People ask me, “Why not just move to Canada?”

Well, here is why...

	U.S.A.	CANADA	CALIFORNIA	WORLD
Population:	304,367,000 or 4.56%.	33,294,100 * or 0.50%.	36,553,215 0.55%	6,671,226,000 100.0%
GDP:	$13.794  trillion nominal. Constitutes over 25.5% of the gross world product at market exchange rates. $13.543 trillion, or over 19%, of the gross world product at purchasing power parity.	$1.432 trillion nominal. $1.274 trillion measured by purchasing power parity.	$1.727 trillion. California’s GDP is larger than all but eight countries in the world.	Apx. $55.176 trillion.
GDP Growth Rates:	2.2% in 2007. 0.9% in 2008 (projected).	1.8% in 2007. 0.2% in 2008 (projected).	Unknown.	Unknown.
Per Cap Income:	$43,594	$42,738	$38,956	Unknown.
Median Income:	$48,201	$53,634	$49,894	Unknown.
CPI Inflation Rate:	3.5% Q4 2007. 3.7% Q1 2008. Worth reading.	1.6% Q4 2007. 1.4% Q1 2008. More info.	Unknown.	Unknown.
Unemployment Rate:	4.6% in 2007. 5.5% in 2008.	6.0% in 2007. 5.9% in 2008 (lowest in 33 yrs, low of 3.6% in Alberta, high of 14.6% in Newfoundland/ Labrador).	4.9% in 2007.	4% to 12% in developed nations and 30% in most non-industrialized nations.
Type of Government:	Constitutional Federal Republic.	Constitutional Monarchy and Parliamentary Democracy. **	Republic.	Mixed.
# of Cities + Towns:	Too many to count. To see them all go here… U.S.A. cities.	16 + 49 + 9 + 8 + 3 + 1 + 3 + 1 + 52 + 2 + 221 + 14 + 1 = 380 (20 cities exceeding 200,000 & 3 exceeding 1 million).	456 + 22 = 478.	Too many to even begin to count.
Health System Rank:	37th	30th	N/A	… in the world.
Largest Three Cities	New York 8,008,000. Los Angeles 3,695,000. Chicago 2,896,000. (UN 2000). (NY 10th and all in top 50 in world).	Montreal 1,016,400. Calgary 768,100. Toronto 653,700. (UN 1996).	Los Angeles 4,046,000. San Diego 1,337,000. San Jose 989,400. (Jan 2008).	Seoul, South Korea 10,231,000. Sao Paulo, Brazil 10,018,000. Bombay, India 9,926,000. (UN 1997).
Violent Crime Rate:	0.5% (with 5.7 murders per 100,000). (Total national crime rate was 3,982 reported crimes per 100,000 residents or 4.0%).	0.9% (with 1.9 murders per 100,000). (Total national crime rate was 7,518 reported crimes per 100,000 residents or 7.5%).	0.5% (3.7% Total).	See chart here. Keep in mind that most murders happen in dense population areas with high drug and gang/terror rates that can slant results against populous countries.
Life Expectancy:	Overall: 78.14 yrs. Male: 75.29 yrs Female: 81.13 yrs (2008).	Overall: 81.16 yrs. Male: 78.65 yrs. Female: 83.81 yrs (2008).	Same as U.S.A.	Yr 2000 L.E. ranges from 83.5 in Andorra to 37.2 in Zambia. U.S.A. was 77.1. Canada was 79.4. The top 3 were Andorra, San Marino 81.1, Japan 80.7. The bottom 3 were Zambia, Mozambique 37.5, Malawi 37.6.
Fed Taxes Overall:	Government at all levels will collect 30.8% of the nation's income for 2008… financed primarily by personal and corporate income taxes.	Unknown but probably higher.	N/A	Unknown.
Fed Income Taxes:	Top marginal tax rate was lowered to 28% in 1988 (see more here). Some states also impose a state income tax. WA 0% income rate.	Top marginal tax rate 29% (but can approach 50% after including some provincial income tax rates). BC 14.7% top income rate.	$40 billion 9.3%.	Unknown.
Sales Tax:	Some states impose a sales tax (or both sales and income). WA 8.2% sales.	There is a 5% GST tax imposed by the Fed + FST + some provinces impose a sales tax. BC PST + FST is 12% combined.	$28 billion 8.75%.	Unknown.
Property Tax: (BC vs. WA)	In the United States, property tax on real estate is usually assessed by local government, at the municipal or county level. The assessment is made up of two components—the improvement or building value, and the land or site value. In some states, personal property is also taxed. Assesments per normally accepted methods of valuation (i.e. income approach, market value or replacement cost).	Many provinces in Canada levy property tax based upon current use and value of the land and is major source of revenue for most municipal governments. Tax levels vary between municipalities in a province but usually common property assessment or valuation criteria in provincial legislation. Trend to use a market value standard for valuation with varying revaluation cycles.	$33 billion currently collected based on purchase price.	Unknown.
Budget +/-:	Fiscal year ending Sep 30, 2007: Deficit of $162.808 billion with total receipts of $2,568 billion and total budget outlays of $2,731 billion. Jan-Dec 2007 $187.940 billion budget deficit. Good chart. Good spreadsheet (shows Fed budget deficit by months).	Fiscal year ending Oct 30, 2007: Surplus of $14.200 billion with total receipts of $236 billion and total budget outlays of $222 billion. Jan-Dec 2007 $unknown budget info.	$16 billion budget deficit.	Unknown.
National Debt:	$8.97 trillion 65.0% of GDP. More info.	$916.5 billion 64.0% of GDP. More info.	Unknown.	Unknown.
Ease of Doing Business	United States ranks third in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index.	Canada ranks seventh in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index.	Unknown.	Singapore and New Zealand rank one and two.
Military:	1,426,713 active, 1,458,500 reserve. $548.9 to $623.0 billion annual (50% of the world total which buys only the best of the best). See world rankings here. And Equipment chart listed here. The U.S.A. armed forces are the most sophisticated in the world. One U.S.A. aircraft carrier group, one nuclear sub and the U.S. Marines would best the entire Canadian armed forces. With a push of a button the U.S.A. military could destroy any army or country on the planet… if needed… and protect any of our allies from take over in the process.	62,000 active, 25,000 reserve. $16.9 to $18.0 billion annual. (4 subs, 3 destroyers, 12 frigates, 14 misc ships, 86-170 tanks, 1650 misc vehicles, 119 fighters, 21 patrol, 83 transports, 142 helicopters, 85 misc aircraft). Canada may share N-weapons provided by the U.S.A. via NATO plans.	California Army National Guard is composed of about 21,000 + Air Nat Guard 5,000 soldiers + reserves.
Climate:	U.S.A. Climate Map. Pick a state and go view it.	Climate data. Select by zone, etc.	Mediterranean climate, with cool, rainy winters and dry summers.	World Maps.
* Apx 1/10th of U.S.A.
** Click here for more info…

