Canadians, on Average, Now Richer Than Americans

Canadians, on Average, Now Richer Than Americans

slatest.slate.com

Over the past five years, the net worth of the average Canadian has crept up, overtaking the average American’s wealth for the first time. These days, Canadian households are about $40,000 richer than American ones.

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
www.bloomberg.com

Uh oh - it's can't poosibly true can it?? Liberal pinko Canuckstanians have got nore dosh than the free capitalist United States of Christianity??

What's behind the economic success of the Great White North? It’s not necessarily that Canadians are more industrious and thrifty than their neighbors to the south. The 2008 economic crisis wreaked havoc on the U.S. housing market, sending real estate values plunging. So, Canadians’ houses are worth about $140,000 more than Americans. Canadians also own about twice as much real estate as Americans, and have fewer mortgages.

On a national level, assets like the Alberta tar sands certainly help, but, Marche proposes, it was a policy of "hard-headed socialism" that allowed the banks and the housing market to stay stable and weather the global economic crisis.

NOOOOoooo........say it isn't true - socialism makes Canukstanians worth more than god-fearing capitalists south of the border??!!

From the Bloomberg article linked:

The difference grows starker by the month: The Canadian system is working; the American system is not.

Eeek!

How can this be? It seems the seeds were sown way back in the 90's:

The truth is that both sides are right. Since the 1990s, Canada has pursued a hardheaded (even ruthless), fiscally conservative form of socialism. Its originator was Paul Martin, who was finance minister for most of the ’90s, and served a stint as prime minister from 2003 to 2006. Alone among finance ministers in the Group of Eight nations, he “resisted the siren call of deregulation,” in his words, and insisted that the banks tighten their loan-loss and reserve requirements. He also made a courageous decision not to allow Canadian banks to merge, even though their chief executives claimed they would never be globally competitive unless they did. The stability of Canadian banks and the concomitant stability in the housing market provide the clearest explanation for why Canadians are richer than Americans today.

Martin also slashed funding to social programs. He foresaw that crippling deficits imperiled Canada’s education and health- care systems, which even his Conservative predecessor, Brian Mulroney, described as a “sacred trust.” He cut corporate taxes, too. Growth is required to pay for social programs, and social programs that increase opportunity and social integration are the best way to ensure growth over the long term. Social programs and robust capitalism are not, as so many would have you believe, inherently opposed propositions. Both are required for meaningful national prosperity.

The whole Bloomberg article makes an interesting read (moreso than the original I found first!) - apparently even the anti-banker darling Icelanders aer looking to Canadiastan for an economic model rather than to the USA!

slatest.slate.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

I would say not really. At least not here anyways. Working man is struggling here just to live, the same way back in NY they are.

I see some alarming warning signs popping up here, like inflated housing prices for example. A lot of the warning signals that happened leading up to the real estate pop that happened in NY, and the ripples it caused, I see happening here now. A bit worried, but at least I don't have a mortgage over my head with 300 grand already put into the house to lose now. That is a little comforting.

Worst case scenario, all I really need to worry about is paying 150 bucks a year rent, I mean property taxes, and I could still live at least. I could live without electricity if I needed to, plenty of trees to chop for the woodburning stove.

reply to post by Aloysius the Gaul

Dear Aloysius the Gaul,

Thanks for bringing to light some of the secrets to Canadian success.

Martin also slashed funding to social programs. He foresaw that crippling deficits imperiled Canada’s education and health- care systems, which even his Conservative predecessor, Brian Mulroney, described as a “sacred trust.” He cut corporate taxes, too. Growth is required to pay for social programs, and social programs that increase opportunity and social integration are the best way to ensure growth over the long term.

I think that means you want us to vote for the candidate who is most likely to do these things. OK, you've persuaded me. Romney it is, but only because you suggested him.

With respect,
Charles1952

Usually I know why a double post happened. Not this time.

reply to post by Aloysius the Gaul


Maybe I should illegally immigrate to Canada for a better life for my future family...

Just a little relevant information from Cost of living

Consumer Prices in United States are 16.18% lower than in Canada

Consumer Prices Including Rent in United States are 14.09% lower than in Canada

Rent Prices in United States are 4.81% lower than in Canada

Restaurant Prices in United States are 18.11% lower than in Canada

Groceries Prices in United States are 19.20% lower than in Canada

Local Purchasing Power in United States is 10.15% higher than in Canada

This is where some of their extra money goes.

reply to post by Aloysius the Gaul

Those nasty Canucks, living in a Socialist country, with
Medicare for all.

That's it, we need a War with Canada because.......... (got it) , they have Nuclear Power , so therefore they have Nukes!!!!!!!!!!

Unfortunately, the Harper Reform/Conservatives are intent on destroying everything that Martin and the Liberals accomplished during their time in office. He already blew through the $6 Billion budget surplus left him by the Liberals and has accumulated the greatest amount of debt in Canadian history. Harper has cut old age security and raised the qualifying age to 67 from 65. He's cut employment insurance and will now start making people move cross country in order to take a minimum wage job, or risk getting cut off.

Meanwhile there is plenty of money for new jets, ships, trucks and helicopters for the armed forces. Harper anticipates he will be required to police the world, as he outlined in his inauguration speech..

