In some ways, Canada is a small country

ByHeather

When it comes to land mass, Canada is slightly larger than the US — 3.9 million square miles in Canada vs 3.8 million for the US.

But when it comes to people and economic activity, the is US much larger. Consider this:

  • The US population is about 10 times that of Canada’s.
  • The GDP of the US is more than 10 times that of Canada’s
  • California’s population is greater than the population of all of Canada.
  • California’s economy is larger than Canada’s.

I Love Charts puts Canada’s population in relation to the US in perspective. You can put 10 Canada’s into one US. Nice!

Similar Posts

  • Government

    ByHeather

    Suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.

    — Mark Twain

    As I watched the latest meltdown from the latest cabinet confirmations I can’t help but think that Mark Twain may have been on to something in his assessment of people who run for political office.

    It has been obvious to me for a long time that congress is broken. I couldn’t quite articulate exactly how I thought it was broken but I knew something was wrong. And then I discovered Lawrence Lessig’s latest mission. Partnering with Joe Trippi, he is determined to change congress. He makes a powerful case that lobbying and special interests have eroded the very foundations of the constitution.

  • Growth

    ByHeather

    Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell.

    — Edward Abbey

    Perhaps it is my natural temperament to do things deliberately and with purpose (after all, it is the tortoise who wins the race). Maybe it is my persistent skepticism. Quite possibly it is an outgrowth of my intuitive personality type (INTJ). Whatever the reason, I have always been resistant to Wall Street’s incessant demand for growth from public companies.

  • Just Be

    ByHeather

    Sometimes the best thing we can do is to stop “doing” and just be. You don’t have to “be” anything. We don’t have to “be” quiet, or productive, or useful, or nice. Just be.

    In his brilliant album that gave music and lyrics to Richard Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Neil Diamond wrote:

    Be, as a page that aches for a word that speaks on a theme that is timeless.

  • Lying

    ByHeather

    What upsets me is not that you lied to me, but that from now on I can no longer believe you.

    — Friedrich Nietzsche

    Like most children, my parents raised me with an unending plea to always tell the truth. In my mom’s eyes, a clean conscience was to be valued above all else. “Besides,” she always said, “if you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember what you said.” I have carried this commitment to truth and honesty with me, almost to a fault. It has served me well.

    As I have observed the global meltdown of the financial industry I can’t help but believe that it has been forever transformed by a blatant lack of trust. When the banks stopped lending it was clear that they no longer believed one another. The Bernie Madoff case was the icing on the cake. It seems to me that it will take a long time to restore trust and confidence into the financial system. In the process, I am not sure what kind of “financial system” will actually emerge on the other side.

  • Reading

    ByHeather

    Books must be read as deliberately and reservedly as they are written.

    — Henry David Thoreau, Walden

    I have always been a deliberate reader. When I stumbled across this quote while reading Walden so many years ago, it simply gave me permission to enjoy the pace at which I read. Good writing is more than just conveying ideas or recounting a story. Good writing creates a mood, and images, and evokes emotions — and these cannot be digested while speed reading.

    One of my favorite writers is Pat Conroy, and my favorite book of his is Prince of Tides. When I read this poetic prose I am drawn in to the rich and colorful images Conroy is able to create. Every sentence feels like a sculpture carefully crafted.

  • Persistence

    ByHeather

    Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.
    Talent will not; nothing is more common
    than unsuccessful men with talent.
    Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
    Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.
    Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.

    — Calvin Coolidge

    This is one of my all-time favorite quotes. I have committed it to memory at various times in my life and had it posted on the wall of my office on many occasions.

    I am a firm believer that the tortoise always wins the race in the end. Every worthwhile journey is long and arduous. Determination and persistence compel me to continue to put one foot in front of the other and trod on.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.