今天回家的路上，和往常一样我的车载电台开着Jazz FM 91。电台在Uncle Satchmo的What a wonderful world后面插播了一条新闻：Credit Suisse报告说，加拿大人首次在财富拥有上超过了邻居美国人。＂Wow! my American friends, in your face!!!＂
Special Canada Day Report: How Canada stole the American Dream
【麦克林】杂志的加拿大国庆日（7月1日）特刊对比了美国人和加拿大人生活的方方面面：
谁的寿命更长？ 谁工作时间长？ 谁和朋友相处时间长？ 谁旅行得多？ 谁做爱更多？ 谁吃蔬菜水果更多？ 在搜刮查阅调查报告、民意调查、科学论文、政府白皮书、消费者数据库后，【麦克林】找到答案叫加拿人一洗N年的自卑情节: 沉默、压抑、收入微薄的加拿大人今天，站起来鸟! 无论你信不信，事实上，现在的加拿大人不仅是比美国人富有，而且在床上更有冒险精神，得性病的几率也较小。加拿大人和家人朋友相处的时间更长，有更多时间旅游探索世界。甚至在犯罪方面，加拿大也胜出一筹: 虽然同样容易触犯法律，却很少在作案时挨子弹送命。Trayvon Martin, 你可被生错了地方！ 今天，电台的News Anchor说：“加拿大在2011年的平均家庭净资产363202美元，而同期美国家庭的平均净资产是319970美元。最近加拿大和美国都发布了最新的就业数字：加拿大的失业率下降到7.2％，而美国仍停滞在8.2％”。 有专家分析两国富裕程度拉大的原因后指出，这是由于美国找不到寻经济危机的解决方法，同时在政治上一直处于希望与绝望交错粘稠的状态。而加拿大的成绩归功于加拿大社会花钱谨慎而且保守。 What a wonderful world, what a wonderful day! “I see trees of green........ red roses too I see em bloom..... for me and for you And I think to myself.... what a wonderful world.”
I would have to agree with you on this one: the drop of housing index contributed a great deal to the decline of USA.
Just as the housing bubble was popping, our finance minister allowed 40 year mortgages. We almost followed the US into the pooper because of this. The current Ottawa Gov inherited a working economy from Paul Martin, ex-PM. I am nor sure exactly how much we can actually show off.
Canada does not have the wide income inequalities that the USA has.When the playing field is more 'level', then everyone has a better shot at success. all and all, we Canadians pay less than half as much for our health care as does the USA, and it covers all, not just 2/3 of the citizens.
BTW, We also get by with less than 1/10 of the guns that are 'needed' in the USA, never mind us getting by with 1/7 (per capita) of the USA rate of incarceration.
Try to look at the Macro-level, at the big picture rather than road tolls etc.
You are looking at micro-level of things. Try to focus on these factor like median wealth, which is probably a better metric for how the typical household is doing. And there, Canada is beating the United States by even more.
Credit Suisse’s Global Wealth Report found that in 2011, Canada had a median household wealth of $89,014 to $52,752 for the United States. That's how the countries featured in the report stack up. Go take a look at links provided above in text.