Analysis and Conclusions

Even though the U.S.A. has only 4.5% of the world’s population it has, in fact, grown to be THE POWERHOUSE of the world in more than one sense of the word POWERHOUSE. It should be producing only 5% of the world’s GDP. Instead it generates enough goods and services, which are consumed internally and externally, to claim over 25% of the world’s GDP. This GDP actually makes it possible for many other people in the world to live better lives than they would otherwise were it not for the U.S.A. and its technologies and the creative manner in which U.S. corporations produce and move things, information and people around the globe.

Canada is a very similar story but on a much smaller scale. It compares with California and would make a great 51st state if it were to join with the U.S.A. Even at a 0.9% U.S.A. GDP growth rate, as a percentage of a number as LARGE as the U.S.A. GDP is, it is still an increase of about $124 billion in GDP per year. That increase alone is about 8.7% (nearly 1/10th) of Canada’s total annual GDP output, in a bad year (in a good year 1/3rd).

The fact that Canada is next door to the U.S.A. and the two countries enjoy such a positive history and proximity to each other and because the people’s of the U.S.A. are able to consume the majority of the output of Canada’s great resources, as they are generated for sale, only serves to highlight how important the U.S.A. is to Canada’s every day economy as well. The people in the U.S.A. are a large consumer population in the world only because they are a larger producer in the world. The U.S.A. must first produce things of value in order to be able to consume things of value. Canada factors into this equation in a very positive way but only because they are next door to the U.S.A. and only because the U.S.A. is able to create and protect an environment at home and abroad (in North America and as the key player in NATO) whereby free and democratic nations can prosper without being ruled by tyrants and dictators.

