U.S. 2002 Trade Deficit Reaches $435.2B

Excite News ^ | 2.20.03

[Toddsterpatriot]

It's not. Medical services are benefits

When is a service not a service? When it's a benefit. So, are benefit services better or worse than just plain services?

What if a manufactured good is a benefit, like a company car? Is that better or worse than just a regular car?

[FITZ]

So the government shouldn't cut my taxes because I might spend my own money on a foreign product?

They should cut taxes but they must also cut government spending especially on welfare programs ---I haven't seen any plans of that. Cutting taxes so people can buy foreign products won't help the US economy at all, it won't create a single American job. A tax cut to induce spending helps China even more and makes the trade deficit higher.

[Willie Green]

What if a manufactured good is a benefit, like a company car?

Makes absolutely no difference if it's unaffordable.
If it's unaffordable, then it'll no longer exist.

[FITZ]

Your share of the National Debt is $22,178.02.

What about the welfare class? Is their share the same amount? If so then you'd have to add their share in with those of the working class because the welfare class can't pay theirs.

[Willie Green]

What about the welfare class? Is their share the same amount?

It's the same amount for everybody, regardless of class.

If so then you'd have to add their share in with those of the working class because the welfare class can't pay theirs.

Yep, I'm afraid so. Gonna get stuck supporting them one way or the other.
My preference, though, is to downsize government welfare and promote domestic manufacturing to provide the welfare class opportunity to earn their keep.

[Lee_Atwater]

So I remain unconvinced of even "service" jobs as being "valueless" or manufacturing jobs always being the panacea.

If you can't "touch" the product, one really hasn't produced any wealth...I believe that was a Marxian theory. A rather narrow view of what constitutes wealth.

GDP only measures final demand of goods and services (Keynsian concept); it misses all of the intermediate stages of production. So the economy could be greatly understated.

[Toddsterpatriot]

They should cut taxes but they must also cut government spending especially on welfare programs

I agree completely.

Cutting taxes so people can buy foreign products won't help the US economy at all, it won't create a single American job.

You sound like Clinton, you only like it when people spend money the way you think is best. Whatever happened to freedom?

A tax cut to induce spending helps China even more and makes the trade deficit higher.

So, we should raise taxes? The amount of money spent on Chinese or any foreign good is a relatively small part of the economy (about 11% of GDP). You'd sacrifice the 89% that would be spent on U.S. goods?

A trade deficit isn't automatically bad, a trade surplus isn't automatically good.

[american spirit]

Would consumers being "trickled on" be more accurate?....cause that's sure what it feels like!

[Citizen of the Savage Nation]

So I take it you've already looked at the 2002 trade figures and you already know where 90+% of our trade deficit lies, right? You've also seen the trend of the past 10 years and realized that our trade deficit shows the relative strength between the US economy and the rest of the world...the deficit shrinks when our economy is weak relative to the rest of the world, and grows when its the opposite. You've seen this, right?

[Citizen of the Savage Nation]

Those exploding American exports that free traders keep promising us have never materialized,

Actually, they have, if you bother to look at the stats. Our exports have more than doubled in the last 10 years but its not our fault our competitors can't afford more because they are socialistic and protectionist.

[FITZ]

Whatever happened to freedom?

I don't know ---it seems the Communists have won because our government has given them all our jobs and our entire economy. We're supporting Communist economies, freedom is gone.

[Toddsterpatriot]

You're the one who wants to limit freedom. You work for the government, don't you?

[Citizen of the Savage Nation]

Excellent point. Willie was peddling this stuff a few weeks ago, and was absolutely schooled by some freeper who I forget, that knew his stuff. In any case, Germany's economy, for example, is based more on production than ours, but I sure wouldn't want it. Our trade deficit is an example of the relative strength of our economy compared to the rest of the world, in fact, only a few categories, clothing, autos, oil, and electronic commodities like TV's make up $400 billion of the deficit by themselves.

[lasereye]

Other than some of the statistics you cite, you more or less make up everything you say about the economy as you go.

[FITZ]

Where is the freedom with our high taxes when we're supporting so many unemployed, displaced NAFTA workers, and a very large welfare class? Our economy won't be better until Americans are working. We're not really going to get taxes down, they may shift them around is all. Texas looks like it's headed for a state income tax.

[Willie Green]

you more or less make up everything you say about the economy as you go.

It appears that's more your specialty: babble some irrelevant and incoherent nonsense, then turn around and belittle those who dismiss you.
Buzz off, I'm not playing your game today.

[Toddsterpatriot]

Don't forget Japan. Willie was probably worried about them in the 1980's. They had huge surpluses and their economy is much more manufacturing based than ours.

They've had what, 10 years of recession in the last 13 or so. They now have the largest government deficit compared to GDP of all the industrialized countries.

[Toddsterpatriot]

So, what countries have the largest trade surplus? Are their economies better than ours? Are their citizens better off than ours?

Still waiting for your wisdom.

[Citizen of the Savage Nation]

Right, before it was Japan, now its China who we want to emulate, because they manufacture everything. No thanks.

[Willie Green]

 U.S. Trade with China 
(billion dollars)

Year	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002
U.S. Imports	19.0	25.7	31.5	38.8	45.5	51.5	62.6	71.2	81.8	100.1	102.3	125.1
U.S. Exports	6.3	7.4	8.8	9.3	11.7	12.0	12.9	14.2	13.1	16.3	19.2	22.0
Trade Deficit	12.7	18.3	22.7	29.5	33.8	39.5	49.7	56.9	68.7	83.8	83.1	103.1

China Says Economy Grew 8.0 Pct in 2002
'China to Replace US as the Engine for World Economy'

Fundamentally, we believe that the U.S. government needs to devote more resources and put in place new programs to build wider expertise about China and to protect our industrial base from eroding as a result of our economic relations with China.

-- C. Richard D’Amato, chairman
U.S.-China Security Review Commission
(How to improve U.S.-China relations )