Economics isn't a zero sum game, a "trade deficit" doesn't imply the US is getting the short end of the stick. Another way of looking at it may be that we have a "trade deficit" in goods, but a "trade surplus" in money (those two statements are equivalent). This is what happens when a country becomes richer, we are able to trade money for goods that we would rather not make ourselves. You may ask yourself why it is that the US is able to purchase more things than they export, one answer is that we are exporting higher quality goods. Another answer is that the US also trades in services, and in finance (especially being the global currency and all). As you pointed out, our manufacturing focus is on advanced manufacturing. Whereas we mostly import those goods which we don't want to produce - low wage low skill manual labor type production. That's not to say there's no reason to want US manufacturing, it's just dishonest to portray a trade deficit as an indication that the US economy is shrinking (there is no evidence that a trade surplus implies a growing economy or that a trade deficit implies a shrinking one). If anything it may imply we've reached a higher quality of life to be rich enough to afford to pass on lower wage jobs.

@coreybrenner

10 ай бұрын

We import more than we export, in terms of dollar amounts. The imbalance is more glaring, when you consider that American manufactured goods are among the highest priced in the world. His point about balance, however, was not purely (or at all) about the economic imbalance indicated by our massive trade deficits. Rather, think about it from the standpoint of national security or national resiliency. Our pharma companies manufacture drugs for our domestic market in China, or in some cases in the USA but from ingredients sourced in China. I think I recently saw a number over 80% of pharmaceuticals would stop flowing, if we went to war with China. This is clearly a problem of not only imbalance in the manufacturing sector, but a wilful and deliberate sabotaging of our nation. Repeat this exercise in nearly 100% of industry sectors.

@brianblithe2271

Ай бұрын

I was wondering because you seem entitled, as to your profession and career ?

@JD-ub5ic

Ай бұрын

@@brianblithe2271 what about my comment made you think I was entitled? The point of my comment was that a trade deficit may be an indication that we're trading assembly line jobs, for skilled jobs like welders, technicians, machinists, engineers, scientists, etc, which might actually be preferable. It also may indicate that goods are staying domestic rather than being exported - that US citizens can actually afford computers and cars which is why our exports on these products are low. For example, we can let other countries produce the raw materials (hard work, low income), but then when advanced manufacturing is needed to turn those materials into advanced technology, that's where the US excels and we should do it here (hard work, high income). Then the final products can mostly stay here, rather than sending it off. This gets US workers out of the coal mine, off the assembly line, and into more skilled labor positions. It produces cheaper products that stay in the US while providing better jobs. All of these things are good things, a trade deficit does not indicate the US is getting screwed. Acknowledging the competitive advantage of the US, that is skilled labor rather than unskilled labor, isn't entitlement - unless you think wanting better jobs is entitlement. To answer your question, I am an engineer and I've worked in manufacturing. I did not get my engineering degree through my parents money, they didn't even give me a home in college much less a tuition. I worked my way through college by moonlighting as a technician and completing my degree as fast as possible to avoid additional debt. I am highly paid, which again you may see as entitlement, but that is precisely why I emphasize that skilled jobs are preferrable, since skilled jobs means we can actually trade hard work for higher income, whereas if the only option we have is low skilled jobs then it doesn't matter how hard you work you will still get paid less.