shalab Posted July 21, 2018 Share Posted July 21, 2018 The Bundesbank study finds that the median net worth for Germans is around 54,000 euros ($70,100). https://www.dw.com/en/are-germans-poorer-than-italians-spaniards/a-16695404 Canada is far wealthier at 295K median wealth https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/statistics-canada-family-income-survey-1.4437137 https://snbchf.com/italy-euro-exit/european-wealth-italy-germany/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
augustabound Posted July 21, 2018 Share Posted July 21, 2018 What is your interest in Canada? Edit: Never mind, I saw your poll. We're clearly taking advantage of the U.S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shalab Posted July 21, 2018 Author Share Posted July 21, 2018 It is amazing how Canada became one of the wealthiest on the planet (if not the wealthiest) in a span of 20-30 years. Given that most of the citizens live within 100 miles of USA border, it is even more interesting. What is your interest in Canada? Edit: Never mind, I saw your poll. We're clearly taking advantage of the U.S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
augustabound Posted July 21, 2018 Share Posted July 21, 2018 Jealousy will get you nowhere and hands off our maple syrup. :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shalab Posted July 22, 2018 Author Share Posted July 22, 2018 Not jealous, interested to learn more. I think all the countries should emulate the Canadian model to get rich - whatever it is. http://www.workforcedev.ca/index.php/en/267-canada-s-best-jobs-the-top-100-jobs Jealousy will get you nowhere and hands off our maple syrup. :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
augustabound Posted July 22, 2018 Share Posted July 22, 2018 I was joking about the jealousy of course. I'm not sure how Canada and the U.S. differ, but jobs like elevator mechanic, locomotive engineer etc are heavily unionized and even today you need to know someone to get a job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpha Posted July 22, 2018 Share Posted July 22, 2018 Hasn't the average price of a house in Canada sky rocketed to almost 500k? Is that 295k figure just factoring in the equity they have in their home? I believe there is something like 70% home ownership rate in Canada. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rb Posted July 22, 2018 Share Posted July 22, 2018 Hasn't the average price of a house in Canada sky rocketed to almost 500k? Is that 295k figure just factoring in the equity they have in their home? I believe there is something like 70% home ownership rate in Canada. Of course a real estate bubble is the answer and shalab knows this. Nonetheless he likes to start threads like this to stir shit up. Different people get their jollies up in different ways. I guess this is his way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EliG Posted July 22, 2018 Share Posted July 22, 2018 Canadian median wealth per adult is not even in the top 10. We are #14 per Wikipedia / Credit Suisse data. Nine European countries are higher on the list. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_wealth_per_adult#List_of_countries_by_mean_and_median_total_wealth_per_adult Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shalab Posted July 22, 2018 Author Share Posted July 22, 2018 rb, you know that the median Canadian income is higher than median USA income. I don't mind getting Canadian PR if it is easy to do but it isn't. Also, from different sources it seems getting a job in Canada or starting a business is not easy. Real estate in Canada - it seemed it was in a bubble for more than a decade, not clear to me if it is a bubble any more. Wikipedia compares the two economies - it says median income is higher in Canada Average income is slightly higher in the United States. However, as of 2009, Canada's median family income surpassed that of the USA by approximately 10%[citation needed]. In terms of racial disparity, United States African-Americans and Hispanics have a lower standard of living than the rest of the population; in Canada, Aboriginal peoples and Black Canadians are disproportionately likely to live in poverty, although these groups represent 25% of the US population and only 6% of Canada's. In both countries, recent immigrants tend to have lower earnings than more established residents. Canada's French-Canadians also used to be a poorer group, but since the Quiet Revolution in the 1960s this has been partially remedied. The United States measures poverty, while Canada does not have an official measure (see Poverty in Canada#Measures of poverty in Canada), although Statistics Canada measures something called the Low-Income Cutoffs, the statistical agency repeatedly states that this is not a poverty measure (it is an income dispersion measure like the Gini coefficient). In the United States the poverty line is set at triple the "minimum adequate food budget." When a common measure is used, such as that of the Luxembourg Income Study, the United States has higher rates. The LIS reports that Canada has a poverty rate of 15.4% and the United States 18.7%. [3] In both countries lower incomes are found in those most affected by poverty include single-parent families and single elderly people. It may be said the cost of absorbing lower skilled, poorer workers in the US skews comparison studies downward for the United States[39] (see also Economic impact of illegal immigrants in the United States). In recent years, what otherwise would have been a reduction in the low-income cutoff, was more than offset by the impact of immigration. According to a 2003 study by Statistics Canada "The rise in the low-income rates in the three major Canadian cities, and in Ontario and B.C. during the 1990s in particular, was largely concentrated among the immigrant population. Basically, low-income rates have been falling over the past two decades among the Canadian born, and rising among immigrants."