Canada The difference a border makes...

[OntarioVanMan]

Toronto News: City headed for $140M surplus thanks to tax Ford wants to scrap - thestar.com

Hot real estate market...amazing...


In a report to the budget committee, finance staff project the tax windfall and cost cuts mean there will be a $139.3 million surplus left over at the end of this year. That’s money that will make it easier to balance the 2012 budget.

The large surplus results in part from a hiring freeze and other cost-saving measures, but most comes from the higher tax haul.

“It’s been a hot real estate year,” said Councillor Adam Vaughan, whose downtown ward has seen a condominium building boom.

 

[greg334]

Wrong name for the thread. It should be "the difference sane banking laws make"

The one thing that Canada and other countries have done is not allow sub-prime lending of any sort. We should have done the same but instead tried to fix the wrong things and we will maybe in the next two years see GM and Ford fail, Frhysler become Fiat and we will again be in a depression style recession. ALL because we still lend on very risky things.

 

[scottm4211]

Greg is right. There was never a drop in housing prices here as we never had the mad lending practices.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

Greg is right. There was never a drop in housing prices here as we never had the mad lending practices.

Scott...Credit aka loose money is literally forced into your hands down here as compared to Canada...And the Banks down here actually compete for your credit business...you can negotiate your interest rate, especially if you have a good credit rating...
As you can see what has happened down here..Most Americans are financially challenged...spend, spend, spend...They have NO fiscal responsibility whatsoever...
Proof is in the pudding...Look at the mess...From all levels of government to the common folk....spend, spend, spend...

 

[highway star]

There's nothing wrong with banks competing for the business from financially responsible people. The problem came when the government decided that everyone should have the "American dream" and own a home, no matter what. No money down, balloons, ARMs, all these schemes used to get people into homes they couldn't afford. When you have no vested interest, it's so easy to walk away.

American dream... I'm not a home owner and, I gotta tell ya, I feel as American as anyone. It just works well for my chosen lifestyle. I think a lot of us have seen people go downhill financially because of a grossly misplaced need to be a homeowner. I have one friend that's a shining example. He couldn't afford it, but I couldn't convince him not to do it. He hung on for 6 or 7 years, refinanced twice, then went bankrupt.

 

[OntarioVanMan]

There's nothing wrong with banks competing for the business from financially responsible people. The problem came when the government decided that everyone should have the "American dream" and own a home, no matter what. No money down, balloons, ARMs, all these schemes used to get people into homes they couldn't afford. When you have no vested interest, it's so easy to walk away.

American dream... I'm not a home owner and, I gotta tell ya, I feel as American as anyone. It just works well for my chosen lifestyle. I think a lot of us have seen people go downhill financially because of a grossly misplaced need to be a homeowner. He couldn't afford it, but I couldn't convince him not to do it. He hung on for 6 or 7 years, refinanced twice, then went bankrupt.

Agreed....The American Dream is sorta ingrained...to reach out and grab it ....then find out someone just moved it closer to be grabbed....