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aceventura3 · 08-13-2009, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cimarron29414

Sorry, these numbers are useless until you include taxation levels. You can't include how much you "pay directly for healthcare" and then exclude how much you pay in taxes for it. I'm not demanding that one produce the taxation number as well, I'm simply discounting the numbers provided as a partial picture to backup a pre-determined conclusion.[COLOR="DarkSlateGray"]

Here is some info I came across a few minutes ago:

Quote:

The average tax rate in Canada is higher than in the United States. In Canada total tax and non-tax revenue for every level of government equals about 37% of GDP, compared to the U.S. rate of 27%. While this tax differential has fallen, this coupled with better opportunities in the US is still a leading cause of brain drain to the USA.

A significant portion of this tax differential is due to spending differences between the two countries. While the US is running deficits of about 4% of GDP, Canada has consistently posted a budget surplus of around 1% of GDP. Considered in a revenue-neutral context, the differential is much smaller - Canada's total governmental spending was about 36% of GDP vs. 31% in the US. In addition, caution must be used when comparing taxes across countries, due to the different services each offers. Whereas the Canadian healthcare system is 70% government-funded, the US system is just under 50% government-funded (mostly via Medicare and Medicaid); adding the additional healthcare-spending burden to the above figures to obtain comparable numbers (+3% for Canada, +7% for the US) gives adjusted expenditures of 38–39% of GDP for each of the two nations.

The taxes are applied differently as well. Canada's income tax system is more heavily biased against the highest income earners.

While Canada's income tax rate is higher on average, the bottom fifty percent of the population is roughly taxed the same on income as in the United States. However, Canada has a national goods and services tax (GST) of 5% on all purchases, while the U.S. federal government does not, increasing the tax burden on Canadian low-income earners due to the regressive nature of a sales tax. However, Canadian GST does not tax food and other essentials and a GST rebate for low-income earners mitigates regressiveness.

In addition to the 5% GST levied on most purchases, some Canadians also pay a provincial sales tax at a rate that varies by province and can be as high as 10%. In Ontario, for example, where the provincial sales tax (PST) is 8%, consumers must pay a total of 13% sales tax on top of the purchase price. There are some purchases which are PST exempt, such as children's clothing. In the U.S., most states impose a sales tax, and cities and counties are often permitted to levy taxes as well, which can exceed 10% on purchases.

Canada has no inheritance tax while the United States still does, although many conservatives and economic liberals are pushing to have it abolished.

American Economy vs Canadian Economy - Difference and Comparison - Diffen

---------- Post added at 09:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:08 PM ----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martian

Assuming that the homicide rate is unrelated to the overall mortality rate (which I'm not sure it is, unless healthcare providers are in the habit of leaving gunshot victims to die), according to the document you linked the homicide rate in the US as of 2007 was 5.5 per 100 000 population. Taken in the context of the overall mortality rate (as provided in the WHO statistics) of 1080 per 100 000, I'm not sure this can really be considered statistically significant.

You say you are not sure, neither am I. That is my point. You have to dig into the numbers. I still don't understand how WHO makes its "adjustments" to life expectancy. whatever assumptions they use could very well materially alter the numbers and any conclusion they reach from the numbers. Getting to seem very subjective to me, but I will read the full report now that I have it.