[40] A more recent January 2007 study by Statistics Canada explains that the low-income rates of new immigrants has deteriorated by yet another significant amount from 2000 to 2004[41] (see also Economic impact of immigration to Canada). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Canadian_and_American_economies Hasn't the average price of a house in Canada sky rocketed to almost 500k? Is that 295k figure just factoring in the equity they have in their home? I believe there is something like 70% home ownership rate in Canada. Of course a real estate bubble is the answer and shalab knows this. Nonetheless he likes to start threads like this to stir shit up. Different people get their jollies up in different ways. I guess this is his way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LC Posted July 22, 2018 Share Posted July 22, 2018 In other words, Canada is a better place to live (balance of probability) if you are trying to gain wealth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shalab Posted July 22, 2018 Author Share Posted July 22, 2018 Yes, LC that is correct. My opinion is that Canada reached here by: - having higher tariffs - more restrictive immigration policy than the US - less spending on defense - less competitive markets - i.e., higher job security for people who already have the job - easy access to the USA market The best situation to be in Canada is: - already own house/real estate - have a job or some business that is already successful The not so good situation is: - need to buy a house - need to find a job or establish a business I would like to hear from our Canadian friends to see if this is something they would agree with. In other words, Canada is a better place to live (balance of probability) if you are trying to gain wealth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rb Posted July 22, 2018 Share Posted July 22, 2018 Yes, LC that is correct. My opinion is that Canada reached here by: - having higher tariffs Technically yes, but not really. US tariff comes in at 2.4% vs Canada at 3.1% - more restrictive immigration policy than the US It's not. - less spending on defense Yes, but I don't see what this has to do with income, and income distribution. - less competitive markets - i.e., higher job security for people who already have the job Not true - easy access to the USA market Sure, but the US also has a lot of easy access to markets. Also don't where you're tying to go with that one. The best situation to be in Canada is: - already own house/real estate - have a job or some business that is already successful Yes, but that's really true for any country. The not so good situation is: - need to buy a house - need to find a job or establish a business I some markets, namely Toronto area and Lower Mainland BC houses are really expensive. So if you want to buy a house there kinda sucks to be you. Most other places have experienced an increase in prices but by and large prices are still affordable. The job market is actually pretty tight now so it's pretty easy to start a job. It's really easy to start a business in Canada - you can go nuts. I would like to hear from our Canadian friends to see if this is something they would agree with. So basically disagree. It seems that you start with some preconceptions that you would just love to be true because they would satisfy your biases. However, the facts are simply different. You could spend some time doing independent research to learn more about Canada. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rb Posted July 22, 2018 Share Posted July 22, 2018 rb, you know that the median Canadian income is higher than median USA income. I don't mind getting Canadian PR if it is easy to do but it isn't. Also, from different sources it seems getting a job in Canada or starting a business is not easy. Actually I don't know that. The latest accurate figure for median household income in Canada is from the 2016 census representing 2015 numbers. So 2015 median household income in Canada was 70,336 CAD. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/170913/dq170913a-eng.htm The 2015 median household income for United states was 56,516 USD. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/tables/hinc-01/2016/hinc01_1.xls Using today's USD.CAD exchange rate 1.3135, 2015 US median household income was $74,234 CAD. Using the 2015 average USD.CAD rate of 1.2787 the 2015 US median household income was $72,267 CAD. Regarding PR, getting Canadian PR is actually quite easy. But if I were you, I wouldn't go for it. I don't think you'd like it here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viking Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 Yes, LC that is correct. My opinion is that Canada reached here by: - having higher tariffs - more restrictive immigration policy than the US - less spending on defense - less competitive markets - i.e., higher job security for people who already have the job - easy access to the USA market The best situation to be in Canada is: - already own house/real estate - have a job or some business that is already successful The not so good situation is: - need to buy a house - need to find a job or establish a business I would like to hear from our Canadian friends to see if this is something they would agree with. In other words, Canada is a better place to live (balance of probability) if you are trying to gain wealth. Shalab, just a guess, but my thinking is Canada enjoys the high standard of living is has because of 1.) its abundant natural resources (that the US, China and the rest of the world needs) 2.) good political culture: federal, provincial, municipal