The World Economic Forum in 2008 ranked Canada's banking system the healthiest in the world. Our is 40th on the list and Britian's is 44th. Our northern neighbors have not had one bank failure while ours are collapsing all over the place this year.
Its banks are leveraged at 18 to 1 and ours at 26 to one.
It has 12 years of budget surpluses.
Penison system completely revamped and strong.
Canada's health care costs 9.7% of its GDP versus ours at 15.2%
Canada's citizen life expectancy is 81 and ours is 78.
Its healthy life expenctancy is 72 versus ours at 69.
Hmmm, which way is north? Maybe we should look there.
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America's economy is based on debt. From the beginning a person is tough how to live with debt and think it is normal. Home mortgages, car payments, credit cards. Americans are tought it is ok to buy now and pay later. Our banks are failing because they keep allowing their clients to do this. The problem is, when later comes the money is still not there. Maybe americans should take a little advice from our "Northern Neighbor" and learn some self control.
ReplyDeletenot only self control but government control credit card companies give "money" to teens and young adults knowing that they cant manage their money there should be an minnimum age before you can have a credit card
ReplyDeleteInteresting. Canada has universal health care, you know, that evil socialist idea that will destroy American values? yet, they pay less on health care in their budget then we do....
ReplyDeleteSo Universal Healthcare is good because it is fair right? Everyone has a right to the same quality healthcare, so we should all pitch in to take care of the least among us...right? Try this; I decide that I want to live the rest of my life eating nothing but fast food, smoking 2 packs of Marlboro Reds per day, and snorting cocaine. Is it fair that you as a taxpayer should have to pay for my stupidity? Is it fair that a family struggling to pay their mortgage and keep clothes on their children’s backs and food on the table should have to pay even a fraction of a penny for my bad decisions? The answer is no. You are not responsible for my well being and I am not responsible for yours. If you want to see that people are taken of, donate time to the Red Cross, donate clothes to Goodwill, be a charitable person. Charity is not charity if it is compulsory, it's just extortion.
ReplyDeleteThis situation is just absurd, the richest country in the world has second rate banking systems, perhaps that's because alot of us are thinking more about the right now when we are stuffing our face with mcdonalds and showing no regard to our health. Or when we are buying that shiny car or ipod with a massive loan or credit card. The first response to this blog seemingly adresses the main issue here, we are all thinking about the right now when we are buying now and paying later, or when we are eating junk...repeatedly now, and that is when we pay later. See a pattern? alot of us just don't have any self control and the consequences catch up with us later
ReplyDeleteYou also have to take into consideration that Canada has a much smaller population, and just as many recourses as we do. It is a lot easier for Canada to support their population, than for us to support ours.
ReplyDeleteSecond, our banking systems are also using a new mark to market system to value their assets. The government is allowing the banks to value their assets as if we had a booming economy. These are the same methods used by enron. And part of the reason why the stock market went up last week.
I definitely believe we should take some advice from our Northern neighbors. Maybe the government should put more preventive health programs in place. It would be cheaper than try to pay for the mistakes later. Providing exercise facilities at a cheaper rate and healthier food would be way more cost effective than treating heart disease in the future. Same as the financial problems. Prevention would be wa more cost efficient and would still hold American values.
ReplyDeleteExpectations and lifestyle play a role in the American predicament as well. We have gone out on too large a limb of dept, whether at a person to person level or a big time banking level. We've overextended ourselves with average individual dept figures rising and the national deficit skyrocketing. The American lifestyle as a whole has not taken into account properly, the consequence of such unhindered consumerism. So yes, there are many things we could learn from our neighbors, both individually and nationally.
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