Evan,

>>1) Religious freedom which drew a lot of folks from around the world.
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>Canada has as much religous freedom as the US yet we have not prospered like the US. So this can't be the reason why the US prospered.

Well, it seems to me to be quite a lot more involved than perhaps can be gone over in a message type format. Let me think... Ahh.. Ok, in the New Testament Paul said, "If a man does not work he shall not eat." or words to that effect. Culturally that had a LOT to do with what is known as the 'Protestant Work Ethic' which is essentially hard work plus persistence; honesty, frugality, and so forth. The Yankees were known as being extremely ..er.. frugal (cheap! <g>).

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>Note: Though the US has the separation of the church and state, it is by default (or by cultural momentum) a christian state. The president is mentions his christian faith during speeches and there are photo ops of him attending church at Christmas. Canada is more secular in this regard. I only recently found out that the Prime Minister was a practicing catholic. Religion is very much removed from politics.

Interesting.. I really do not mind if it's a part of the process as it helps me to understand the thinking process of those politicians. Too many people who are either just plain afraid of this issue or who are uneducated or, with some, hostile towards it. Still, I think it has a bearing on the general thought processes..

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>>2) Political freedom which flowed from the above and added to the flow.
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>The rest of the G7 (off the top of my head Canada, Britian, Italy, Japan, France, Germany) have as much political freedom as the US. Although they have done well, they haven't done as well. So this doesn't explain why the

Sure, but were they all fleeing from tyrannical religious and governmental oppression? Remember, a large part of our historuical psyche is wrapped up in the sense of fleeing oppression to be free to worship as the worshippers saw fit.

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>>3) Economic Opportunity. Remember, until around 1917 we had no Income Tax. Gold drew a lot of folks early on too.
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>Canada has no income tax until 1917 as well. We had North American's biggest gold rush in the Yukon. This does explain why you guys are richer either.

Well, fair enough. Perhaps the income tax should be seen as a retardent on growth as opposed to the notion that the lack thereof was a part of the creation process. Good point there Evan..

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>>4) Something I'd call the Composite Character of the nation. A kind of optimism plus willingness to work hard (see #2) that like a meterological low pressure area just 'pulled' folks here.
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>Hmm... you may have some here. Americans are different that Canadians and Europeans. Heck you guys are damn optimistic! Could it be this?

Perhaps so. When Ronald Reagan came into office in 1980 we had an inflation of somewhere areound 18%. Don't know if you remember this but it was really wiping folks out. President Carter talked about 'malaise' and Reagan was Mr. Sunshine. <g> He really did a lot to help lift the spirits of the country and when folks feel better about themselves and the country they're more willing to take risks..

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>>5) A LOT of land. Now Canada and Mexico also have a lot of land as well so this might not be as significant.
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>Russia, Canada and China are the largest countries. Land mass may be a factor but doesn't seem to guarantee anything.

Sure, but Russia has been extremely oppressive as has China. Perhaps you guys just have too much ice.. <g>

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>>I think the Roman Catholic influences have tended to cause folks to be too dependent in their general outlook on life and this was also a factor - though certainly much more ambiguous I suppose.
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>Interesting. You are saying that protestants have a different view on life that makes them more successful. Not sure if I buy it, but I hadn't thought of that.

Well, yes, I actually do, though I wouldn't say that I've completely finished thinking this through. I'm kind of talking it through here in this message with you.. Mexico has a HUGE Roman Catholic percentage of their population. What other countries do and where do they stand?

I know that Hong Kong is HUGELY prosperous in a material sense so perhaps there are some clues there as well.

Interesting discussion Evan!