American economic dominance

[PaloAltoCougar]

The US vs Canada pissing contest is always amusing, and highlights an historic difference between the two countries, even if it's a bit simplistic. From the beginning, Canada was populated with an influx of loyalists and rules followers who left behind a bunch of individualistic rebels suspicious of state power. Even though there are certainly merits to using the metric system (when both the U.S. Congress and Canadian Parliament adopted legislation in the '70s to implement the system in their countries, Americans said "screw that" and Canadians said, "No problem, eh!") and single payer-health care, Americans, for better and worse, tend to choose rugged individualism over the warmth of the collective.

[tooblue]

The US vs Canada pissing contest is always amusing, and highlights an historic difference between the two countries, even if it's a bit simplistic. From the beginning, Canada was populated with an influx of loyalists and rules followers who left behind a bunch of individualistic rebels suspicious of state power. Even though there are certainly merits to using the metric system (when both the U.S. Congress and Canadian Parliament adopted legislation in the '70s to implement the system in their countries, Americans said "screw that" and Canadians said, "No problem, eh!") and single payer-health care, Americans, for better and worse, tend to choose rugged individualism over the warmth of the collective.

This isn't a pissing contest about two countries, it's a discussion about "American economic dominance" that when scrutinized only represents dominance of American corporations which only benefits some individuals but not all, or even many. In reality (here's where the irony actually kicks in), the larger consideration is overall well-being.

It's true, some and maybe many Americans have more disposable income. The challenge is, the "rugged individualism" choice requires a large portion of that disposable income to be spent on health-care, or other services covered by the "warmth of the collective" offered in other modern, capitalist and freedom loving societies. So, on that level, the disposable income advantage is actually a wash.

If only considering the US and Canada, both countries have work to do in improving the well-being of its citizens. According to the following web site, Canada and the US rank 18th and 24th respectively:

https://worldpopulationreview.com/co...s-in-the-world

And pointing out the reality that American GDP does not equate to overall well-being does not make someone hateful of the US. That's just stupid. Expecting that GDP and economic dominance could improve overall well-being is an ideal worth striving for—that would be something to boast about.

[Jeff Lebowski]

The US vs Canada pissing contest is always amusing, and highlights an historic difference between the two countries, even if it's a bit simplistic. From the beginning, Canada was populated with an influx of loyalists and rules followers who left behind a bunch of individualistic rebels suspicious of state power. Even though there are certainly merits to using the metric system (when both the U.S. Congress and Canadian Parliament adopted legislation in the '70s to implement the system in their countries, Americans said "screw that" and Canadians said, "No problem, eh!") and single payer-health care, Americans, for better and worse, tend to choose rugged individualism over the warmth of the collective.

Canadians are like super obnoxious little brothers.

[tooblue]

Canadians are like super obnoxious little brothers.

According to PAC and history, the US is the rebellious little brother

[Green Monstah]

I had a Canadian classmate in college who was pretty antagonistic to the US and Americans. I once asked him why and he said “I’ve always just hated Americans.” I told him I grew up in a state that shares a border with two provinces, amd he asked “what did you think of Canadians?” “I didn’t think anything about them.” It was a truthful and (inadvertently) perfect retort.

[Bo Diddley]

I guess I have lived a sheltered life. I was blind to any significant cross border hate between our two countries. Or is this a new development?

[tooblue]

I guess I have lived a sheltered life. I was blind to any significant cross border hate between our two countries. Or is this a new development?

I don't personally know anyone that hates the US, but travel to the US by Canadians is apparently down dramatically:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/cro...arch-9.7198652

All Canadians hate the rhetoric and the trade war so they are taking road trips in Canada and their business elsewhere.

[frank ryan]

I guess I have lived a sheltered life. I was blind to any significant cross border hate between our two countries. Or is this a new development?

It ain't good. Canada has been very assertive about backing away from the relationship with US. Trump's dumbass rhetoric comes at a cost.

[Northwestcoug]

I might have shared this before. But in 33 years of interacting with Canadians, I find a lot of the national psyche can be explained by what Americans are not. That is for better and for worse. Some things that Canada does well seem to be based on a reflex of what is perceived that America gets wrong. And sometimes there is a knee-jerk reaction to do differently, even if it works.

This is a gross oversimplification of a national psyche that has formed for almost 200 years of history. But it's helpful as a starting point

[falafel]

I might have shared this before. But in 33 years of interacting with Canadians, I find a lot of the national psyche can be explained by what Americans are not. That is for better and for worse. Some things that Canada does well seem to be based on a reflex of what is perceived that America gets wrong. And sometimes there is a knee-jerk reaction to do differently, even if it works.

This is a gross oversimplification of a national psyche that has formed for almost 200 years of history. But it's helpful as a starting point

So, for example....

[Moliere]

This isn't a pissing contest about two countries, it's a discussion about "American economic dominance" that when scrutinized only represents dominance of American corporations which only benefits some individuals but not all, or even many. In reality (here's where the irony actually kicks in), the larger consideration is overall well-being.

It's true, some and maybe many Americans have more disposable income. The challenge is, the "rugged individualism" choice requires a large portion of that disposable income to be spent on health-care, or other services covered by the "warmth of the collective" offered in other modern, capitalist and freedom loving societies. So, on that level, the disposable income advantage is actually a wash.

If only considering the US and Canada, both countries have work to do in improving the well-being of its citizens. According to the following web site, Canada and the US rank 18th and 24th respectively:

https://worldpopulationreview.com/co...s-in-the-world

And pointing out the reality that American GDP does not equate to overall well-being does not make someone hateful of the US. That's just stupid. Expecting that GDP and economic dominance could improve overall well-being is an ideal worth striving for—that would be something to boast about.

You say this is a thread about American economic dominance but then pivot to well being. All economic metrics point to the USA being better than Canada. Regardless of well being, do you have data that suggests Canada is economically better than the USA?

[Northwestcoug]

So, for example....

The obvious one is health care. It is a point of pride and a central identity that health care here is closer to the rest of the developed world than the US. This perception probably prevents some needed reforms, since they would move the needle towards privatization.
Also death penalty, but everyone agrees that Canada is right on this one. Right?

[Jeff Lebowski]

The obvious one is health care. It is a point of pride and a central identity that health care here is closer to the rest of the developed world than the US. This perception probably prevents some needed reforms, since they would move the needle towards privatization.
Also death penalty, but everyone agrees that Canada is right on this one. Right?

Right on death penalty, wrong on health care, wrong on MAID, right on poutine.

[Northwestcoug]

Right on death penalty, wrong on health care, wrong on MAID, right on poutine.

Ha batting .500. That's not bad. I'll just accept it without arguing

[tooblue]

You say this is a thread about American economic dominance but then pivot to well being. All economic metrics point to the USA being better than Canada. Regardless of well being, do you have data that suggests Canada is economically better than the USA?

From my initial response to the first post in the thread:

GDP Is Not a Measure of Human Well-Being
https://hbr.org/2019/10/gdp-is-not-a...man-well-being

"Economic growth has raised living standards around the world. However, modern economies have lost sight of the fact that the standard metric of economic growth, gross domestic product (GDP), merely measures the size of a nation’s economy and doesn’t reflect a nation’s welfare. Yet policymakers and economists often treat GDP, or GDP per capita in some cases, as an all-encompassing unit to signify a nation’s development, combining its economic prosperity and societal well-being."

It's great that the US GDP is strong, but what does that mean to the nations' citizens?