Jessica Todd Long

“Even if he wins and Trump leaves peacefully, the country is very divided. That won’t go away”

I’ve lived all over the U.S., but I mostly grew up in upstate New York. Most recently we were living in Seattle, but my wife got a job offer at the University of Toronto, so we followed her career here in November 2018. It felt like an easy decision because it was a dream job for her and it was also closer to my family in New York. Of course, with the border closed now, we can’t see them.

The Trump situation was getting pretty scary. I think we made the right decision. My childhood friend in the U.S. is self-employed and so is her husband, so they buy Obamacare and pay $500 a month with a $5,000 deductible for their health insurance. And they have three kids. One thing that is notably different is that even with U.S. health insurance, they are paying $20 to $100 each time they go to the doctor. In a family of five, that adds up quickly.

My son was born in the U.S. and I had excellent health insurance. We spent about $7,000 on just the hospital stay. When my daughter was born here in Canada, we didn’t spend on anything besides parking. Of course, Obamacare is better than nothing and the Republicans are trying to get rid of that.

I’m worried about the election. In my opinion, Trump is pure evil and must lose or I really think the U.S. will descend into a full authoritarian failed state. I wish Biden was not our only hope against that. He’s fine, but not inspiring and is really running in the hopes that he’ll peel off some conservatives from Trump. It’s a strategic mistake: Obama won by getting disenfranchised and young voters excited to vote for him. Biden’s only inspiration is that he’s not Trump. Even if he wins and Trump leaves peacefully, the country is very divided. That won’t go away.