[Canadaka]

For some reason this topic came up today at a clients, I was sure that the National debt per citizen in Canada had fallen below the American one. I know several years ago it was higher.

When I looked up the numbers I wsa surprised to see how much lower it is now!

Canada National Debt
http://www.canadianeconomy.gc.ca/english/economy/

Debt: $467,268,000,000
Population: 33 million
Per citizen: $14,159


US National Debt
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/

Debt: $9,642,199,717,327
Population: 304 million
Per citizen: $31,717


Please let me know if i did something wrong or if this isn't how this is calculated.

[Scape]

The table you are using is using assets minus liabilities.

This is the gross total debt.

source

US total debt is $53 Trillion

[sandorski]

US Debt numbers usually include all Governments Federal, State, and possibly lower. The Canadian number is usually just Federal. It has something to do with how Public Debt Financing differs between the 2 countries.

[commanderkai]

sandorski wrote:

US Debt numbers usually include all Governments Federal, State, and possibly lower. The Canadian number is usually just Federal. It has something to do with how Public Debt Financing differs between the 2 countries.

So realistically, Canadian debt is higher?

[Scape]

No.

Total government debt in Canada is $2.7 trillion

Each Canadian Taxpayer Owes $171,000

[Robair]

Scape wrote:

No.

Total government debt in Canada is $2.7 trillion

Each Canadian Taxpayer Owes $171,000

Holy crap. Bring back the GST and cut spending please. I don't like this number.

[saturn_656]

Scape wrote:

No.

Total government debt in Canada is $2.7 trillion

Each Canadian Taxpayer Owes $171,000

That's kind of alarmist... as an rural Ontarioian, I'd like a figure that doesn't include the debt of cities like Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, provinces like Quebec, etc.

I'm a Canadian taxpayer, but "I" don't owe anything on their debt.

[Scape]

Like it worked that way...

Credit ratings

[djakeydd]

Whatever - the U.S. economy is on life support, ours cannot be far behind given the projection of 500,000 jobs going down per month in the states. Our economies are too tightly linked for anyone to think otherwise.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.j ... ose118.xml

[Scape]

The principals of buoyancy will keep us afloat. The US is to big too fail and it's not in the world interest to have the US crash out. That doesn't mean we will not be in for a bumpy ride but we have done a fair job in preparing for it by paying down as much as we could.

[saturn_656]

Scape wrote:

Like it worked that way...

Credit ratings

Well would the gentleman with the Ph.D in economics please explain it to us simpletons...

[Scape]

I would like to think that budgets in other provinces and cities does not effect my own tax base but it all get's cross referenced and check by institutions such as Standard & Poor’s and they assign a credit rating based on risk. It is that risk that determines interest rates. The higher the rate the higher it is to maintain cost on the debt and the higher our taxes need to be to keep pace.

Make sense?

[sandorski]

Scape wrote:

No.

Total government debt in Canada is $2.7 trillion

Each Canadian Taxpayer Owes $171,000

That's not the same statistical information. That includes longterm shortfalls and not immediate Operational Debt. In contrast, the US figure for the same stats is > $30Trillion.

[sandorski]

Scape wrote:

The principals of buoyancy will keep us afloat. The US is to big too fail and it's not in the world interest to have the US crash out. That doesn't mean we will not be in for a bumpy ride but we have done a fair job in preparing for it by paying down as much as we could.

"Too big to fail", just like AIG, Lehman, Freddie Mac/Fannie May, and potentially WaMu and more?

[Scape]

Well the markets invested over $180 billion last night to help stabilize the market. The house is still on fire but the fire department is here. Looks like the water pressure is low thou.