The REAL problems the US is facing

I believe what I'm about to write here goes beyond routine events in the life of the US, and hence is appropriate for this branch of the forum.

We keep hearing about competitive pressures the US is facing in the world, the trade deficit etc and we sort of make a mental note of it and move forward. I was looking up some statistics today and what came up made me nervous. For example, the export statistics available on www.export.gov is simply stunning: our exports in virtually all categories have been steadily shrinking since 1996, often by a factor of two or even an order of magnitude! It's not a 50 year time span or anything -- this is very recent past. Check the numbers for yourself -- you'll be unpleasantly surprised.

To add to that, here's a graph of our trade deficit:



This gap effectively translates into the money we borrow from abroad.

Now, I believe that living on borrowed money is a bad thing to be doing, especially on that grand scale. You of course remember that our domestic borrowing is also astronomical.

I'm not an alarmist by nature, but facing these facts isn't easy. How come they are not given a priority in the public discourse? I know politicians have agendas and all, but does it not occur to them that they might be presiding over a sunset of a once grat nation? We produce less than we consume and keep doing that in truly biblical proportions.

Instead of focusing (for real) on our country competitiveness and fiscal and industrial strength, we are squandering time and resource and other things on the adventure in Iraq, which seemingly has no end to its bloody course. Congress is debating the admittedly imporant issue of gay marriage and the less important issue of raising their own salaries, but somehow the dire state of affairs in this country never truly comes to the public eye. Maybe we collectively became fat and dumb, but that's just another uncomfortable thought.

Is there a conspiracy of some sort behind all this?


[edit on 20-7-2006 by Aelita]

We produce less than we consume and keep doing that in truly biblical proportions.

How do you come to that conclusion? Do you take into account all the soft goods that you guys produce that has very little weight? Things like Software, Music, Movies, and Intellectual Property are some of the things that come to mind. I know you guys produce huge amounts of the stuff as I'm bombarded with the crap 24/7.

Have you also considered potential counter-trends that could reverse this? I can name a few if you want to know my opinion but I'm all typed out atm

Is there a conspiracy of some sort behind all this?

Yes, the Conspiracy is called Free Trade. It's been a pain in the butt for Canadians for as long as I can remember and the numbers who are against it keep on growing. Corporations want it because it makes it easier for them to do business across borders as it increases their power and control. It's a threat that will have to be "dealt" with someday.

One other question, which do you think is more stable and lucrative in an economic sense.

A Knowledge Economy which is what your country is right now, or a Manufacturing Economy which you country was prior to the 70s when things started taking a turn for the worse.

Both have their good and bad sides. On one hand, a purely Knowledge economy could hypothetically be much more efficient but with declining educational standards, how long can this model be kept up before the house 'o cards that most economies actually are, come tumbling down?

NOTE: I don't have time to read your links atm but I bookmarked them for future reading though.

Sardion,

Originally posted by sardion2000

We produce less than we consume and keep doing that in truly biblical proportions.

How do you come to that conclusion?

By looking at numbers. Trillions of dollars are hard to overlook.

Do you take into account all the soft goods that you guys produce that has very little weight?

Hmm, either I don't follow your logic here or it is a joke.

Have you also considered potential counter-trends that could reverse this? I can name a few if you want to know my opinion but I'm all typed out atm

Please.

NOTE: I don't have time to read your links atm but I bookmarked them for future reading though.

I hope you will.... It's an eye opener!

What do you mean by "Please?"

I think many in our government look at this as the dawn of the New World Order. They envision a World with one government and one economy and the power that comes with it.

There is some logic to the trade in information. It needs to be factored into the equation. I spend many thousands annually on software. I also purchase data such as marketing lists. These things won’t show up on the charts with manufactured goods but controlling the market in intellectual property will be the future of free enterprise. If we control the information flow we control the world and we do control the world in that regard. We sell so much of it we have to outsource to other countries just to take the orders.
Statistics like this can lead to wrong conclusions unless you consider non-tangible items and services in the mix.

The big mistake would be a protectionist attitude like the one that lead to the “Great Depression”. The plain truth is we need the entire population of the earth as customers to maintain our current status and lifestyle. Without trade and lots of it we could never sustain our wealth. Many companies in other countries are owned by Americans and that needs to be factored in also. Much of that deficit is likely between us and American owned foreign businesses.

We are by no means poor. We have 5% or so of the population and still control nearly half of the world’s wealth. Our economy is booming and unemployment is very low. Don’t confuse the spun facts by politicians vying for power with reality. Power is so addictive that many will say or do anything to obtain it. I’d be more concerned by this trend towards a one world government. If this happens we will all be slaves and an Orwellian world will be at our doorsteps. Free trade and diverse independent governments are vital to our future as a free people with a high standard of living IMHO.

I should have also mentioned that the National Debt is only about 2 1/2% of our GNP. Don't let the word Trillions and the phoney political posturing just before an election cloud your judgement.

[edit on 20-7-2006 by Blaine91555]