1. US & Canada

2. Free Market Economy
Free Market: allows people the freedom to own, operate, and profit from their own business
Pros:
Businesses can hire employees & pay them
Laws protect private property rights, employment opportunities & the health and safety of workers
USA & Canada are both post-industrial societies, which places an emphasis on service & high tech businesses rather than industry & manufacturing
DTM: Stage 4
Overall trend: agriculture  industry  services

3. United States vs. Canada
USA
Mostly, the government does not interfere
Private organizations handle services
Broadcasting regulated by the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) but companies like ABC, CBS are privately owned
People choose health care plans---but are now required to have it
Canada
SOME government interference!
Government owns and administers more services than the USA
Health care is publicly funded, not privately
CBC: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation—owned by the government

4. Use of agriculture Overall trend: Focus on businesses & services!
Still, use of agriculture is seen in both countries
Characteristics:
Commercial Farming, but usually with family-owned businesses
Use of co-ops
Largely used as cropland & for livestock to graze
Canada has less arable (fertile) land to use for farming than the USA, but both countries still dedicate many acres for farming

5. Why are the number of farmers decreasing???
High cost of farming
Have to use expensive machinery, fertilizers, and chemical pesticides
Unpredictable consumer demand
We don’t know what people want, and our ENTIRE economy depends on supply & demand.
If people don’t want a product, farmers could lose money
Risk of natural disasters
Time-consuming
VERY hard, physical work

6. Key Agricultural Products
The US & Canada lead in the production of…
Beef
Eggs
Milk
Corn
Wheat
All of these products are shipped within the country and around the world!

7. The Wheat Belt
Wheat Belt = prairie provinces of Canada & Great Plains of the USA
Type of wheat grown depends on climate
Northern plains: shorter growing season & cooler climate  spring wheat (planted in the spring, harvested in the fall)
Southern areas: winter wheat (early summer harvest)

8. Technology Helps break geographic barriers! 
Before Technology
After Technology
Cattle ranching was restricted to wide- open spaces
Dairy farms were mainly in “America’s Dairyland” (NY state to Minnesota)
Development of new breeds of cattle that need less room to moove
 expansion of dairy farms and cattle ranches

9. Manufacturing & Services
Manufacturing makes up 20% of the economies of the US & Canada and employs 20% of the workforce
Technology has allowed greater quantities of goods with less workers than in the past
Exports:
Transportation equipment & machinery are large exports for both the US & Canada
Other major exports:
Aerospace and aircraft equipment (USA)
Automobiles (USA mainly, but also Canada)
Food processing (USA)
Wood-based products (Canada—Quebec in particular)

10. Manufacturing & Services
75% of workers are employed in the service (TERTIARY!!) industry!
Government workers
Education 
Health care
Tourism
Real Estate
Banking
Entertainment
Both countries are considered to be post- industrial!

11. Manufacturing & Service
High-tech industry is VERY important to the economies of the US & Canada
Used for computer science & telecommunications
USA Leaders
California: Silicon Valley is home to 100 of the largest high-tech companies (including Apple & Facebook!)
Seattle, Washington: leads the high-tech business in Washington state, which has the sixth-highest concentration of high-tech businesses in the USA
Texas: 1,000+ software companies in AUSTIN! (including Dell in Round Rock, TX). Also, some fast-growing technology businesses are found in Dallas

12. “Reetooling” the Rust Belt
Rust Belt: older, industrial areas around the Great Lakes whose mills were abandoned when companies moved south towards the Sunbelt
Example cities—Buffalo, Pittsburgh.
Happened in the last third of the 1900s (around )
Now, these cities are being turned from abandoned mills into tourist areas and public spaces in an effort to bring some new life to the cities

14. Transportation
Both US & Canada has had a heavy reliance on automobiles since WWII
Challenges:
Building & maintenance of highways, roads & bridges  $$$$$$$$$
Increased pollution from the use of cars, especially in urban areas
Traffic jams! 

15. Transportation
Cities have tried or are making plans to come up with new modes of transportation:
Subway systems in NYC, San Francisco, Montreal
Seattle, Dallas, Houston use monorail systems
Chicago, Washington, DC have commuter trains
Atlanta & Chicago also are two of the busiest airports in the world—Atlanta Hartsfield & Chicago O’Hare
Also applies to the movement of GOODS!
Pipelines--long networks of underground or aboveground pipes—are used to carry ¼ of the region’s freight in oil & gas

16. Communication
Telephone & Internet services are the primary means of communication
…I know what your textbook says, but it was written in 2002, before social media like Facebook and Twitter (even MySpace) 
Computers are available for MOST people in the US & Canada, but there is still concern over the affordability of these services.
Canada’s broadcasting & phone services are owned by the government (public service— TAXE$)
USA: services are owned by private businesses
Government makes sure there is no monopoly, or the total control of industry by ONE person or company

17. Trade & Interdependence: US & Canada are powerful! 
The US is #2 in all world exports, provides 10%+ of all world exports
chemicals, agricultural & manufactured goods, and raw materials (metals, iron ore) are exported—also software!

18. Trade & Interdependence
the US has a trade DEFICIT because we rely more on imports (what we buy) than exports (what we sell)
Why??
US has a large population (#3 in the world!)
Growing industries  more energy sources, mainly oil/petroleum from the Middle East!
Other countries charge tariffs on imports, which raises the prices of our products and reducing our sales
Canada has a trade SURPLUS & earns more from exports than it spends
Why??
Canada has a much smaller population because of it’s harsh climate
Energy costs are less BECAUSE of this smaller population

19. NAFTA North American Free Trade Agreement
Created in 1994
US, Canada & Mexico can trade goods freely—no restrictions!
Is different from the EU because PEOPLE are still not allowed to flow freely
you still need a passport to get into Canada & Mexico!
One effect: OUTSOURCING!
US businesses are building factories in Mexico cheaper labor, cheaper goods for Americans, saves $$