I don't think Canada will be prosperous for much longer.

As the OP has indicated,

The 2008 economic crisis wreaked havoc on the U.S. housing market, sending real estate values plunging. So, Canadians’ houses are worth about $140,000 more than Americans.

The Canadian homeowner has $140,000 more wealth than an American home owner simply because of the different value of their homes.

If only 1/3 of Canadians are homeowners, the value of their homes would explain the entire difference in wealth with some left over.

But how many Canadians own their homes? Statistics Canada (part of the government) has the answer:

Buying a house remains a major long-term investment for most Canadians. In 2006, more than 2 out of 3 households owned their residence—the highest home ownership rate since 1971. Of the 12.4 million households in Canada, more than 8.5 million owned their home.

www.statcan.gc.ca...

I hate to say it, but I am no longer even slightly impressed by the news or the theories presented by the OP.

reply to post by charles1952


Why is that you think house value is unimportant when it comes to measuring average wealth?

(BTW I didn't actually present any theories in the OP...but never mind....)

reply to post by Aloysius the Gaul

Dear Aloysius the Gaul,

Please forgive me, I must have made two mistakes. I think house value is essential to measuring average wealth. For most people their home is the largest piece of their wealth. I was trying to say that the decreases in American home prices were more than enough to account for the Canadians' $40,000 lead.

My mistake on the theory business. I remembered someone felt that socialism was the reason Canada was doing so well. I must have confused that person with you. Sorry.

With respect,
Charles1952

Must be because they don't tip...

Yep we would have plenty of cash if we had no real military to pay for as well.

Either way its all funny money.

Originally posted by Tw0Sides
reply to post by Aloysius the Gaul

 

Those nasty Canucks, living in a Socialist country, with
Medicare for all.

That's it, we need a War with Canada because.......... (got it) , they have Nuclear Power , so therefore they have Nukes!!!!!!!!!!

You got it
And any accident happen to any off them the wind will push it all down south
so yes please come and bomb then

In 1940, George Laurence, working at the National Research Council in Ottawa, initiated Canada’s first experiments on atomic energy. These evolved into the Atomic Energy Project (AEP) in Montreal. The ZEEP (Zero Energy Experimental Pile) project
www.sciencetech.technomuses.ca...

In the United States, where Fermi and Szilárd had both emigrated, this led to the creation of the first man-made reactor, known as Chicago Pile-1, which achieved criticality on December 2, 1942
en.wikipedia.org...

I spend a lot of time in Canada for work---mostly in Nova Scotia, Montreal and sometimes Toronto. Also New Brunswick, PEI, Niagara Falls.

And I've always said this---I'm not all that impressed with the way Canadians live. Housing is expensive, especially in places like Halifax, Montreal and Toronto, and the houses are just not that nice. Kind of dingy little places with big price tags.

The infrastructure in Cananda isn't all that impressive either, nor is the weather, the health care system, or the culture. Some places seem to lag behind in modernity. Try ordering a sandwich in Montreal if you can afford to.

I'm just not a big Canada fan as far as lifestyle goes. It's cold, expensive and not all that interesting.

Originally posted by charles1952
reply to post by Aloysius the Gaul

 

Dear Aloysius the Gaul,

Please forgive me, I must have made two mistakes. I think house value is essential to measuring average wealth. For most people their home is the largest piece of their wealth. I was trying to say that the decreases in American home prices were more than enough to account for the Canadians' $40,000 lead.

My mistake on the theory business. I remembered someone felt that socialism was the reason Canada was doing so well. I must have confused that person with you. Sorry.

The author of the bloomberg article mentions socialism and I certainly played on it a lot - but I have no real idea of the reasons beyond what the articles says.

I am not familiar with hte actual drop in US house prices - but yes, such a drop might explain the difference, but it a symptom, not a cause. But then the important info becomes why did US house prices drop and Canadian ones did not - or dropped less??

Originally posted by MRuss
I spend a lot of time in Canada for work---mostly in Nova Scotia, Montreal and sometimes Toronto. Also New Brunswick, PEI, Niagara Falls.

And I've always said this---I'm not all that impressed with the way Canadians live. Housing is expensive, especially in places like Halifax, Montreal and Toronto, and the houses are just not that nice. Kind of dingy little places with big price tags.

The infrastructure in Cananda isn't all that impressive either, nor is the weather, the health care system, or the culture. Some places seem to lag behind in modernity. Try ordering a sandwich in Montreal if you can afford to.

I'm just not a big Canada fan as far as lifestyle goes. It's cold, expensive and not all that interesting.

edit on 18-7-2012 by MRuss because: (no reason given)

Like I've been saying all along: Canada is not all that different from the United States.

I think a lot of you are missing a major point. The USA has ten times the population, so "on average" of course Canada will be wealthier. There are millions more dirt poor people in the USA.

The guy I quoted above states that "some places seem to lag behind in modernity." The reality is that there are millions of people in the States with no running water or electricity.

In Canada, the wealth is more evenly distributed if only because of the smaller population. And, yes, our health care means that no one will have to choose between death or destitution because they got cancer.