JK37 wrote: ↑April 16th, 2023, 8:15 am
And WHEN were you in high school?
I went long before a handful of American multinational company elites rewrote the curriculum, so they could enrich themselves at the expense of most of us.
Social Studies 101:
When a country exports more goods and services than it imports, it creates a trade surplus. A trade surplus represents a healthy economy, as it demonstrates a positive flow of currency from foreign entities. Exporting can bring profits to a country or money into a country, helping stimulate its economic growth. The balance of imports and exports impacts GDP, exchange rates, and inflation levels.
But what happens when a country imports more than it exports? That's called a trade deficit, and it's not good for the economy. A trade deficit means that a country is spending more money on foreign goods and services than it is earning from selling its own. A trade deficit can lead to lower wages, higher unemployment, and increased debt. A trade deficit
can also make a country more dependent on foreign suppliers, which can pose risks to its national security and sovereignty.
That's the situation we are in right now. After the 2000 U.S. trade deal with China (signed by President Bill Clinton with Bush era Republican approval) millions of middle-class jobs were outsourced. The result is lower wages for all of us, not just manufacturing workers. Contrary to the theory of free trade, broad losses in income caused by our trade policies outweigh the gains consumers get from cheaper imported products.
The overall U.S. trade deficit rose 12.2 percent in 2022, nearing $1 trillion as Americans purchased large volumes of foreign machinery, medicines, industrial supplies and car parts. The goods and services deficit reached $948.1 billion, its largest total on record, after rising $103 billion from the previous year.
Not manufacturing your own goods can create vulnerabilities in supply chains and national security. Supply chain disruptions can cause general economic disruption and key commodity shortages, which can drive aggressive national behavior and international instability. The absence of adequate domestic production capacity for essential goods, coupled with the frailty of on-demand global supply chains and reliance on them, can leave a country dangerously exposed during an international emergency.
That's why we need to rethink our trade policies and invest in our own industries. We need to create more jobs at home and reduce our dependence on foreign goods. We need to balance our trade and protect our national interests. We need to make America great again.