Canada Beats USA in Hockey, Economic Freedom

The Hate-America-First outfit Heritage Foundation says the U.S. of A. may be a tad freer when it comes to economics than trans-fat-free Denmark, land of free speech for Islamo-dumbkopfs, but is less free than Canada, a country whose greatest export remains a former pitchman for Molson Export and one of both of the stars of the original Star Trek series [Correction: As noted below, Leonard Nimoy is from Massachusetts, not Canada, from whence Bill Shatner comes. Please fine me two dilithium crystals.]

In Heritage's latest index of economic freedom, Hong Kong takes top honors and, as Ricky Bobby's father might have said, if you're not first, you're last. So while the U.S. technically places eighth, we might as well be tied for 179 with North Korea. Thanks a lot, George W. Bush Barack Obama.

Big Fat Belated Hat Tip to Alan Vanneman, novelist, critic, and blogger extraordinaire.

Comments

[Nick]

First!

The rest of you assholes are last.

[?]

There's no link to the whatever.

I'll assume they say Canada's freer because it's much, much whiter. White supremacists always rank Hong Kong at the top of things.

[Hazel Meade]

Why do racists hate socialism so much?

[Jeffersonian]

Red /= White.

[Ken Shultz]

I don't have the stats handy, but I think the notion of Canada being remarkably "white" is a bit of a misconception. ...especially if by "white" you mean some sort of uniform ethnicity.

From aboriginals and metis to the francophones in Quebec, and from the ethnic Chinese in Vancouver to the "Newfies", I think Canada's a lot more diverse than most Americans give them credit for.

It's almost an American conceit, I guess, that when we look at the rest of the world, we don't think it's diverse unless more than 10% of the population is of African ancestry?

Or maybe it's just that we've become such a diverse society that all us "white" people look alike to the rest of you? Just because we've decided that diversity among caucasians doesn't matter here in the States for census purposes, etc., doesn't mean there isn't any.

I dunno. But I think "white" covers a lot of diverse territory, and probably more so among our friends to the north.

[dave b.]

Francophone is an ethnicity now?

[BakedPenguin]

Frenchies don't add to ethnic diversity, but that's not the only kind of diversity possible.

[dr duncan druhl]

If you lived near Francophones, Francophiles, or just the French in general, trust me, you'd buy that they are a very distinct group. The ones in Canada are strange because they can't stand the French because the France-French look down their nose at them for their strange dialect, which is probably as close to common street French from the 16th and 17th century as we'll likely find anywhere.

[T]

Canada's white because of all the snow. Duh.

[heller]

From what I've seen, Canada is racially diverse but culturally homogeneous.

[Aresen]

We have equal rights for homogeneouses.

[P Brooks]

It's good to see the PRC has resisted the impulse to severely hobble Hong Kong.

Somewhere or other, I have a Hong Kong Dollar, enshrined in a frame, as a tribute to economic freedom. I should dig it out and restore it to a place of honor.

[kevin]

Way to use fiat currency, fascist.

;p

[MikeP]

It's good to see the US has resisted the impulse to severely hobble Canada.

[kevin]

Yeah, but taxes are marginally lower in america. For now. Go team america.

🙁

[Cry Jism]

"Congratulations! This is your last week working for the man ? at least for this year. The Tax Foundation calculates that Tax Freedom Day for 2010 is April 9, which means that by Friday, Americans will have spent nearly 100 days working just to pay their taxes. If Democrats have their way, Tax Freedom Day will keep getting later and later."

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped.....nough.html

[Jason]

Apparently, Canadian taxes are lower than US taxes: Canada ranks high in low business costs

"Canada's relatively low corporate taxes have helped to make this country one of the best places in the world for companies to set up shop.

...

But Canada beat all of its peers in the Group of Seven industrialized countries, and showed a cost advantage over the United States, which finished eighth on the list, ahead of Germany and Japan."

[creech]

Canadians are too modest to start bragging about this. Canadian tax rates are such that the boss is starting to jigger intercompany pricing to move profit from the U.S. to Canada. Used to be the other way around.

[Force shits upon Reason's back]

Canadians are too modest

Have you ever met a Canadian? They have many fine traits; modesty is not among them.

[Colonel_Angus]

Yeah, from my experience, Canadians are more arrogant than Americans are perceived to be.

[Arrogant Canadian]

but we are smart and polite enough to wait till you leave the room.

[Mike M.]

So while the U.S. technically places eighth, we might as well be tied for 179 with North Korea.

Don't worry, Obama is hard at work trying to make sure it happens.

[Warren]

And it's getting worse. The Canadian Dollar is now trading at par with the USD.

[robc]

Thats actually an improvement.