governments/electoral systems (thank you UK) 3.) proximity to the US has been great benefit to date (NAFTA etc) 4.) immigration: keeps our population expanding, GDP growing; influx of new talent Most importantly, looking out 50 to 100 years Canada is in a great situation to continue to benefit from a strong US and growing China. We have lots of what other countries need. Continued immigration will also be good. Regarding finding work, in my past life I was responsible for hiring. It was very difficult to find good employees. Bottom line is if a person is focussed, motivated and works exceptionally hard they can achieve over time anything they want here. But my guess is this is true for any country. Regarding real estate, I think we are in a bubble. But I have been wrong for 6 years :-) Bottom line is an enormous number of people in Canada now have a significant net worth today because of real estate. If they help their kids out that will help... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shalab Posted July 23, 2018 Author Share Posted July 23, 2018 Thank you rb and viking for your responses. I visited Canada a few times and have checked out Toronto, Victoria/Whistler/Vancouver and Banff/Jasper. The border people are rougher than US but other than that, it has been fairly smooth. Viking, I agree that Canada has a bright future. I was surprised at the real estate prices around Banff/Jasper towns which I imagine would be a tough place to live in winter. BTW - I read that in Canada, one has to pay estate tax on capital gains on assets. i.e., if I buy FFH at 100 and it is 500 at the time of one's death, one has to pay taxes on $400? Is that correct? Yes, LC that is correct. My opinion is that Canada reached here by: - having higher tariffs - more restrictive immigration policy than the US - less spending on defense - less competitive markets - i.e., higher job security for people who already have the job - easy access to the USA market The best situation to be in Canada is: - already own house/real estate - have a job or some business that is already successful The not so good situation is: - need to buy a house - need to find a job or establish a business I would like to hear from our Canadian friends to see if this is something they would agree with. In other words, Canada is a better place to live (balance of probability) if you are trying to gain wealth. Shalab, just a guess, but my thinking is Canada enjoys the high standard of living is has because of 1.) its abundant natural resources (that the US, China and the rest of the world needs) 2.) good political culture: federal, provincial, municipal governments/electoral systems (thank you UK) 3.) proximity to the US has been great benefit to date (NAFTA etc) 4.) immigration: keeps our population expanding, GDP growing; influx of new talent Most importantly, looking out 50 to 100 years Canada is in a great situation to continue to benefit from a strong US and growing China. We have lots of what other countries need. Continued immigration will also be good. Regarding finding work, in my past life I was responsible for hiring. It was very difficult to find good employees. Bottom line is if a person is focussed, motivated and works exceptionally hard they can achieve over time anything they want here. But my guess is this is true for any country. Regarding real estate, I think we are in a bubble. But I have been wrong for 6 years :-) Bottom line is an enormous number of people in Canada now have a significant net worth today because of real estate. If they help their kids out that will help... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardboard Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 Am I wrong or in past surveys, to determine the number of millionaires in various countries it always excluded the value of primary residence? Cardboard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rb Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 Am I wrong or in past surveys, to determine the number of millionaires in various countries it always excluded the value of primary residence? Cardboard Cant't be sure, but I think you're wrong. I remember lots of those types of surveys pre GFC that were fawning over how rich Americans are and how many millionaires are in America and it was almost all real estate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc75 Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 I visited Canada a few times and have checked out Toronto, Victoria/Whistler/Vancouver and Banff/Jasper. The border people are rougher than US but other than that, it has been fairly smooth. My experience has always been the opposite. I've had many smooth experiences with US border officers, but also many ridiculous ones, with agents on power trips etc. My guess is that the average quality of experience has something to do with one's nationality; ie. agents are nicer to their own citizens, overall. (Certainly not always. I've also had a handful of bad experiences returning to Canada from overseas.) Viking, I agree that Canada has a bright future. I was surprised at the real estate prices around Banff/Jasper towns which I imagine would be a tough place to live in winter. BTW - I read that in Canada, one has to pay estate tax on capital gains on assets. i.e., if I buy FFH at 100 and it is 500 at the time of one's death, one has to pay taxes on $400? Is that correct? Banff/Jasper would be pretty damn amazing places to live in the winter if you enjoy the outdoors. The skiing and snowshoeing is amazing. I'd spend winter there in a heartbeat. Whenever you're asked "Do you have to pay tax on [blah]?" in Canada, it's probably best to assume the answer is "yes". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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