In Praise Of Canada's Extremely Safe Banks

If you were to ask the Canadians you know which of the country's institutions they're most proud of, our single-payer healthcare system would probably be near the top, for a variety of reasons: we hear so many horror stories about Americans going bankrupt (or worse) because the health-insurance industry is so amoral, and nearly every Canadian has at least a secondhand story about a Canadian he or she knows whose life was spared, due to early intervention, with treatment administered at a cost of zero (Canadian) dollars. The Canadians you know might not realize that they should also be extremely smug and obnoxious about our financial system just because it doesn't quite handle life-and-death issues, and because Canadians have no direct experience banking in other countries (like, for instance, depositing a cheque from their own Canadian bank account into their own American bank account and learning that it will take SIX WEEKS to clear), but last night's Daily Show reminded/taught us that we should be bragging about how great our banks are, too: I mean, they are literally the safest in the world.

The premise of Jason Jones's report -- that American consumers would benefit if American banks were subject to regulation of the sort Canadian banks are -- would have been sufficient for it to get a glowing review in this space. But what pushes its rating so high on the Canadianosity scale is (a) the American who provides the anti-regulation counterpoint is a thick-fingered vulgarian with a cartoonish accent, and (b) the nice, unassuming, ethical Canadian making the pro-regulation argument  has a hockey stick mounted on the wall of his office. It's adorable.