"Fiscally conservative socialism" in Canada has made them richer than Americans

[Lemon Drop]

For the first time in recent history, the average Canadian is wealthier than the average American.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-15...-u-s-.html


I think avoiding those two costly wars and investing at home must play a role in this too.
And bank regulation. Wow, if only we'd done this:

"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."

[Avenger]

I thought we should be more like Europeans. Now we have to be more like Canadians as well? I am getting dizzy. When do we get to be more like Americans?

[Lemon Drop]

Only a fool refuses to learn from mistakes.

[Avenger]

OK, learn then.

[hal]

just 10 years ago 3 C$ bought you 2 US$. Now it's closer to 1:1...



[please don't feed the troll - you will not teach him anything - you will only add to the entertainment that he gets from watching you react]

[Lemon Drop]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=go43XeW6Wg4&NR=1

[Lemon Drop]

hal wrote:
just 10 years ago 3 C$ bought you 2 US$. Now it's closer to 1:1...

Yep, heading up to Canada to buy shoes and interesting pharmaceuticals used to be so much fun. Now they're all shopping here.

[rgG]

But have you seen how high housing prices are in Canada? I only say this from watching some home buying shows on TV, and it always surprises me how expensive houses are in Canadian cities. Not quite sure why, other than maybe they didn't overbuild during the housing bubble and prices stayed high because of no collapse, but a house that might cost $200,000 here looks like it would be about twice that price in Canada.

Maybe someone with real world experience could speak to the cost of housing and cost of living in general. I would be interested to know if it is as expensive as it seems.

For US housing:
The median sales price of new houses sold in May 2012 was $234,500; the average sales price was $273,900. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of May was 145,000. This represents a supply of 4.7 months at the current sales rate.

For Canadian housing:
The average price for homes sold in June was C$369,339 ($362,097) on a national basis, down 0.8 per cent from the same month last year, with Vancouver prices falling 13.3 percent from June 2011.


You would have to look at specific areas to get better comparisons, but buying a house in Canada looks to be quite a bit higher. Not saying that they aren't in a better place than we are right now, just pointing out something I had noticed before.

[Avenger]

Not just Canada. Shortly, I will have the privilege of sampling $5 a can Coke again. Almost everywhere is more expensive than the US. If it wasn't about constant harping on high taxes, we'd be there too.

[Lemon Drop]

Just as in the US, housing costs will vary widely depending upon which part of Canada you're in. The west coast/BC area is the most expensive part of Canada, by far. Canada did not experience the real estate collapse that continues to plague our own market, but they've come down in the past year.

I travel to Vancouver fairly often and I LOVE that city, but it's also very pricey. A small house in a good neighborhood can run you over $1 million. Fantastic quality of life and mild weather.
There is some good info here on comparative housing costs around Canada:

http://www.livingin-canada.com/house-prices-canada.html