Which leads to yet another important point.

The U.S.A. military and the sacrifices made by our armed services (and our tax payers who fund this resource) are NOTEABLE. Every time in the past when the U.S.A. has sat back and allowed tyrants and dictators to rule other areas of the world, without any checks or balances (such as in the case of Germany and Japan leading up to and during WWII), MULTIPLE MILLIONS of lives have been wasted and many, many negative economic side effects have resulted by the plundering and destruction of the rest of the world, including the U.S.A. and Canada. Canada never could have helped turn the tide alone during WWII or during any other conflicts since. Had the U.S.A. not decided enough was enough, during WWII, and finally got involved in that historic war the planet would be a lot worse off, as a result, today. Canada has little choice but to be a follower vs. a leader when it comes to decisive action and dealing with tyrants and dictators around the globe.

The U.S.A. has sacrificed BILLIONS (perhaps TRILLIONS) over the years to weed out and shut down tyrants and dictators during our 200+ year history. And the U.S.A. has sacrificed more than its fair share of lives in the process too. Our military is second to none because of one very simple reason; we value our freedom more than any other country or group of people on the face of the planet. PERIOD.

Which leads to yet another important point.

The U.S.A. government may not be perfect. But, so far, it is the BEST government on the face of the earth. For the size of our nation, the diversity of opinions and the complexity of our society, it strikes a very good BALANCE between FREEDOM on the one hand and LAWS and SECURITY on the other hand. The U.S.A. THRIVES through good times and through bad times only because of the U.S. Constitution, the form of government the U.S.A. has crafted and nurtured over time, and the checks and balances the people have fought so hard to protect over the past 200+ years.

It is one of only a handful of countries where people are able to walk around on the streets, day and night, without being paranoid that the government is out to get them or that corruption is running so rampant that we would like to leave and go somewhere else to set up shop. We are not oppressed nor are we depressed nor are we insecure in relationship to our government… even though parts of our media and some groups of people would prefer that we be otherwise. Many people come to this country and start over even though they can’t seem to understand that our government is NOT eavesdropping on them (it couldn’t even if it tried), does not expect them to worship or bow down to the government and it will not take away their hard earned money w/o JUST cause. It takes immigrants from many other places years and years, sometimes, to recover from the paranoid issues they bring with them when it comes to understanding that the U.S.A. government, military and police forces are, for the most part, here to protect and serve everyone within our country.

You can argue until you are blue in the face about the shortcomings of the U.S.A. government. But, it all comes down to where the rubber meets the road. Our GDP over the years is so great only because our government is so great. The only thing that will ever diminish the greatness of our country will be if all the other peoples of the world finally wake up and start following our example and decide they too want the good life. Maybe then the rest of the world will eventually run on par with the U.S.A. We can only hope. The only other option is that they can try to drag us back down to their level. Good luck with that option. That is not likely to happen any time soon.

What other factors make the U.S.A. and Canada great countries to live in?

Industry. All countries have their industrial engines. Some more so that others. The U.S.A. industrial complex and engine, the resulting technologies, and the U.S.A. education system, coupled with the vast resources and hard working and creative spirit of the nation, are second to none. Ours is the only country which has designed, engineered and put forth the necessary creative effort to travel to another body in the universe, step foot on it (with 120 toes) and bring something of value (new found knowledge) back to Earth. We make things happen. We produce more vehicles (15.5 million autos alone each year) of all types and sizes to move more people (and goods) back and forth to work (within one of the world’s most complex transportation systems), to shopping and to any place they need to go than any other country. The U.S.A. started modern flight and produces more aircraft to get more people more places faster and more efficiently than any other nation on the planet also. Someone, someplace in the U.S.A. “developed” key technologies such as the telephone, transistors, microprocessors, computers and the internet which have enabled commerce and information to flow and improve the entire planet. And we have shown the world how to set up telecommunications systems which also connect the world to anywhere they want to be. We have made a “majority” of the major breakthroughs in modern medicine which have supported the near tripling of life expectancies at home and abroad. If the many, many major corporations and government services of the U.S.A. were to shut their doors and turn off their lights tomorrow, and go on strike for just one week, the entire planet would come to a grinding halt in no time. This may be a bold statement and may not be true in the distant future. But, as of 2008, it is a reality that most of the rest of the world should be thankful for.

