Huh? All of those are in place now. (Not Universal Healthcare obviously, but I didn't mean to imply that it was.)
Good points, that is a massive amount of spending. Though I still think the monetary policy is the main factor here.
so your argument is that no child left behind, and prescription coverage through medicare is the reason the dollar has fallen, although one hasn't even been in existance that long, and no child left behind actually makes schools perform better to receive extra funding? no child left behind is a failure, its no drain on the budget.
Unless you are getting beer and ale from local micro-breweries, Canadian beer sucks, in my opinion. The local stuff is superb. Really, really good. Sadly, not much (if any) is exported to Texas and the rest of the country. (maybe someone can tell me if it is) My friend in British Columbia gets the beer and ale for his Jazz, etc. Festival in Kaslo from a brewery in Nelson. Can't remember the name, but I remember how it tastes! D&D. Impeach Mr. Bankrupting America.
I suspect the biggest reason for the boon in the Canadian dollar might have something to do with a **** load of oil being pulled out of Alberta.
Not so. Don't think it as a boon of Canadian monopoly money, but rather the dollar is in a state of free fall. Just look at exchange rate with all other currencies. Some people bark about how we are a "consumer society", or how we will use force if necessary to protect "our way of living". I wonder if they ever reflect on the true destroyers in their non-sustainable dream world. This is only the beginning. Unfortunately the outlooks is not pretty.
Well then by your definition and the facts I present above the Bush administration has failed catastrophically. People being the key word...not select few. Where is the safety net in paying for your health insurance, or the fact that the same job pays less now (comparatively speaking) then it did 8 years ago? Or why is having someone being poor considered a govt safety net. Being poorer doesn't mean that the Govt is helping them out. The holes in your rational are as big as the one in your head I guess. There is something inherently funny about a person who misspells incompetent. LOL.
By the way I live in Canada and all I can say is....we're going to go wherever you guys do….... and parity is a horrible thing for us, as much as we’d like to think it’s not…
And diamonds, and other minerals, plus a small homogeneous population, plus a big brother that does 90% of securing your borders, plus a jobmarket that can absorb anyone willing to move to Ft. McMurray. Good times in Canada, but it still sucks six months a year. If I were young and independent and needed to make some good money, I'd take off the the Great White North (it's the beauty way to go?) <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/e6LPCM8iflI"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/e6LPCM8iflI" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>
the govt certainly has some effect but i dont think , but i do not agree that no child left behind or nat'l security spending is a major contributor. I do think the monetary policy was a bit over agressive and am affraid they may do the same thing again. Sometimes you have to let people suffer for their mistakes...too much intervention can be a bad thing But a lower dollar is not necessarily a bad thing.
No Child Left Behind gives a lot of federal funds to school districts to educate special needs students. And the Department of Education was expanded significantly to manage it. It's not any one of those, it's the fact that the National Debt is still increasing, so faith in our central bank is dwindling. Conversely, Canada has run surpluses for more than a decade, significantly paid their debt down, and the loonie is doing good. I do think that the loss of strength in the dollar is partially overreaction. I think that's compounded by the fact that many international business feel compelled to "pick a winner" between Euros and Dollars, and some have picked the Euro, even though most of the EU is in as bad or worse shape than the US.
I’m constantly amazed by how many Canadian references you Texans know. You don’t need to go to Ft. McMurray for jobs, btw. In fact if you do you’d better bring a motor home with you, because that’s about the only place you’ll be able to find to live there. (A tent is not a beauty way to go in that part of the country at this time of year.) Here in the west anyway there are help wanted signs lining the streets of most major cities, but here in Calgary a one bedroom apartment will also cost you not far off of $1000/mo., and yes that’s $1000 in Cdn. or US dollars. The average house price is over $400,000. (The number of listings has quadrupled in the last 6 months or so, though, and I wonder how many people are cashing out and buying a retirement place in Phoenix or some other hot place where house prices are depressed). Of course you aren’t as accurate in other areas. “Homogeneous population” is a relative term and certainly Canada is much less homogeneous than most other countries in the world. We have largely handed defence of NA over the Americans, but I suspect that pressure from the Americans had a lot to do with that, (see the Avro Arrow story.) And I’m afraid that it doesn’t suck any month of the year here in Calgary, (although it probably sucks 12 months of the year in Toronto, so that may even out. ;-) ). An interesting/annoying quirk to this rise in the dollar is that retail prices haven’t caught up yet. For example, look at the list price of a book on Amazon.ca and compare it to the same book on Amazon.com and you’ll see that the same book on the Canadian site often costs around 30% more. Amazon.com is trying to protect Amazon.ca by upping its postage charges for international shipping to $12.50 for one book, but there are other places that are cashing in on the price differences and selling a lot of books to Canadians. There are still big differences in the prices of big ticket items like cars and large televisions too. In the US the price of a 2007 Toyota Camry starts at about $19,500, while in Canada it starts at little over $25,000.
Oil and cattle unite us. Seriously, when I worked in refining, at classes and such, Texans and Western Canadians were very disportionately represented.
Very true. I guess I’m just surprised at the number of Canadian cultural reference some of you know. My surprise may well speak more to the Canadian stereotype of Americans, I will sheepishly admit, but I think you’re right that there are some strong ties between Texas and Alberta in particular.
Well, tourism is down so you might be able to find some bargains. The locals are rich and spending so there may be more deals at resorts that cater more to international tourists, ones farther away from Calgary. (I live about an hour’s drive away from Banff, btw, on the west side of Calgary.)
