You guys are much better off. Those of us with houses and bills are going to hurt. Those of us with stretched lines of credit and a penchant for living above our means are really going to hurt.

said another way: you can't lose money you don't have

that might not help, so here's a picture of a pack of corgis on a beach, hope it helps: http://media.tumblr.com/b9vfl4b63eh5j0pmcEfbxxxGo1_500.png

Oh I'm not worried. 95% of my assets are Canadian! :)

Well, let's see how well Canada does if the US economy collapses... :-/ So far the strong loonie has decimated some industry sectors, I'm surprised things aren't worse overall.

Little known fact . . . Canada and the EU opened discussions a while ago on Canada's integration into that politico-Economic body.

I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news . . . but we are almost certainly on our own with this.

China and Mexico may give token assistance as they are able.

Everyone is going to get hit in some form. World diversification for the win...even if you take some lumps, you'll survive.

Canada is arguably set up for a harder fall. Household balance sheets are even worse there, and the dependence on commodities could prove to be a disaster in a global economic downturn.

Household balance sheets are nowhere near as bad here in Canada as they are in the US. This is common knowledge so please provide some figures if you've got something that suggests otherwise. We also have stronger banks and didn't get nearly the "deals" that American's got for mortgages.

You are correct about our dependence on resources, but the US is only one of several markets we export to. I'm sure China and India won't mind buying our oil and trees.

> Household balance sheets are nowhere near as bad here in Canada as they are in the US. This is common knowledge

Simply untrue. The debt to income ratios are about the same, but US households on average still have more assets and cash.

Again, a citation is required. Canadian economists regularly state that the D/I ratio is much better in Canada than in the US. (Although it is a cause for concern nonetheless)

Also, given the dramatic drop in US housing values and only a leveling off of Canadian prices, I question your second point as well, at least looking forward.

Well, we will hack through it.

Well, if you're worth nothing you have nothing to lose, that's the way I see it.

This is precisely correct. Not a joke at all.

To first order, this is great for you. Stocks are going on sale. You want to do your saving immediately after the massive crash, not before.

Of course, that's just the first-order analysis. The second-order problems are potentially, um, annoying: If the economy tanks you might not earn any money to save next year. And your joy at being able to invest in a bear market (because you've got plenty of time to wait for the recovery) might be dampened by the sight of your parents moving in with you to save money because their retirement fund just evaporated. (They don't have time to wait for a recovery.)

I think that the better statement is 'volatility creates opportunities.'

For example, depressed real estate markets can create high demand for rentals. You might be able to make money each month on a mortgaged property (a real novelty in Australia for example). And if rental demand is high, prices will probably eventually recover.

The issue is that a recession by definition means most people are worse off.