My impression is that Canada is more socialist/less raw capitalistic than the US. Agree with me so far?
it is also my impression that in general, average Canadians are better off than the average American. (Statistics could be dug up on this.) Still in agreement?
So it follows that if Canada veered more to the right, we would head in the direction of the US where the rich get richer, the poor poorer, and the middle class disappearing. In fact, this has happened over the last several years in Canada with Harper at the helm.
The US is like a social test tube with capitalism, unfettered by social conscience, on trial. IMO, it's not going well.
We spent labour day W/E in Arkansas and the discussion came up. In the hospitality industry, motel, restaurants prices are way lower. $10.00 gets a nice hot supper buffet, $70 a decent motel. The minimum wage in a lot of states is about 2/3 of ours, $7-8 an hour. Gas $3.25 a gallon. However groceries are about the same price as here. Beer and insurance price rants could go on forever.
In some southern states you can buy the equivalent of a Rosedale mansion for the price of a so so condo here.
Then the discussion turns to medicare and it's a whole new ball game. IIRC there are 24,000 pages explaining how it works and each state can tweak the master agreement or make up their own.
As I understand it in the USA one pays, one way or another, for their own insurance. Here it comes out of the collective coffers where the burden is shared by the more affluent and padded up by the HST and other government incomes.
I talked to a guy from PA and he doesn't have health insurance for himself due to PA opting out of Obamacare. PA has their own system and he falls through the cracks. He has insurance for his wife and kids and has all his property in their names.
IMO having a low minimum wage is cooking the books of reality.
One big problem is regionalism. The minimum for TO should be different than Burpsville.
There will be a ripple effect. If people have to pay more for their Molly Maids they may not have enough cash to go and watch multi-millionaires play hockey or baseball. Or eat out.
The conundrum is that our present economic game plan is leading us to hell but correcting it is like going from the frying pan into the fire.
Re the USA and capitalism: To me capitalism is a fair fight for the consumer's money. If you look at US protectionism, subsidies, and back room deals it is anything but fair. More like economic cannibalism.
Canada? Still behind but we're trying to catch up.
Also Average Canuck vs Average American isn't a good comparison. Mean points are more representative. A few high rollers skew averages.
Our complete tax system is a screw up. To correct it would mean re-writing the constitution and reneging on tons of agreements. Minimum wage is only a small part of the problem and going after it would, as Shakespeare put it, be like the pound of flesh nearest the heart.