Anyone who wishes to undermine U.S.A. interests is misguided and only seeking to undermine their own sad existence in the process.

Industrial strength is one major reason why both the U.S.A. and Canada stand out in terms of per capita and median incomes. One thing to note, concerning those two indicators for our countries, is that Canada’s median income is higher (half the people above it and half below) than in the U.S.A. currently. One thing that drags down the number for the U.S.A. is because we harbor more refugees and illegal immigrants than we should. These people flee other oppressed countries and come and beat down our doors for refuge, asylum, safety, security, free services, and support and we comply all too readily to meet their needs. People in the U.S.A. have always believed in the motto inscribed on the Statue of Liberty…

Even the most down trodden and poor among us are able to tap into enough services and gain access to enough assistance that they are far better off than they would be in almost any other country they may have come from. That said… the U.S.A. will always have a great unemployment rate. There is work to be done and jobs to be had for anyone who so desires.

Inflation and the cost of living is the flip side to that same coin, however. Recently Canada has made some great strides to improve on their rate of inflation, managing their budget (with a surplus no less) and reducing their debt. One would like to carry that over into the vast reaches of the U.S.A. government as well.

It has been said that if all the Federal income tax evaders in the U.S.A. would simply pay the taxes they owe then the debt owed by the Federal government (vs. all levels of National Debt) would be wiped out in 5 to 10 years and we would run a budget surplus every year that could be used to pay down the Federal debt (example 1, example 2, example 3, example 4, example 5). I doubt those claims are true, but they sure are leaning in the right direction (it would probably take more like 20 to 30 years… similar to paying off a house loan). The problem is that too many people are being paid “under the table” and the tax system is too complex to enforce it fairly across the board. The U.S. tax system is long over due for a complete redo. Everyone, employees and companies, rich and poor, should pay 15% to 20% annually, period.

The other problem is that the U.S.A. spends too much money abroad, protecting the interests of nearly every freedom loving nation out there. Our military is stationed in dozens of countries requiring billions each year to equip and maintain. Only the U.S.A. rises to the occasion when a police action is required… although tiny little Israel can’t be faulted for their courage at times either. It sure would be nice if all the countries (most of Europe, several Middle East countries, South Korea, Japan, many Africa nations, etc.) who owed the U.S.A., for either messing with us or because we helped them clean up their back yards, would pay us back; both for bailing them out during war times and for what we have granted to help them repair and/or recover from invasions and to guard them from harm for years after, which we had little or nothing to do with. That would wipe out about half of the current debt also.

NOTE: And that is one good reason to wipe out terrorism in the Middle East… the natural incubator for all sorts of future problem children. It is time to shut down those day cares and gang banger hide outs. Pay now or pay later, as the saying goes.

None-the-less, there are many other reasons why life is good in the U.S.A. Just look at the chart above. The diversity of climate and the selection of state governments, cities, parks, mountains, rivers, canyons, lakes, coast lines, sports, arts and cultures along with the vast mix of opportunities and life styles are like the colors in a rainbow.

O, say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave…

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

The U.S.A. has many, many strengths, and only a couple weaknesses that need to be addressed. Canada does a very good job also, considering its relative size and massive resources. But, you would be hard pressed to get me and most patriotic U.S. citizens to move from our country and go live somewhere else, for the obvious reasons, even when many love to make false claims that the U.S.A. is one of the worst places in the world to live in. For some strange reason, even the worst complainers never seem to want to leave unless they are offered a very large sum of money or are running and hiding from the law.

I’m just glad I was born and raised as a U.S. citizen. Don’t even try to get me to leave, because it isn’t going to happen.

P.S. Houses are a LOT cheaper in the U.S.A. also. More on that topic is coming soon.