What the mayors say.

From other sources I am aware of, I found these to be accurate; I invite you to check their accuracy for yourself. (This are not strictly about Bush.)

The Liberal Party in Canada states:

...Let's compare 2003 rates:

Someone with an income of CDN$30,000 in Canada paid 11.9%, or CDN$3559 federal income tax. Someone in the United States, making USD$30,000 ended up paying USD$4310 federal tax, or about 14.4%.

An individual making CDN$60,000 paid CDN$10,028 or about 16.7%. The U.S. amount for USD$60,000 is USD$13,810 or about 23%. That is probably shocking to most Canadians. Please note this comparison does not include State or Provincial taxes -- which could add between 0% to 10%, depending on where you live. It also does not factor in tax deductions, which can vary greatly on an individual basis.

Futhermore, the average Canadian income in $CAD is higher than the average U.S. income in $USD. In 2001, the average family income in Canada was $60,300CAD. In that same year, the US average was $42,228USD (or roughly $57,000CAD at a 1.35 exchange rate). This contradicts another popular myth that the average American makes more money.

Once you start looking at the actual numbers, you find that Canadian tax rates are very much in line with those in the United States, on average. Our economy, trade deficit and federal budgets have been much better for years. (The entire thing is here.)

During 2003, net borrowing and lending grew steadily due to record low interest rates and a growing federal budget deficit. Net borrowing and lending in credit markets reached a new peak of $2,7 trillion in the 1st quarter of 2004 (annualized amount). Average of borrowing and lending in 2003 was roughly more than double the volume of borrowing and lending in 1995, and first two quarters of 2004 has experienced high debt levels. The growth in net borrowing during 2002 and 2003 has been driven by borrowing in the household and government sectors. -- Source (and lots of other valuable economic data) can be found here.

Sorry, but I think that the facts actually make the picture look pretty darned bleak for the future.