Buckdog

It's pretty obvious why the candidates don't raise this issue - except for increasing gas prices, the average US citizen is completely shielded from the impacts of the dollar's drop. Manufacturers and suppliers are incresaingly absorbing the extra costs to avoid having to raise prices in the US - their largest market. Instead we Canadians (and others) get to pick up the slack. Want to know why prices haven't fallen in Canada to match the US dollar? We're paying more so Americans don't have to - as simple as that.

That makes a lot of sense. And when a Democratic President comes into office, and corporate America lets the true value of the dollar ride, the new president is likely going to wear what Bush weaved.

Canjun, we pay more because we always have.

Canada has a larger area with a smaller population, less efficient.

Canada has higher tarifs on many products than the U.S.
electronics in U.S. from asia %0
in Canada 15%
How would you expect our merchants to match these prices.

Canada has more regulations that force companies to make small changes to sell here, books often have to be printed here but on smaller runs are more expensive.

Canada has more social programs that all taxes help support making goods more expensive. Pay less for goods, get less Government protection.

Even if the dollar value is totaly taken into account things will always cost more in Canada.

Democrat or Republican, they spend way too much and believe in inflating their way out of debt, hence the devaluation of their currency. The real danger here is that the BoC will attempt to devaluate the loonie and follow the greenback down. This will destroy the lives of people who have saved, people who have fixed pensions, people who have COLA clauses, but have to rely on fair CPI, GDP, from Governments stats to get a raise.

Is it any wonder that people who have worked high up in organizations like Goldman Sacs run many of the central banks. Who is their loyalty too the Gov or their ex and probably future employers?

I'm not a liberatarian but the only Prez candidate who understands how money works and who does not believe in destroying the currency to save big banks and screw the public is Ron Paul. If nothing else his economic possition is spot on.

Lord of Wealth ... I don't disagree with anything you've said - we will always pay more for the reasons you put forward. You're absolutely right - it simply costs more to do business in Canada. However, because we are a smaller market (roughly 10% of the US), a price revolt here has less impact on large multi-national suppliers. I've been in the boardroom, and I can tell you that, when faced with pricing pressures in one market, you look to other markets to offset the impacts. So Canadian, European, Australian, etc. prices will not fall nearly as fast or as far as they could because they have to balance an even more precipitous decline in the US.

the average US citizen is completely shielded from the impacts of the dollar's drop

Obviously, you donhj't live in the US. If you did you'd know better. The falling dollar values and increases in energy, food, and medical costs are impacting millions of US residents, especially the poor. Many industries that have maintained price here have done so by dropping quality.

Tomcat is correct, food and energy especially have been rising sharply in the U.S. due to more expensive imports. While the weak dollar is helping manufacturing some, much of their raw materials are also imported, metals, wood, concrete so they only get a partial benifit from the low dollar.

The striping of these factors from the CPI is one reason the Gov can claim inflation is at 2ish percent, rather than the more accurate 9-10% calculated by John williams at Shadow Stats
http://www.shadowstats.com/cgi-bin/sgs/data

This fellow calculates inflation with the formula used at the begining of Clintons era, funny they keep changing the formula to keep inflation down rather than keep inflaion down.

In fact the real definition of inflation is the increase in the money supply which is 14% in the U.S. 8% in Canada.
Increase in prices are simply a symptom of inflation as added liquidity case the same products.

In both countries there is a lack of understanding in how money works, and a definate misrepresentation of data by Governments to hide their mismanagement. Governments massage the data and we never know when we are being screwed