Canadian Budget Surplus : $8.9 billion

[RBHam]

Those damn socialists!

http://start.shaw.ca/Start/enCA/news/NewsStory.htm?type=n&src=n111673A.xml

[GRLMGC]

1. But O'Reilly said they were bankrupt!

O'Reilly can't be wrong!









I'm being so sarcastic here. Somebody PLEASE dig up another sex scandal. PLEASE!

[CatBoreal]

5. We Canadians like to pretend....

our Prime Ministers don't have sex.

It's too scary to think otherwise.

Oh! the psychological damage those mental images bring....

So no sex scandals to be found. Sorry.

Cam

[NurseLefty]

6. O'Reilly should add a theme song to his show --

The Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" :evilgrin:

[HEyHEY]

2. Didn't you hear Harper???? We're being overtaxed!

However, it will help to pay of the COnservatices debt

[oscar111]

8. who Harper? eom

...

[HEyHEY]

14. Leader of the Canadian Alliance

Our resident right wing ass-bag party

[Frederic Bastiat]

26. Duceppe basically said the same thing

He added that provinces are strapped while Ottawa is sitting on a pile cash.

What's new.

[Minstrel Boy]

3. Seventh straight year of surplus.

The only G8 country to do it.

But didn't O'Reilly say we were bankrupt or something?

[TexasChick]

4. You mean O'Lielly said that? Surely you jest?

</sarcasm>

[oscar111]

7. What's Can. top tax rate? Unemp in millions?

i want to learn the details on canada to refute freepers.

what's pop total of canada? No. of jobless? Do you count "discouraged" jobless who give up looking?

Is reaganomics being used in politics to trick the unwary?

What is the povrty rate?
thank you in advance,
oscar

[Ima]

10. but..but...but...

How could that be..they have socialized medicine, that should bankrupt them.

[Maple]

11. We have 32 million Canucks

About a 7% unemployment rate that is mostly structural unemployment. (people who insist on being fishermen when there are no fish) we follow the 'third way' politically...neither right nor left. Neither capitalism or socialism. Middle ground.

We have homeless, but there is housing available, and we have generous welfare payments, plus job training.

Canada is looking at massive surpluses, a rising dollar, trade around the world, and a substantial investment in science and knowledge.

Certainly there are problems, but overall Canadians are prosperous and peaceable.

[Ima]

16. just curious

Would Canada be interested in annexing the west coast?

[HEyHEY]

19. Well, maybe YOU are...personally I'm a failure looking for a fight

;-)

[LSdemocrat]

9. Why can't we have a responsible center-left government?

:(

[The Zanti Regent]

12. We can. Let's secede and make the US of Canada a reality

Then we can cut Jesusland loose!

[LSdemocrat]

17. Ok, but St. Louis, where I live, gets to join Illinois

[Cleita]

13. Better watch out!

Bush already robbed our treasury. He'll be looking at yours next. Don't let him in unless you intend on arresting him for war crimes.

[Spazito]

15. I forgot the Finance Minister was officially announcing this today...

thanks for the link.

[slackmaster]

18. I hope the Canadian government is wiser than the California legislature

We had a surplus about that big a couple of years ago, and our leaders blew it.

[joanne]

20. They better not "elect" *

He will turn that surplus into a record deficit in no time.

[freeplessinseattle]

21. ha ha! guess my family members that have been insisting

that their healthcare system isn't logical and is causing the country to go bankrupt have to eat their words! now what reason do they have to not support national healthcare coverage! now Thanksgiving will be better!

[RBHam]

22. The Economy...

http://canadianeconomy.gc.ca/english/economy/overview.html

[sonicx]

23. yes, they have peace and prosperity, but...

gays can marry. :gasp:

cancel the vacation plans, dear...

[AP]

24. I hear that the Can gov't is encouraging immigration by giving some...

...people -- don't know what the criteria is -- CAN$40K when the immigrate.

I think that's brilliant. It's like 40 acres and a mule, or anticipatory reparations.

When you dump a lot of poor people on an economy (like the US did after the civil war and like the US has done when it has encouraged immigration), it drives down labor rates for everyone, decreases options, increases misery, etc.

Canada needs immigrants to eek out all the efficiency that their gov't is able to create, but if they just get the people moving to Canada without making sure they start with a floor of economic opportunity, it'll drive down wages for everyone else. So they make sure that people start off with enough money that they have the option to educate themselves (which keeps wages high) and they don't have to take the crappiest jobs (which forces employers to offer attractive wages) and they don't have to live in misery and squalor.

I bet that if you just dumped poor people on the economy without giving them 40K to invest in themselves, their net social cost to society (and the opportunity cost of them not being to reach their full potential) would be way more than 40K in a very short time after arriving, and I bet the only wealth they'd create would be in cheap wages for extremely rich corporations, and they'd create very little other wealth.

I'm impressed. Smart Canada. This will have knock on effects that will ensure that Canada keeps on running surpluses.

[Frederic Bastiat]

25. Don't believe what Goodall says

The surplus is higher that $8.9 billion, that ladies and gentlemen is just a conservative estimate. Wait until the budget rolls around to get the real figures.