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Taxes. Do you think rich Canadians pay high taxes for no reason?
Not just rich Canadians. Middle income too. Are hardworking people making 80-120K considered "rich"?
Everyone pays 12-13% sales tax, no matter how poor they are. compared with 6-7% in America. There goes 6% "wealth difference".
Quote:
Originally Posted by lycos679
I'm not sure that matters. Wealth is wealth.
yeah, I am sure average wealth for Americans was a lot higher in July 2007.
It matters because it can be eradicated with a couple of years. No matter your house is worth $1 million or 200,000, you live the same lifestyle. You are not richer by living in a 1 million dollar house.
Wealth is wealth, but if 90% of your wealth is locked in one illiquid asset, it's quite different from having the same amount of cash in the bank, or a diversified asset portfolio.
Not just rich Canadians. Middle income too. Are hardworking people making 80-120K considered "rich"?
Rich and poor are relative terms, but my point was someone that makes less than $80K is better off in Canada because of the factors I listed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by botticelli
Everyone pays 12-13% sales tax, no matter how poor they are. compared with 6-7% in America. There goes 6% "wealth difference".
Only if you spend your entire paycheck.
Quote:
Originally Posted by botticelli
yeah, I am sure average wealth for Americans was a lot higher in July 2007.
I'm not talking about average wealth, the average wealth of Americans has already rebounded and is above $300,000, but the median wealth is just a fraction of that. Median wealth is high in Canada vs America because Canada has more people above the $100K mark and less people living in or close to poverty. In other worlds, income/wealth disparity is more extreme in the USA, which is to be expected when their social mobility is so low.
Quote:
Originally Posted by botticelli
It matters because it can be eradicated with a couple of years. No matter your house is worth $1 million or 200,000, you live the same lifestyle. You are not richer by living in a 1 million dollar house.
Real property does not typically lose value, American homes lost value because they have a virtually unregulated financial sector and that isn't the case in Canada. The recession in Canada was very mild compared to the states.
Quote:
Originally Posted by botticelli
Wealth is wealth, but if 90% of your wealth is locked in one illiquid asset, it's quite different from having the same amount of cash in the bank, or a diversified asset portfolio.
Yes, but that is the case in every country. I don't know how much of the median wealth is tied up into real estate, but it is still better to be worth $80K than $38K.
Botticelli is still here with his anti-Canada tirade? I haven't been on this site in a year, so I'm shocked to see that he hasn'tbeen banned. Virtually every Canada/Toronto related thread has him antagonizing himself for absolutely no reason. Its not even a matter of debate, since he doesn't actually listen to any feedback, and just continues spewing his ignorance.
I know for a fact that Toronto is not within 2 hours drive to anywhere in the US, when you account for the gas cost, time spent at the customs, it is usually not worthwhile.
The New York State Border is only 90 minutes drive from Toronto in good traffic.
The New York State Border is only 90 minutes drive from Toronto in good traffic.
you need to cross the US customs and then drive to the stores in order to make any purchases right? You can't buy staff right at the border line before entering the country.
I don't think you will be able to do that within 2.5 hours from the minute you start your car in Toronto. Almost impossible. More likely 3 hours+
Botticelli is still here with his anti-Canada tirade? I haven't been on this site in a year, so I'm shocked to see that he hasn'tbeen banned. Virtually every Canada/Toronto related thread has him antagonizing himself for absolutely no reason. Its not even a matter of debate, since he doesn't actually listen to any feedback, and just continues spewing his ignorance.
Hey, isn't that sort of like you and Quebec, mon ami?
I am not anti-Canada. I am just against all those "Canada is so superior to the USA" kind of claims, never could refrain from arguing about it. Nobody is eligible to make such stupid claims unless he has lived in both countries for significant amount of time.
Real property does not typically lose value, American homes lost value because they have a virtually unregulated financial sector and that isn't the case in Canada. The recession in Canada was very mild compared to the states.
Yes, but that is the case in every country. I don't know how much of the median wealth is tied up into real estate, but it is still better to be worth $80K than $38K.
Real estate doesn't typically lose value? Are you sure? Look at Japan, or Hong Kong, or Spain, or Ireland, if you think US is such an atypical case. Real estate losing 50-70% of its value is not rare.
If one believes Canadians are richer than Americans due to highly inflated housing price, he needs to agree that those residents in major Chinese cities are a lot richer than Canadians too. In Beijing and Shanghai, an old 900sf two bedroom apartment with zero amenities is worth $700,000, three bedroom which are most popular are normally over $1 million. Real estate doesn't make you rich unless you don't need to live in it.
I am not anti-Canada. I am just against all those "Canada is so superior to the USA" kind of claims, never could refrain from arguing about it. Nobody is eligible to make such stupid claims unless he has lived in both countries for significant amount of time.
Yay I'm eligible to make stupid claims!
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