The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that in the 1980s, Canada had a strong economy with a standard of living of 90 to 95 per cent of that of our American cousins. Guest columnist Tom Czitron writes that Canada had a comparative standard of living without the high crime rates of America, with universal health care and an abundance of oil and gas. Fast-forward to 2024. The standard of living of Canadians is 25 to 40 per cent below that of Americans, based on a variety of data that include prices and purchasing power parities, gross domestic product per capita, average incomes, taxes, and costs of living. The average American pays slightly more in total taxes than the average Canadian but, based on median incomes, earns significantly more. This leaves Canadians over all with only between 50 to 60 per cent of the aftertax income of Americans. For the 10 years ended March 31, 2024, the total return of the S&P/TSX Composite Index was an annualized 8.13 per cent, compared with the S&P 500 at 14.64 per cent, in Canadian dollars. This is significant: $100,000 invested in the Canadian market would be worth $218,505. The same amount invested in the U.S. would grow to $392,068, or almost 80 per cent more.