big burden.

And, not knocking visiting foreign places, because some people enjoy that sort of thing, there are a whole lot of interesting places to see right here in the U.S. I have a list a mile long of places in the U.S. that I want to go, even non-amusement park places. The Grand Canyon, Hollywood, Yellowstone, just to name a few. I have been to Washington D.C., NYC, Phili for the Liberty Bell and Constitution Center, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, just to name a few, but there are so many places that I haven't been to yet right here in the U.S. that I simply MUST go to before I even think about visiting Paris or the Egyptian Pyramids.

Also, I learn a lot by just sitting here at my desk, surfing the internets. :p

LostKause said:
...for those who don't do it as frequent, that price could be a pretty big burden.

Even if you use your passport once, it's a huge stretch to call the cost a burden, considering a passport is still less expensive than any amusement park season pass I know of.

That's what I don't get - hearing a coaster enthusiast complain that $100 is too much money to enable travel abroad (even if it's just Canada we're talking about), while simultaneously thinking nothing of dropping twice that annually to ride coasters that said enthusiast has probably already ridden countless (or in some cases, counted) times.

As for exploring the US, I agree. Lots of stuff I haven't seen here, or have only seen from the window of an airliner. That said, nothing makes US landmarks/history seem less significant than standing in a 600+ year old castle.

djDaemon said:
has probably already ridden countless (or in some cases, counted) times.

You win the internets.

Aww, but I've already got one! Perhaps a Googlewebs instead?

My parents got theirs in like a month or less last year. And that was without paying to rush them.

I don't remember the last time that $100 seemed like a lot of money.

Good for you.

Before you get all offended, or whatever you're trying to convey, my point is that given inflation and basic progression into adulthood, a hundred bucks isn't a lot of money, in any context. Even unemployment scores a couple hundred bucks a week.

It wasn't an implication that I was offended, I have no problems paying $100 for a passport. That doesn't mean I don't think $100 is something to scoff at.

But I work with people on a daily basis that $100 is a lot of money. Not everyone gets unemployment. I deal with hundreds of people a week with no income. They'd love to have $100.

In the context of a Passport, however...I don't think $100 is a lot because if you're getting a passport, you're likely going to spend much more than that in another country.

But $100 is still a lot of money to a lot of people.

^It's a lot of money, to spend on food for 2 at a Cedar Fair or SF park, in one day :)

I'm not offended, because I am happy for anyone I know who doesn't think a hundred bucks is a lot of money. For me, it is a lot of money, and I am making between $12 and $24 bucks an hour (sometimes more on a good sales day).

To me, $100 is especially a lot of money when my government tells me that I have to pay them that, or not be allowed to leave. Who is getting the short end of the stick here? It's like paying a hundred bucks for the air that I breath. It shouldn't cost anything (or a lot less anyways) to be able to visit another country. They seem to be holding my freedom at ransom.

Maybe I don't understand how much money it costs the federal government to let someone leave for a week or two and then come back. Maybe that price deters crime, or something.

They could raise everyone's taxes instead. ;)

What do you think happens when you apply for a passport? They just paste your photo in and send it back to you?

Maybe a background check? Last background check I paid for was about $15, not $100.

I really don't know what the money they get is used for. That's why I am asking. I see no reason why it should cost anything to be able to leave and come back, aside for travel expenses.

Really, I don't even want to go anywhere else, except for Canada. I think I read somewhere a while back that the U.S. was working on allowing passport-free travel between Canada, the U.S., and Mexico. I wonder what happened there?

Re: why passports

"Intelligence Reform Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, which requires citizens of the United States, Canada, and Bermuda to have a passport or other designated document that establishes the bearer's identity and nationality to enter or re-enter the United States from Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean, and Bermuda"

Also, in the US (or so I read), you can get a passport card for cheaper; $55 bucks

Links:
http://travel.state.gov/passport/faq/faq_1741.html
http://travel.state.gov/passport/fees/fees_837.html

^I flew to NYC soon after 9/11, and never NOT ONCE did anyone at the airport or on the plane ever ask to see my ID. That was creepy :) Guess being white...