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The almighty dollar

GORDON PITTS AND HEATHER SCOFFIELD

From Saturday's Globe and Mail

Latest comment posted at 6:49 AM EST 24/09/07

A new Canada is emerging and businesses, take note: It's a much different story than in 1976 ...Read the full article

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  1. Fifty cal from Austin, Texas, United States writes: Well your rising currency should give you the opportunity to have a "cheap" vacation in the U.S. Don't forget your passports.
  2. bill johnson from Quebec, Canada writes: Fifty...you are mostly correct. Instead of using a Canadian travel package like sunsuest, we fly to Mexico for spring break out of the USA. Price difference for the same hoel last year for 4 people was 11500 Can vs 6500US, and the US trip was at the upscale end of the development. Same hotel, better rooms, plus save 4K. Crazy.

    Buy your 07 or even 08 luxury car in the states, and save 10-30K. Crazy.
  3. Chris A from Canada writes: i wish Canadians would stop feeling guilty about being better than the US. We are. the rest of the world needs our resources, we shouldn't undervalue them. There's not reason we shouldn't be proud of our position in the world and further that we are capable of being better than the United States.
  4. Apu Nahasapeemapetilon from Vancouver, Canada writes: Using your logic Chris A, then the Brits must be twice as better than Canadians as it takes two loonies for a pound.
  5. Robert West from Canada writes: Jimmy Pattison was the guy that hired Glen Clark after Jean Chretien and Gordon Campbell engineered the coup d'etat that took out Clark.
  6. Rebel Prince from Berlin, Germany writes: The blurb sentence under the headline to this story: "A new Canada is emerging and businesses, take note: It's a much different story than in 1976" What kind of English is this?? First, a declarative sentence is somehow joined with an 'and' to an imperative sentence. Then we have an inappropriate colon followed by that commonplace error of using 'than' after 'different'. (A is not different THAN B; A is different FROM B.) You'd like to think that basic English writing skills were a pre-requisite for holding a job as a journalist at "Canada's National Newspaper".
  7. Bobby Dang from Ottawa, Canada writes: Hi Everyone.

    I'm a second year University student.

    Since this article implicitly describes the shift from Keynesian (mixed market) to Hayekian (free market) economic policies in Canada, I was curious to know your opinions.

    Has the free-market increased overall satisfaction in your lives as compared to a mix market?

    It seems to me that there's been a replacement of the social contract with an economic-centric one. So before I sign on to this new contract, I'd like to get people's opinion.

    caveat:

    I'm a bit bias because I do miss hearing about the grand projects and visions for Canada that our government used to provide to its citizens. Grand projects and visions, I do believe, require big government to coordinate, budget, and manage.
  8. Alistair McLaughlin from Canada writes: Bobby Dang, there is no lack of Keynesian-style government meddling. The only thing that's changed is that government is no longer announcing NEW grand projects all the time. There are plenty of entrenched Keynesian idiocies that we are stuck with. Billions of dollars for corporate welfare, billions more for regional development sinkholes, bloated agricultural support programs that have morphed into permanent income streams for farmers. All these things have been around since the late sixties, and probably longer than that. Government can only pile up the economic dead weight so high. In any case, the demand-management concept that formed the underpinnings of Keynesian economics has been proved a colossal failure. The stagflation of the late 1970s and early 1980s saw to that. Unfortunately, while Keynesian demand-management is dead, Keynesian relics like those mentioned above persist.
  9. CPT America from United States writes: "Chris A from Canada writes: i wish Canadians would stop feeling guilty about being better than the US. We are. the rest of the world needs our resources, we shouldn't undervalue them. There's not reason we shouldn't be proud of our position in the world and further that we are capable of being better than the United States." Are you for real? Guilty about what, better? Better at having higher taxes, about having a portion of the country wanting out, better at stifiling competition? I mean what is it dude? I thought Canada was all about global warming and not using fossil fuels? The US has a lot more oil, the trouble is the wacko left won't let us drill for it. Ever hear about shale oil?
  10. Timber 'n from Ｓｏｍｅｗｈｅｒｅ, Canada writes: To Chris A:

    Chris I guess ..if you are married....you go over to your next door neighbour and brag about how much better your wife is than his...Thank goodness most Canadians aren't so low class. You can be proud of Canada without being a putz. The US currently has some real problems, and Canada is riding a real high on natural resources, great its very good news for Canada. The question is , how do Canadians capitalize on this, to maintain and improve the country in the long run...or do we ride the natural resource train with our eyes closed and hope for the best.
  11. Timber 'n from Somewhere, Canada writes: To CPT America:

    Shale Oil...Thats still a big question mark if you can get it out at a price that makes sense..but definitely possible, and the US does have tons of it. BTW it is not the 'wacko' left. The biggest source of opposition to shale oil operations are locals....typically republicans in those areas. Oil is a problem everyone in the world has...the US has number of other problems...red ink being a big one.
  12. Richard Hawrelak from Sarnia, Canada writes: Bobby Dang, it takes about 25 years before one becomes cynical about all levels of government. Enjoy the ride from youthful optimism to disgust. Talk about Grand Projects and Vision. Read Pierre Berton's The Last Spike, the building of the trans Canada railway. Huge project. More millionaires were made on this project and very few were industrialists. Most were government cronnies who had an in with the route being planned. Then there was another vision by Pierre T. in the 70s. It was called the NEB. Alberta is still smarting over that baby. At a lower level, Premier Mike Harris, PC, tried applying the four pillars of free-trade. Look where that got Ontario today. Better still ask the Liberals when they knock on your door.
  13. Dr Demento from Canada writes: The median household income in Canada is $60,600.
    The median household income in the USA is $48,000.

