It's an interesting comparison, and Lee is appropriately critical in his presentation of the facts.

Informative report from the LA Times on how Canada may be outperforming the U.S. on key issues like healthcare and the economy. This article provides good factual evidence from multiple sources, with insightful context on the differences between the U.S. and Canadian approaches.

Informative read on how Canadian policy in the 90's has put the country on more solid ground economically now, vis a vi the US. Is the comparison fair? Lee repeatedly notes caveats, and is careful to frame the issues in terms that are comparable.

It's a bit like comparing apples and oranges: $33 billion deficit in CN (3%of GDP) vs 1.35 TRILLION (9.2% of GDP) in the US. The article focuses on spending and immigration but doesn't address taxes, health care costs and military spending.

Comparing the two countries is interesting and informative, but not addressing the fact that Canada's economy is so closely linked with the U.S. economy and exploring how that country benefits from that makes the article fall short of quality journalism. The immigration issue is not comparable at all.

This is a well-written and informative story that includes some good facts and examples that illustrate the writer's points. Pluses include the data and other information on how Canada has handled its deficit, immigration, and employment. Especially interesting is the reminder of the problems Canada had in the 1990's and what the government did to alleviate them. The story is also written in a balanced way even though the thrust is favorable to how Canada has handled things. However, it could be strengthened by including a few more specifics, such as just how the provinces handled the cuts to social spending and how much of a pinch was felt by its people. Finally, although I read this story with great interest--and ... More »

Don Lee appears to have done a good job with this one...

Not really mentioned in this article are the strict banking regulations that Canada had in place. What I have read elsewhere indicates THAT was the primary reason that the recession didn't affect them as badly as it did the U.S. This "new" rating system doesn't account for "Timelyness" or the problem of using accurate statistics to come to a conclusion not warranted by the information provided.