Why Do So Many More Canadians Move To America Than Americans Move To Canada? (crime rates, to buy)
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- The OECD also shows the US cost of living as significantly lower than that of any other major developed western country.
Not surprised.
The point is that it is not about Canada being expensive, but rather about the US being exceptionally cheap, among developed countries. I have visited several western European countries as well as Japan, and every single of them is more, often substantially more expensive than the US - some countries offset that with higher income (such as Switzerland), some don't.
And it is not surprising that US can offer such a low cost of living that no one else can, because it is the only large country (beside Japan probably) that is actually rich. If you look at rankings of GDP per capita, all the top countries are small or midsized nations. The US ranks about 10-14 depending on which rankings, but it is the only country with a large population (therefore a large market), while most others are under 10M.
Actually, using the World Bank ranking where US ranks 14th, 16 countries have population lower than 12M (smaller than Ontario) among the top 20m, many with only 5-10M. Other than the US, Australia (24M), Canada (36M), the Netherlands (17M) have more than that, and they are all significantly smaller than the US, with Canada being the largest, and only 1/9 of it. Mid sized countries such as Germany, UK and France didn't even make top 20 (in other ranking, they do but hardly) not to mention other countries with more than 100M (such as Indonesia, China, India, brazil, Russia etc.)
Based on economic theories, only a large population can provide the kind of economies of scale that can reduce cost of production. Canada appears expensive because it sits right beside the US and people can make day trips making direct comparison. In fact, everyone finds US prices low. Even the Chinese are flooding American outlet malls because good quality clothes are much cheaper there.
Cost of living in America is certainly less than in Canada and pretty much everywhere else in the world - because Americans have demanded it, wanting to have their cake and eat it too while living on credit.
Do you suppose that's part of the reason why America now has so many people unemployed and living on welfare and has the highest national debt in the world, closing in on $18 TRILLION, but Canada doesn't?
Each American individual's share of the American national debt is $55,725.
Each Canadian individual's share of the Canadian national debt is $18,071.
Is America ever going to be able meet the demands of its debts that it now owes to all of its creditors? What will happen if it doesn't? How long can people demanding such low cost of living continue to live on world credit before the rest of the world lowers the boom on them and the floor falls out beneath their feet?
I think when that happens I'll be happy I'm living in Canada and paying a higher and more practical cost of living rather than living in America.
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Your theory hardly fly. The US has high debt, but hardly the highest. If on a per capita basis, US ($58K) has much lower debt than countries such as the UK (160k), Switzerland ($154) Netherlands (226k), Norway (132K) etc.
....... And it is not surprising that US can offer such a low cost of living that no one else can, because it is the only large country (beside Japan probably) that is actually rich........
If it's so rich then why does America have so many people unemployed and living on welfare and why does America have the highest national debt in the world?
Your theory hardly fly. The US has high debt, but hardly the highest. If on a per capita basis, US ($58K) has much lower debt than countries such as the UK (160k), Switzerland ($154) Netherlands (226k), Norway (132K) etc.
Correct. Consumer goods and cost of living has always been lower in the U.S. during my lifetime and probably well before that. The current debt crisis is not the direct cause of that. Instead, look to higher taxes and "charges sociales" in Canada (government-imposed stuff Canadian employers have to contribute to for staff), and of course the economies of scale that come from a much larger domestic market like the U.S. and that are passed on to consumers there.
If it's so rich then why does America have so many people unemployed and living on welfare and why does America have the highest national debt in the world?
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It is rich. Super-rich even. It's just that its wealth is not well distributed amongst its population. And this inequality is getting worse. That is American society's greatest problem. But it doesn't mean there isn't a lot of wealth present in the society.
Cost of living in America is certainly less than in Canada and pretty much everywhere else in the world - because Americans have demanded it, wanting to have their cake and eat it too while living on credit.
Do you suppose that's part of the reason why America now has so many people unemployed and living on welfare and has the highest national debt in the world, closing in on $18 TRILLION, but Canada doesn't?
Each American individual's share of the American national debt is $55,725.
Each Canadian individual's share of the Canadian national debt is $18,071.
Is America ever going to be able meet the demands of its debts that it now owes to all of its creditors? What will happen if it doesn't? How long can people demanding such low cost of living continue to live on world credit before the rest of the world lowers the boom on them and the floor falls out beneath their feet?
I think when that happens I'll be happy I'm living in Canada and paying a higher and more practical cost of living rather than living in America.
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Zoisite, I generally respect your arguments, but you are misunderstanding how international debt works and unintentionally over-exaggerating it's importance.