    Poor CPT America.
  14. Gary Dare from Portland, Oregon, Canada, writes: Doc, also note that the US figure is household income and apparently, more household members, on average, are bringing in the bacon ...

    "But more people had to be at work in each household to get there.

    That's because median earnings for individuals working full-time year-round actually fell for the third consecutive year."

    http://money.cnn.com/2007/08/28/news/economy/censusincomepovertystats/index.htm

    As well, Canada's "higher taxes" are at least covering public spending and a bit left over to pay down principal on public debt (not just federal but also some provinces, too). Here is a popular site with an applet that tracks Canada's gross country (federal, provincial, municipal):

    http://www.ndir.com/SI/education/debt.shtml

    Late Thursday night, especially late here on the west coast, someone posted his doubts on whether the US was really not collecting enough taxes to fund its spending. Here is the popularly cited Brillig site tracking US national (federal only) debt:

    http://www.brillig.com/debtclock/

    The US Treasury links are outdated and the new site is revamped and much harder to navigate for seeking data. Here is the USG's latest debt chart:

    http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/charts/charts    debt.htm

    The US Treasury doesn't publish gross country debt figures but I think that can be found at the OECD.
  15. Tristram Shandy from London, Canada writes: Perhaps my hearing is not so good these days, but did any one else hear Flaherty refer (twice) on TV to the"AP preciation" of the US dollar?

    Well, I am convinced that is what he said, and I am scared out of my wits that our Finance Minister is that confused, after over1.5 years in the job.
  16. jc pomerleau from Canada writes: It s not about a strong canadian dollars it about the collapsing of the value of the USD vis a vis all majors currencies. This reflect the bad policy decision that where made in US, among them the fact that the President. of the Fed turn him self into a political activist, advocating a war on Irak and helping the reelection of Bush. He did adjusted his monetary policy to fit that agenda. A systemic crisis in the making And who will pick up the tab. http://www.thenewamericanempire.com/tremblay=1074A must read:
  17. Paige Turner from United States writes: The weakening US dollar keeps us in our "little pen" south of the border.
  18. r b from Calgary, Canada writes: Booby Dang - I thought I told you to go and clean your room when you smarty-pants posted on an article regarding the immaturity of 20-somethings. But I mustn't be too harsh: after all you are in the early stages of immersion in an environment peopled by losers and fractured personalities - namely the faculties of the Canadian university system. Try to remember that within 3 to 5 years, you will have to hold something called a job. You see Bobby, there is this thing called money. People use it to purchase goods and services. For as long as organized humanity has existed, people such as your professors have dreamed of a moneyless society, where everyone shares all their possessions and smile all the time. The problem is Bobby, that everytime there is experimentation with such a system, bad people come along and try to turn weaklings, like you, into mindless drones. So history has proven that the concept of government, like the concept of selflessness, while appearing to be virtuous, are in fact smokescreens for the advance of authoritarianism. And that would be bad. Ask your mommy and daddy about a place that used to have all sorts of grand projects - they were called names like "The Five Year Plan", "The Great Leap Forward" and so on. Finally, the leaders of that place figured out that if they simply left the citizens alone, their natural industriousness and ingenuity would accomplish, in a decade, what have a century of Great Leaps Forward could never come close to accomplishing,. Now Bobby, this is a bit of a simplification because that same place also has a problem with recognizing the intellectual property of people from other places, but that problem will eventually be sorted out. Now remember to properly attribute my words when you use it in your essay. You don't want to be a plagarizer like the former Premier of Alberta (that's a province in Canada Bobby)
  19. Jo Geoghegan from Intergrationsville, Canada writes: So how much more well off will we be with our 'soaring' loonie in Europe @ $ 1.40...............get real folks.
    Uncle Sam has just tightened his belt another few notches. Stopped supersisin' you might say. Enjoy it while it lasts.
    Personally , I think it's finally time for the launch of The AmeriCan dollar. And yes. How about a little more alignment in borders, laws , and immigration.
  20. Bill Smith from Wilds of the GTA, Canada writes: Jim Pattison is right, Canadian industry is addicted to a low Canadian dollar like it was crack because it hides laziness sloppy management. If you can't compete on price (which to be frank China and India will beat us all) you have to compete on value add and quality. The Loonie is still cheap compared to the Euro, has anyone bothered to look at Europe as a potential market for goods and a source of tourism?

    Secondly concerning Bobby Dang's little post on a lack of "grand nation building projects." There is a reason why teaching of Keynes is out of favour in these parts. Politicans found it was a great way to buy votes regardless if the project made sense or not. Witness the mess Trudeau and his crew left us and I am old enough to remember that.

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