Economy
So I’m Told Trade Deficits Are Good

So I’m Told Trade Deficits Are Good

Many economists claim not only that huge U.S. trade deficits are good things for America, but that they can prove it logically. Well, they are somewhat correct. ...
Kurt Williamsen

In 2013, the United States had a $471.5 billion trade deficit. In 2012, it had a deficit of $534.7 billion — more than a trillion dollars in just two years. Americans keep buying products from overseas — more than foreigners buy from the United States — to a large extent because government regulations in the United States make producing items here so expensive that U.S. companies have difficulty competing, because trade treaties give trade advantages to other countries, and because America imports large quantities of oil (oil represented roughly 35 percent of the U.S. trade deficit in 2014).

Using logic, many Americans deduce from our deficits that a situation is occurring similar to the following scenario: More U.S. imports than exports indicates less production here, fewer jobs here, fewer opportunities for advancement, lower wages, longer hours at the jobs that are available, and more years of work before retirement — if retirement comes at all.

They also wonder how long we can continue running up these trade deficits, because wealth is literally being drained from our country. Or is it?

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