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human
In the United States, Why is a Masters degree (particularly in economics) considered a "consolation" degree when it seems like it is highly valued in other countries?

Sorry if this is the wrong subreddit, but since this is about an MA in Economics, I thought it would fit in a little bit and generate a bit more of a response than if it were in say, AskAcademia. So the general consensus I've heard is that in the United States, getting a Masters degree in Economics is generally considered a "consolation" degree for those who drop out of PhD programs and I've heard some call the degree useless. Yet in Canada and other parts of the world, a large portion of economists simply just need to hold an MA in order to take an "economist" position. Why is that? Why does it seem like in the United States you need to have a PhD to be an economist and else where you don't? Or am I wrong?

And kind of related, there are a lot of masters programs in Canada whereas in the United States, most students who wish to go for something higher than their Bachelors have to go for PhD programs and then if they leave early, they are awarded their Masters? It seems to me that a Masters degree is much less valued in the United States, am I wrong about this? Why is the structure of programs so different between the US and elsewhere?

The reason I ask is because a lot of professors I've talked to in economics have advised that it is best for students who do not wish to teach to just get their MA in Economics then go into public or private industry. They've said that the opportunity cost of getting a PhD in Econ is just too high to justify unless you love teaching. Is this true? 

Edit to add: I guess what I'm trying to get at is that in Canada, for most disciplines, students first get their honours degree in their field, then their masters, then their PhD. In the United States, it seems very common for students to go straight from their bachelors to their PhD program and I'm trying to understand why this is? Going straight from a BA to a PhD in Canada is very rare. (I've come across one econ program in Canada where you could go straight from BA to PhD)
gpt
It has to do with the culture of the degree.

In the US, with rare exception (NYU), MA degrees are not *terminal* degrees. You don't just sign up for Chicago with the intent of getting a Masters. (Indeed, you cannot.) Instead, you sign up for Chicago with the intent of getting a PhD. The MA is given after you've completed your first-year comprehensive exams.

Given that one does not enter a program with the intent to get an MA, but an MA is given after one year in the program, the *usual* inference is that if someone has an MA from an American school, then it means that individual was unable to complete the dissertation phase of their degree. 

Now that's not always the right interpretation, but it is the most common.

In Canada and in some European universities (LSE), the MA is considered a terminal degree, and no such stigma applies.