David Leonardt, editor of the NYT's new Upshot data-analytical section, seems like a good guy who tries to bear in mind the interests of average Americans. He's still constrained from mentioning the obvious racial angles to many stories, though.
UP NORTH, ON TOP
Life in Canada, Home of the World’s Most Affluent Middle Class
APRIL 30, 2014
By Ian Austen and David Leonhardt
... We reported last week that median income in Canada appears to have surpassed median income in the United States, based on more than three decades of international income surveys analyzed by LIS, a research group, and by The Upshot. As recently as 2000, median income in the United States was significantly higher. The data also show that lower-income families in Canada and much of northern Europe now make more than their American counterparts.
... Young Canadian adults, for example, are now more educated than their American peers.
Beyond obvious economic issues like education and housing, Canadians also notice cultural differences that seem to affect living standards.
“Our family values are huge,” said Ms. Mustachi, who has three grown children with her husband, William, 60, a millwork department manager at a Lowes outlet. “From what I see on TV, I don’t get a sense of that in the States.”
She acknowledged that her impression might stem from the shows she watched, including “Judge Judy,” but she is right that family structure in the two countries is different. About 68 percent of American children live with two parents; about 80 percent of Canadian children do.
Demographics of Canada (2011) v. USA (2013)White: 78.5% v. 63.0%Asian: 12.4% v. 5.1%White or Asian: 90.9% v. 68.1%Black 2.9% v. 13.1%Latin American: 1.2% v. 16.9%Native American: 4.3% v. 1.2%Pacific Islander: NA v. 0.2%Multiracial: 0.5% v. NAOther: 0.3% v. 0.5% (est.)Non-Asian Minorities: 9.2% v 31.9%
Sure, we're poorer than the Canadians, but Diversity — it's priceless!
