For years, many Americans have smiled and chuckled at their poorer Canadian neighbors and their quaint ideas about government and economy. Things are so different up north—with all the funny-colored paper money, national health care and the amusing accents. Then there are all those inefficient, government-owned “Crown Corporations.” And how do all those good-natured citizens put up with tax rates so high they would send most other North Americans into deep depression?
Even Canadians living in the U.S. often crack jokes about conditions in the land of great northern expanse. Most Canadian conversations eventually get down to two things: the weather (an important topic in a land where one bad choice means you can end up with your tongue frozen to a metal pole or lose fingers to frostbite—yes it happens), and the Canadian economy—specifically how it would be so much better if it wasn’t for such big government and high taxes.