[Tman]

Canada may be arguably more economically "free", but from a free-speech standpoint it's not even a contest. Them wacky canucks can't even handle Ann "Bag O' Antlers" Coulter.

I'll take the free speech advantage over the economic one.

[Tim]

Oh come on, that was a tempest in a teapot. In real practical terms, we can say whatever we want (although I find the human rights commissions to be an ongoing joke).

Plus, we don't have roving bands of drug police bursting into our homes and killing our dogs, nor do we have those nauseating asset forfeiture laws recently profiled by IJ.

[Tman]

I'm not so sure about that -

"The Supreme Court has ruled that the government may limit free speech in the name of goals such as ending discrimination, ensuring social harmony, or promoting gender equality. It also has ruled that the benefits of limiting hate speech and promoting equality are sufficient to outweigh the freedom of speech clause in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which is the country's bill of rights incorporated in the country's constitution."

Ours in the US is a little different.

I'll agree with you that our drug police are a big problem, and the asset forfeiture is disturbing. But the laws that Canada keeps putting onthe books to limit free speech are more frightening on a fundamental level than cases of government over reach, but your mileage may vary.

[Tman]

Sorry, link for the quote from above-

http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/78883.htm

[Ken Shultz]

I blame the racists in the Tea Party.

[Tman]

Don't you mean the racist tea party? Their all racists, dontchaknow. Especially the black ones. They are like extra racists.

[Russ R.]

Speaking as a Canadian, I'm not surprised to see this result.

Five years ago, I was pretty eager to move to the US. Today, I'm really glad I stayed here.

That said, my marginal income tax rate in Ontario (combined federal and provincial) is 46.41%... hardly an example of economic freedom, though pretty much on par with what I'd be paying in NYC (federal, state, and city combined).

And yes... Canada still sucks when it comes to freedom of expression... (Example.)

[Tulpa]

It's a lot harder to move out of Ontario and keep your job than to move out of NYC and do so.

[dr duncan druhl]

"Free Speech is a qualified issue, unless you are Muslim, black, oriental, or anything other than white and Christian - the vast majority of the country, curiously. You will find that the central and western provinces, excepting BC, are much more open to free speech. It is the (Liberal Fascist) Ontario government that is the primary culprit in restricting speech as that government mirrors the UK: everything for votes, nothing is worthy of support outside that "value".

[EJM]

...a country whose greatest export remains a former pitchman for Molson Export and both of the stars of the original Star Trek series.

No love for Monty?

[Jason]

Or Alexander Graham Bell...

Or James Naismith...

Or James Kenneth Galbraith...

[Ted S.]

Bell was born in the UK.

[Jordan]

Canada is a myth. If the researchers let that slide, then I question their methodology.

[BakedPenguin]

Also, if what I've heard is true, there's essentially defacto marijuana legalization in British Columbia.

[Chris]

Go to the New Amsterdam Cafe in Gastown and find out for yourself.

[Richard]

Mark Steyn:

I refer you to the decision last year by the donut chain Tim Hortons, a Delaware corporation, to reorganize itself as a Canadian corporation "in order to take advantage of Canadian tax rates." Hold that thought: "In order to take advantage of Canadian tax rates" ? a phrase hitherto unknown to American English outside the most fantastical futuristic science fiction.

[Alan Vanneman]

"... if you're not first, you're last. So while the U.S. technically places eighth, we might as well be tied for 179 with North Korea."

So if you're not as rich as Steve Jobs, you may as well be as poor as Nick Gillespie? Thanks, Nick, but I prefer livin' in the good old USA versus an actual city state (Hong Kong/Sinapore) or a virtual one (Denmark et al.), or even Canada, although I do go up there on occasion to bash seals and other various Arctic varmints for their valuable hides. Freedom to skin! Yeah, baby!

[Robert Heinlen]

Get your ass over here maggot!
I wanna word with you!

[Warty]

Jesus Christ, Vanneman. Shut the fuck up.

[Aelhues]

Most of this low result, I'd assume if from our sky-high corporate taxation. Last I checked we were second worst behind Japan. If we cut corporate taxes down significantly so that we were the lowest taxation level, can you imagine the economic boom we'd face?

[robc]

The biggest category difference from Canada was on corruption, they scored an 87 and we scored a 73.

That was Hong Kong's worst category, an 81.

[Paul]

Liberals keep whining that corporations "aren't individuals" vis-?-vis free speech, but they keep insisting on taxing them like they are.

[robc]

We are the best of the light green instead of the worst of the dark green. Damn you colors!

[boomshanka]

so how's does canada's health care system play into economic freedom? i thought they were socialists.

[MikeP]

I'm sure that you spent a long time trying to answer this question yourself before posing it here.

In any event, from the summary for Canada...

