A Bloomberg News contributor offers - I think - a wonderful analysis of the Canadian "miracle": How Canada withstood the global recession in far better shape than most other countries; how Canada's financial sector stayed largely out of sub-prime mortgages and mortgage-backed securities (no bail-outs!); and looks to be the most solid of the G-7 or G-20 countries. Not to mention coming in near the top of the "Most livable" countries, or the country with the "most livable" cities, etc.
In case you missed this piece in The NEWS-JOURNAL, here it is. What I love about this analysis: Its Canadian author looks at Canada on its own terms, rather than looking at Canada through the usual U.S. Right / Left prism.
That said, one must concede Canada is a much smaller country than the United States, population wise; it doesn't have a Third World country on its southern border as we do; and Canada spends comparatively little on defense...
None of this is to whitewash Canada's problems, including unemployment and uneven economic growth. (At the moment, Manitoba is Canada's fastest-growing province in terms of prosperity.)
And Toronto has just been rocked by shootings... apparently the greatest single spasm of violence in Toronto's history. (This stuff is not supposed to happen in Canada!)
Yes, there is a lesson. I've said this before, that we should take the best of both systems (capitialism - market driven and socialism) and make a hybrid.
mrpizza
Tue, Jul 17, 2012 7:29pm
Well obviously, socialism is certainly a failure in this country. Canada has stuck to one simple principle: Don't spend more money than you take in. As long as Congress keeps raising the debt-ceiling, no form of government will ultimately work. Canada seems to have enough sense to not try building a house of cards and expecting it to stand up straight.
mrpizza
Tue, Jul 17, 2012 9:11pm
To anyone who thinks I'm a right-wing alarmist about Obama,
I invite you to read the following article about Frank Marshall Davis, Obama's ______ mentor:
Mrpizza: That is an interesting article. I have to admit, I'm not happy about Obama's relationship with this Frank Marshall Davis, or William Ayers either.
However, that doesn't mean that the US can't take the good parts from socialism and use them in a hybrid. An example is government subsidizing of mass transit has been going on in the US since the late 1960's so that folks could afford to ride the bus and train leaving their cars at home to help unclog our highways and clean up out air. Does that mean everything should be socialized, NO !! The key is knowing what to socialize and what to keep market driven. Health-care may be one of those things that will end up having to be socialized in order to make it available to all. Obamacare isn't socialized, it's based on our market-driven insurance industry, a Republican idea.
Allan Loudell
Wed, Jul 18, 2012 5:53am
Yes, the paradox continues to be: Whether "Romneycare" or "Obamacare" or "cap and trade", all these concepts originated in conservative (although not libertarian) Washington think-tanks! That's why true progressives aren't enamored to Obama or the Democrats either.
Allan Loudell
mrpizza
Wed, Jul 18, 2012 6:59am
Mike: Obamacare isn't socialized for now. However, the provisions are unaffordable to many of the people it's supposed to help, therefore it will probably end up being socialized by default.
Your hybrid idea may be valid, but we need people other than Obama and the Obamacrats if we want anything remotely sensible in that regard. What we have now is fascism, which by definition is collusion between government and big business, or to put it in simple terms, palm-greasing.
Mike from Delaware
Wed, Jul 18, 2012 8:05am
Mrpizza: Good point, but are the Republicans any less into collusion between government and big business, or as you so aptly put it, palm-greasing?
mrpizza
Wed, Jul 18, 2012 9:10pm
MFD: I said government, not parties. Corporate welfare is unacceptable, be it conservative or liberal.
While we're on this subject, I need to also point out that corporate welfare and tax incentives to businesses to spur investment are two different things. Corporate welfare is basically bribery for helping a candidate get elected. Tax incentives are desperately needed at this time to get people back to work. The only thing Obama seems to care about right now is tax the rich so he can say look at me and say I did something. That may be fine if the money was really going to go to the people it's supposed to benefit.
Lie after lie after lie, and yeah, some Republicans do it too.
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