Keep in mind while reading the Canadian article below:
- Population of USA = 318 million. Population of Canada = 35 million.
- USA "Gross domestic product increased at a 1.0 percent annual rate instead of the previously reported 0.7 percent pace, the Commerce Department said on Friday in its second GDP estimate.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected that fourth-quarter GDP growth would be revised down to a 0.4 percent pace."
(CNBC "US Q4 revised GDP up 1.0% vs 0.4% growth expected" 2/26/16)
Now consider:
(Canada) Missing on the campaign trail: Talk of health care
Pharmacare, a seniors strategy, home care: All relegated to passing references. Evan Solomon on the missing heart of the election campaign
"....The federal government promised to continue the so-called escalator—a six per cent increase in funding each year—for five years, until 2016-17.
Then, reality hits. The government will tie its health care contribution to the provinces to economic growth, with a floor of three per cent. So, here we are, four years later, and, in case you haven’t noticed, economic growth is pretty hard to come by. In other words, get ready to hit the floor. Hard.
Health care spending by the provinces is almost certain to outstrip GDP growth, and the aging demographic will make it worse. “Premiers feel strapped, regarding fiscal sustainability,” Page says.
For the provinces, which spend about 40 per cent of their budgets on health care, it will soon seem like a patient learning to function without a limb. This explains why Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard, a surgeon who knows an amputation when he sees one, is raising the matter of the Canadian Health Transfer payments.
Elections are as much about controlling what is not being debated as they are about what is being debated. That’s why Stephen Harper has not sent out a Franklin-style search party looking for the lost health care debate. He wants this election to be about the economy and security, not health care, which he knows plays well for the opposition......."
Why we're not talking about health care this election