XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh   
   From: no_offline_contact@example.com   
      
   On 2026-02-21 8:45 p.m., Karoline C wrote:   
   > Not reality.   
   >   
   > The perils of per capita GDP: No, Canada is not poorer than Alabama   
   >   
   > Despite lower economic growth per person, most Canadians earn more, live   
   > longer and fare better than Americans.   
   >   
   > April 21, 2025   
   >   
   > A line graph showing Canada's GDP per person sliding compared to that of   
   > the United States from a peak of 93.9 per cent in 1981 to 75.5 per cent in   
   > 2021. It stood at 78 per cent in the most recent year, 2023.   
   > Canada's per capita GDP has been sliding in relation to that of the United   
   > States for 40 years.   
   >   
   >   
   > This is the second of a two-part analysis of Canada's GDP per capita. The   
   > first part can be found here.   
   >   
   > Some business and political commentators cite a growing gap between the per   
   > capita GDP of Canada and the U. S. as evidence of Canada's purported   
   > economic dysfunction. Some even conclude that because of stagnating per   
   > capita GDP, Canada is now poorer than Alabama – a state with widespread   
   > poverty, low incomes and short life expectancy.   
   >   
   > This far-fetched conclusion reflects deep flaws in the use of per capita   
   > GDP as a measure of prosperity and living standards. As explained in the   
   > first part of this commentary, GDP per capita measures total output   
   > produced (for money) in a country relative to its population.   
   >   
   > However, this simple ratio ignores important issues such as what is   
   > included in GDP, who owns it and how it is distributed. International   
   > comparisons are further complicated by necessary adjustments for exchange   
   > rates, price levels and population estimates.   
   >   
   > A Stronger Canada for The Trump Era. Get our latest coverage of relations   
   > with the United States, in your inbox.   
   >   
   > Comparing GDP per capita between Canada and the U. S. is especially fraught   
   > because of other methodological problems. For example, the much larger   
   > proportion of unauthorized immigrants living in the U. S. artificially   
   > boosts its apparent per capita GDP. There are an estimated 11 million   
   > people there who contribute to the numerator (GDP) but are not counted in   
   > the denominator (population).   
   >   
   > Similarly, per capita GDP ignores the value of time. In 2023, the average   
   > employed American worked 114 hours longer than the average employed   
   > Canadian – about three weeks more of full-time work.   
   >   
   > American working hours are among the longest of any OECD country because   
   > low wages compel many of them to work extra hours or even second jobs and   
   > because there are no legal requirements for paid vacation. Those longer   
   > working hours account for much of the Canada-U. S. gap in GDP per capita.   
   >   
   > Another issue is the failure to consider the environmental effects of   
   > economic production. Conventional GDP statistics take no account of the   
   > costs of pollution. America produces more output per person, but takes   
   > fewer measures to protect the environment, which obviously affects the   
   > quality of life of current and future generations. Like time, nature is not   
   > free.   
   >   
   > These methodological issues cast considerable doubt on the validity of   
   > simplistic Canada-U. S. comparisons.   
   >   
   > Attention to Canada's per capita GDP has grown during the current federal   
   > election campaign. However, it is important to view the issue through a   
   > long-term lens. Canada's per capita GDP has been sliding relative to the U.   
   > S. since the early 1980s. The following figure portrays the ratio, based on   
   > OECD estimates.   
   >   
   > Thanks to rapid industrialization, Canada largely closed the long-standing   
   > disadvantage versus the U. S. from 1950 through 1980. Relative per capita   
   > GDP peaked in 1981 at 94 per cent of the U. S. level. It then fell rapidly   
   > during the 1980s and early 1990s, to just 81 per cent by 1992. It partially   
   > recovered in the late 1990s and 2000s but then fell again in the 2010s.   
   >   
   > After fluctuating during the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada's per capita GDP had   
   > fallen by 2023 to 78 per cent of U. S. levels.   
   > Data and politics   
   >   
   > There is a natural tendency to put a political spin on economic   
   > measurements. However, there is no correlation between which party is in   
   > power in Ottawa and the evolution of this ratio.   
   >   
   > Canada's per capita GDP relative to the U. S. rose during Pierre Elliott   
   > Trudeau's first years in office but began to fall during his final term. It   
   > declined most steeply under Brian Mulroney, was stable during the terms of   
   > Jean Chre´tien and Paul Martin, fell during the last years of Stephen   
   > Harper's rule and then declined further under Justin Trudeau.   
   >   
   > Canada-U. S. per capita GDP comparisons reflect a complex mix of many   
   > determinants, including economic growth, sectoral changes, population   
   > growth, immigration, inflation and exchange rates. It is far-fetched to   
   > conclude that any government deserves either credit or blame for its   
   > trajectory.   
   >   
   That may be the most retarded thing I've ever heard. Governments are   
   major - and sometimes the ONLY - factor in deciding these determinants.   
   They set immigration levels, tax rates, and heavily influence interest   
   rates. If they do their job badly, they very much deserve blame!!   
      
   > Prosperity depends not just on how much is produced, but how it is   
   > distributed. Bank of Canada research shows most of the U. S. advantage in   
   > per capita GDP is concentrated among high income earners.   
   >   
   > Three-quarters of the gap in per capita output is captured by higher   
   > incomes for the top 10 per cent of Americans. There is little difference in   
   > incomes between the bottom 90 per cent in the two countries. The richest 10   
   > per cent of Americans receive almost half of all pre-tax income, so their   
   > wealth significantly inflates the overall per capita average.   
   >   
   > In fact, most Canadian workers earn higher wages than those in the U. S. It   
   > is most accurate to measure typical incomes by the median wage (the halfway   
   > point in a distribution), not the average (which can be distorted by very   
   > high incomes at the top).   
   >   
   > The median hourly wage in Canada in 2023 was C$28.79 or US$24.61 at the   
   > OECD's purchasing power parity exchange rate. The median hourly wage in the   
   > U. S. in 2023 was US$23.11. The typical Canadian worker thus earned 6.5 per   
   > cent more than their U. S. counterpart, despite lower per capita GDP.   
   >   
   > Perhaps surprisingly, the Canadian worker also paid a lower marginal   
   > federal tax rate (20.5 per cent for full-time workers) than their U. S.   
   > counterpart (22 per cent).   
   >   
   > Of course, public services, not just private incomes, are also important to   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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