Canadians, a lesson in being third world American

[paxamericana]

Ontario, the riches province per capita is now less than Mississippi , America’s poorest state.

How much longer before the economic reality sets in and Canucks come crawling back to Uncle Sam? That would depend on how much money they’ve saved for retirement. They are no longer productive per hour of labor output. A Canadian is 60% less productive than their American counterparts. The biggest Irony? Canadians can’t even afford to buy the house they live in today. Propped up artificially by restrictive housing development policies. Which means as soon as new property are built, value collapses, pensioner like @Zeitgeist will come crawling back to uncle sam. Day dreaming parity with Americans are now Canadian’s favorite pastime.

From the American perspective, Canada will be a great place for discounted vacation destination with third world Americans. 
 

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-out-of-nowhere-canada-became-poorer-than-alabama-how-is-that-possible/

Edited May 3 by paxamericana

[John Stone]

 

 

Mississippi street gangs ...................

 

 

 

[Zeitgeist]

9 hours ago, paxamericana said:

Ontario, the riches province per capita is now less than Mississippi , America’s poorest state.

How much longer before the economic reality sets in and Canucks come crawling back to Uncle Sam? That would depend on how much money they’ve saved for retirement. They are no longer productive per hour of labor output. A Canadian is 60% less productive than their American counterparts. The biggest Irony? Canadians can’t even afford to buy the house they live in today. Propped up artificially by restrictive housing development policies. Which means as soon as new property are built, value collapses, pensioner like @Zeitgeist will come crawling back to uncle sam. Day dreaming parity with Americans are now Canadian’s favorite pastime.

From the American perspective, Canada will be a great place for discounted vacation destination with third world Americans. 
 

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-out-of-nowhere-canada-became-poorer-than-alabama-how-is-that-possible/

Ha ha, I’m not retired.  Still working full-time. I do go to Florida a lot though.  The stats in that article are concerning for sure, but as you know, much of this income comparison is skewed by exchange rate.  When the Canadian dollar was worth $1.10 U.S in the Harper years, most Canadians had higher incomes than American averages.  You really have to look at purchasing power of the currency within the domestic economy.  Having said that, Canada has a productivity problem that has meant our wage increases have lagged the US.  Some of this goes hand in hand with a more resource-driven economy and having a smaller country that relies more on government as a stabilizing force.

If you spend time in different states and provinces, you realize that these sorts of comparisons are very superficial.  For example, outside of New York City and some wealthier communities in New York State such the Hamptons or Saratoga Springs, generally Ontario looks and feels better kept and more modern, though New York State average salaries are right now much higher than in Ontario when exchanging currencies.  We have lower healthcare and food costs, lower crime rates, less income disparity, and better public education and health outcomes.

What you give up in moving to Canada economically is salary potential at the higher end, though you can still earn great money.  What you get is more safety and security, more social cohesion, and the sense of possibility as some provinces continue to boom.  Alberta and to a lesser extent BC and Quebec have a similar feel to Ontario economically.  Saskatchewan and Manitoba are also doing well, but these are smaller provinces with different lifestyles. The East Coast has a slower pace with fewer opportunities but arguably a healthier, happier lifestyle.

For me, living in the Greater Toronto Area, the economic opportunities are plenty and I don’t really worry about the economy here.  Our home prices in Southern Ontario and BC are high and are coming down a bit, but that’s mostly the result of high demand and regulation. With that regulation we also got the award-winning Greenbelt and some good urban planning. Our cottage country is second to none in summer.  For me the missing piece is mild weather from late fall to early spring.  For that I go south and the US has that, an economic benefit for southern states if you treat Canadians well (not what the majority of Canadians feel today).

Don’t forget that for all our challenges in Canada, our pensions are fully funded, our healthcare is somewhat taken care of, the quality of our public education system is the strongest among English speaking countries, and our debt to GDP is still better than most of the G7.  Household debt is high, however, and public spending needs to come down, which is hard to do when our steel, aluminum, and auto sectors are being hammered by tariffs from a US government that doesn’t keep its trade agreements.  

Edited May 3 by Zeitgeist