Richer countries, especially those with the largest markets and highest productivity and output, tend to have the largest debt. Why? Because people only loan money to those they know will be able to return it. The debt of Japan, for example, is obviously much greater than Cameroon.
For example, no one is going to lend Malawi 25 billion tomorrow, because there is no faith that Malwai will never be able to repay it. Conversely, there are many who will happily lend the US or Japan 25 billion tonight, because they know they will make a huge profit off of interest. Debt is in many ways a reflection of much people are willing to invest in an economy. With the recent economic crisis in the US, the last few years have been a golden opportunity to loan money to the Americans.
Furthermore, the floor isn't going to "fall out beneath" the US for very practical reasons. The US is the center of the world economy, and the US dollar is the standard world currency. It is also one of the main centers, if not the primary center, of world research, innovation, science and technology. It is the best interest of every investor on the planet to see the US economy succeed, regardless of their personal feelings.
It wasn't long ago that Donald Trump was the most indebted man in America.
Quote:
Originally Posted by botticelli
Based on economic theories, only a large population can provide the kind of economies of scale that can reduce cost of production. Canada appears expensive because it sits right beside the US and people can make day trips making direct comparison. In fact, everyone finds US prices low. Even the Chinese are flooding American outlet malls because good quality clothes are much cheaper there.
Exactly, Canada is in reality not expensive compared to other developed first world countries. With some exceptions it generally is a bargain compared to the "affluent" nations of northern Europe. But compared to the US it appears very expensive. If we compared the average Canadian household to the average household in Denmark or the UK, the Canadian household in practical terms is richer.
If it's so rich then why does America have so many people unemployed and living on welfare and why does America have the highest national debt in the world?
Regarding unemployment, the US has a remarkably low rate of 6.2%. This lower than Canada's 7.2%, and lower than most developed western countries, and practically half the rate of the Eurozone. The only major country with a lower unemployment rate is Germany at just under 5%. All other developed western countries with a lower rate are micro states like Luxembourg, or still tiny homogenous countries of 8 million like Austria. So I don't think we can illustrate the US unemployment rate as a weakness, especially considering the fact that the US is still emerging from a serious recession and has a population of over 300 million.
Regarding welfare, the population on welfare is highly variable in the US as it is in other developed western countries. It is also difficult to compare with other countries developed western countries who each have their own unique systems and ideas of what constitutes "welfare". Some are on welfare temporarily, others have a habit of living on it as long as possible, while still more genuinely need it due to disability or illness. I do find it perplexing that on hand people using the US welfare system is pointed out as a bad thing, while oftentimes the same people lament the US for not expanding it's welfare system. That being said, in a Scandinavian welfare state more people are receiving government assistance, but is this really an indicator of a poor economy? I don't think this is a fair argument. The more available government assistance becomes, then the more people will take advantage of it. For example, more people claim to have severe and moderate disabilities in countries with the most generous welfare states:
Coincidence? Doubtful. The more generous the welfare state, the more people will use it.
According to the OECD the average US household has about 25% more disposable income than the average Canadian household after taxes and transfers.
The average doesn't say anything, that has been mentioned here many times before. There are a few rich people who earn nearly everything. The income distribution is very unequal in the US. Most Americans are working class poor: half the country earns less than $27.5k.
The average doesn't say anything, that has been mentioned here many times before. There are a few rich people who earn nearly everything. The income distribution is very unequal in the US. Most Americans are working class poor: half the country earns less than $27.5k.
"It shows that the median family income in Canada is $76,000 -- generally higher in the West than the East -- while the median individual income is just $27,600. That means just as many individuals earn less than $27,600 as earn more."
The numbers look exactly the same! Don't forget a few things
1) It is Canadian dollars
2) almost everything is more expensive in Canada (15% on average I'd say?)
3) Canadians pay more taxes.
Doesn't seem Canadians are doing better, maybe worse, even for the average Joes.
The average doesn't say anything, that has been mentioned here many times before. There are a few rich people who earn nearly everything. The income distribution is very unequal in the US. Most Americans are working class poor: half the country earns less than $27.5k.
Those stats are highly questionable or just bald faced lies that some gullible people believe. The median income in the USA is over $50K/yr. I know we have problems but there's a reason Canadians and people from other countries emigrate to the USA, we offer opportunity...though that may be changing if we head down the same path as the Europeans.
I know we have problems but I've been all over the world and see other places have problems and usually much worse than the USA. I like Canada but I just don't like that climate which I think is a good reason to leave when you have such a good situation directly to your south.
I'm currently living and working in Peru which has a minimum wage of about $265/mo....currency fluctuations affect this number.
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