The government controls virtually all prices for health care services through its mandatory "single-payer" nationalized program. Fifteen points were deducted from Canada's monetary freedom score to account for measures that distort domestic prices.

Without that deduction, Canada would have been pushed up to number 5.

[robc]

The only category the US scored well in was "Labor Freedom", finishing 3rd amongst the top 10 - behind Singapore and Australia.

[creech]

Yeah, but we got ourselves a president who says nothing better than anyone else.

[robc]

Canada is still $10k behind the US in per capita GDP (PPP).

Only Singapore was ahead of the US in per capita GDP (PPP) of the countries ahead of us in economic freedom. But a number are really close.

[Colonel_Angus]

Part of economic freedom is a lack of paternalist and protectionist regulation. So I don't agree with the ranking of Australia and Canada ahead of the United States.

[Hazel Meade]

I'm not sure canada is more regulatory or protectionist than the US.

Just for example, I know you can do experiments on the brains of live cats in Canada, and you can't get away with that at any American university.

[Marc]

But... but...

Why do you know that???

[Rob Paxon]

The problem with these rankings is that they average all factors as equal. It's obviously impossible to figure out how to "properly" weigh the factors, making the overall score something of a novelty. The individual factor scores have value though.

[Angry Sam]

Both stars of the original Star Trek? Shatner and who else? Leonard Nimoy is from Boston. Also, you forgot about Kids in the Hall.

[Colonel_Angus]

Canada doesn't allow DirecTV service in the country. Canadians seriously think they have their own unique culture, and the Canadian government is afraid of American television snuffing out Canadian programming. Which puzzles me, considering how much Canadian influence there is in American television, from the actors, writers, and such to all the Canadian production companies that show their title at the end of shows.

[Aresen]

Eh, I would tend to put it more that the Gliberal Chattering Class thinks that Canada ought to have its own culture and that Canada can somehow get that by third-rate imitations of Russian ballet, French political thought, British labour unions, German theatre of the absurd and Italian government.

[Hazel Meade]

STILL?

It's like fucking Iran. NO OUTSIDE TELEVISION! We don't want you exposed to those sinister Western ... er, American, influences!

Shit, if we don't stop the pernicious influence of American media, Canadians might start ... believing in the free market or something.

Everyone knows the American media is controlled by evil corporations that brainwash people into supporting capitalism, anyway.

We need to re-run Manufacturing Consent and The Shock Doctrine a few more times on CBC.

[alan]

Where cultural supremest intrusions really hurt Canadians is the edicts that force them to listen to a high quota of Canadian artist on the radio. Between Neil Young, Getty Lee, hundreds of shitty lesbian fem-folk that is a lot of high pitched wailing and temptation to suicide on a cold night a few degrees below the Arctic Circle. Maybe the authorities do it to weed out the weak and feeble and condition their citizens for the eventual US invasion (fifth times the charm!), and the CIA torture that will ensue.

[Paul]

Canada doesn't allow DirecTV service in the country. Canadians seriously think they have their own unique culture, and the Canadian government is afraid of American television snuffing out Canadian programming.

Have you ever watched Canadian TV? American programming would snuff out Canadian fare.

When you block the influx of another culture (through tarrif or ban), you do so because you're afraid the other culture is better and would thus win out, not because your own people will continue to choose yours.

If Canadians actually believed their programming was better, they wouldn't care.

[Ted S.]

James Doohan was born in Vancouver.

[Hazel Meade]

Excellent. Now someone needs to tell the Canadians they can stop being proud of their socialism.

[Paul]

Now they can laugh at ours.

[Paul]

Canada, a country that was supposed to steeped in American Know-how, British law and order, and French culture. Instead it became a country of American culture, British know-how and French law and order.

German pilot to copilot: Don't bomb Lucas, they're on our side.

That never gets old.

[Mad Max]

Canadian National Anthem, French-language version (in translation):

O Canada!
Land of our forefathers,
Thy brow is wreathed with a glorious
garland of flowers.
As is thy arm ready to wield the sword,
So also is it ready to carry the cross.
Thy history is an epic
Of the most brilliant exploits.
Thy valour steeped in faith
Will protect our homes and our rights
Will protect our homes and our rights.

(? Canada!
Terre de nos a?eux,
Ton front est ceint de fleurons glorieux!
Car ton bras sait porter l'?p?e,
Il sait porter la croix!
Ton histoire est une ?pop?e
Des plus brillants exploits.
Et ta valeur, de foi tremp?e,
Prot?gera nos foyers et nos droits
Prot?gera nos foyers et nos droits.)

[alan]

Just noticed that the praise be to Vanneman is on the over the top side this time around as Nick was purposefully screwing with us.

[VikingMoose]

yeah. Singapore is a bastion of civil liberty.

right.

fuck me, what a stupid post