| Blogs > bikenski > The unexamined life, etc. |
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How Canada Stole The American Dream This is the title of an article in the current Maclean's Magazine. The common belief here has always been that Canadians had a better quality of life, but that Americans were richer. Turns out the data shows a different picture. Americans earn more, but Canadians are worth more. Here is some of the data: US Canada Median family net worth: 93,100 122,600 Median household income 46,325 44,325 Per capita personal debt 40,250 23,460 Average size of house 2,520 2,000 % spent on housing 34 19 % spent on vehicles purch 7.1 4.5 Canadians also live longer, have fewer diseases, work less, and take more vacation. We also drink more. One concludes from the data Canadians are wealthier because they spend less. E.g. look at the difference in percentage household expensditure on vehicle purchases. The difference is actually bigger than the percenages indicate because vehicles are still cheaper in the US than in Canada. |
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7/4/2008 10:15 am |
And your point is?
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7/4/2008 10:58 am |
And your point is? 
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7/4/2008 10:58 am |
And your point is? Canadians have always had an inferiority complex. Just trying to show things are pretty good here.
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Hi bikenski, I don't have an inferiority complex. I think Canada is the greatest!! All I have to do is travel to other countries to know that this is true. I think that the Canadians who are always whining are the ones who don't travel out of the country much....imho.
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7/4/2008 12:15 pm |
canada is great except in winter which is the reason i spend 6 months in the great state of Florida....God bless Canada and the United States HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNITED STATES OF AMERICA....I salute y'all
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7/4/2008 1:43 pm |
Lily they been trying to drill it into us , stubborn canucks ..LOL
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7/4/2008 3:07 pm |
There are a couple of things about the 'survey' I find questionable. US Canada Median family net worth: 93,100 122,600 The biggest family asset is the principal residence. Some areas of Canada have the highest real-estate prices in North America, while the sub-prime mess has decimated many US markets. Should the Cdn. real estate bubble burst or slow (which is happening right now), the "median family net worth" will be more more equitable with the US. % spent on housing 34/19 Doesn't make sense in light of above comment, especially in my urban area. The average is more like 60%. In those cases, should the worse-case real estate scenario happen, that "median net worth" will be considerably lower than our US counterparts. Could this be the worry that is causing us to drink more? But, I do agree that Cdns. are more frugal or downright cheap. Cripes, at least 50% of the people I know can squeeze a nickel so tight that the beaver screams.
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7/4/2008 5:36 pm |
Fresh - the data was based on 2005, pre-subprime, so the differences in net worth are even greater now.
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7/5/2008 11:44 am |
Bikenski ....Did you mention taxes? They are certainly much better in Canada. "The cause of America is in a great measure the cause of all mankind."....T. Paine
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7/5/2008 12:01 pm |
Three-year old data? Is McLeans that hard up for a cover story? Still, it's infinitely more interesting than "Inside the Playboy Mansion," which was one of their cover stories last July. The data for that gem came from one of Hef's spurned girlfriends. McLeans thought it was front-cover material (no pun intended) because she just happened to be Canadian.
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7/5/2008 2:32 pm |
Three-year old data? Is McLeans that hard up for a cover story? Still, it's infinitely more interesting than "Inside the Playboy Mansion," which was one of their cover stories last July. The data for that gem came from one of Hef's spurned girlfriends. McLeans thought it was front-cover material (no pun intended) because she just happened to be Canadian.
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7/6/2008 7:15 pm |
If you enjoyed Toronto, you would think Vancouver was heaven.
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7/11/2008 1:51 pm |
Taxes in Canada are higher. But if you factor in health insurance premiums in the US, the difference is less. I've spent a fair bit of time in Oregon the last couple of years, and I don't find thing are any cheaper there than what I used to in Canada, with a few notable exceptions. The food products in Canada that are subject to price or production controls tend to cost more - dairy, chicken, and eggs. Booze, tobacco, and petrol are cheaper in the US because they are taxed less. Housing varies a lot across the country, just as it does in the US.
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