printAs I said in “Republicans, Repent!”: “Socialism is secondary to state squandering—and a consequence of it.” The US is becoming more statist than Canada because the American state is accrediting through squandering. (It is also far more authoritarian than Canada.)
In the context of this Christian Science Monitor report, I would imagine that Canadian banks were not compelled by law, under left-liberal government programs, to lend to those unworthy of credit.
This, The Christian Science Monitor doesn’t say:
“Among industrialized countries, Canada is the only one not to have seen a major bank fail. The World Economic Forum ranked Canada’s banking system as the healthiest in the world in 2008, while the US took the 40th spot. And while Canada’s largest five banks reaped profits of $8.2 billion, the top five US banks lost a combined total of $8.3 billion last year.
Stronger federal regulations and lower leverage ratios borne by Canadian banks have allowed them to weather the global banking storm. Canadian financial institutions didn’t engage in the subprime mortgage lending that sideswiped the US banking industry and forced millions of American homeowners into foreclosure.”
Update (Feb. 22): There are other factors that explain why Canada’s banks are not buckling under. Canada has a stricter, immigration system. A point system. When it comes to legal immigration, it awards pointers for knowledge of the country’s languages: French and English.
The country’s traditional source of immigrants is China. The Chinese are affluent, and, well, unlikely to default on their mortgages. They are not as politically aggressive and voracious as are America’s minority communities. Naturally, Canada does not have a large, identity politicking Hispanic community.
While Canada is now a ‘diverse’ society, at least in major cities, there are no ‘special status’ minorities as in the US, so there was no political pressure to lend them. African-Canadians are by far the most vocal in their complaints of being mistreated, but few AA practices favor them specifically. On the other hand, Canadian airwaves are blanketed by TV ads featuring the almost mandatory black person, however incongruous the situation.
The sad coup attempt last December was because of the 3 opposition parties frustration with PM Harper for not doing enough US-style stimulatin’.
The economic considerations are not the only considerations. Canadians are an unarmed population and are therefore subject to the whims of their government. They are fundamentally unfree.