lol Aren't swiss banks meant to be the safest in the world because of how they don't even let the governments get into their clients' accounts or something? I think socialism and communism can't really work for governing a country or economy, that's easily said and seen, well, that's if you disregard Cuba of course. But I do think for some reason that it may well have a place in regards to governing banks and it may be just the thing we're looking for to keep those things in check. The problem is a lot of the 'socialist' or 'communist' countries and governments you hear about ( mainly being accused of being by the loudest neo-con Americans surprise surprise ) or have seen in history often don't follow at all the very ideals they are touting. Not only that as we saw with the Soviet Union the system largely became corrupt and didn't really follow any ideal at all. So I don't think we can really say yet what works and what doesn't because we haven't actually seen it all yet.
Covertibility, I'm not sure if Canada is what you define as a socialist country, but I will tell you this much. I live in Calgary, Alberta and I have travelled in most of the states in the US and I have been in almost every major city in the United States except for those in the extreme southeast. In terms of standard of living, Calgarians are better off than practically any American major centre, and in many cases it isn't even close. Unemployment is relatively low, and a very small percentage of the population would be considered poor by American standards. And yes, we do have universal health care! Last winter, my wife and I travelled to Texas, and one thing we did notice is that many of the really nice buildings (by our standards) were the enormous medical complexes in the larger cities. I can see what American health care dollars are buying. Too bad life expectancy figures and infant mortality figures aren't nearly as impressive. I note also that ALL of the major Canadian banks are on the list of 50, and they are conservative in their lending policies. They deserve to be on the list and have ample reserves set aside for loan losses. Come on up and see for yourself. We've got a very good thing going up here. I guarantee you'll be impressed. The scenery is worth a good look, too!
Why do you think we travel to Texas, California, Arizona, or Hawaii in the winter? By the way, the temperatures this week are predicted to be in the 80's every day. Our summers are actually quite pleasant, and the mountains are beautiful and only an hour away.
Canadian banks also are required to keep a larger percentage of deposit reserves which helps to reduce crazy leverage.