Why is buying something from China “more than you can afford”? For starters, we trade with the whole world, not just China. Not to mention that trade is not the only way to make money.
If these economists are saying that trade deficits don’t matter then they were idiots.
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This explains a lot.
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The internet eventually reveals everything.
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US has trade deficit of almost $1Trillion per year. This means rest of the world buys IOUs on the US. They buy US farm land, US homes and US treasuries ($8 Trillion owned by foreign entities) and US has to pay interest on this.
The curve has to bend or it ends badly.
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Of course you don’t.
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Aren’t you just proud of papa albaby1 where even he has reached the end of his rope? He’s broken out of his shell, finally. I knew someone like divvy would do it eventually.
Pete
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Warren Buffet on economists: don’t pay any attention to what economists say, frankly. Well, think about it. You have all these economists with 160 IQs that spend their life studying it, can you name me one super-wealthy economist that’s ever made money out of securities? For a group that gets paid to predict the future, economists have a pretty dismal track record. In his letters and talks, he’s suggested that economists’ predictions often serve more to justify their existence than to provide actionable insights
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Dear Dividend,
I agree with you. There are two sides to some of this. Foreign affairs are more complex than figuring out who the bad guy is.
The Democrats preclude far too much.
Trump is now talking tax hikes. Oh you thought…silly man.
I’ve always admired his patience and restraint…still do!
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I wonder what happens if, in the middle of trade negotiations with China, a US court decides that Trump had no authority to impose these tariffs without action by Congress … as he doesn’t.
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Which is why raising the corporate tax would incentivize the US to supplant the Chinese in manufacturing.
The problem is our service sector does not want higher taxes.
But Trump…follow the leader…
The Chinese economy is falling apart completely. That is not the country’s future. Odd that but the Chinese leadership never took the time to modernize itself. Xi betrayed all hope in China.
You realize these are called capital inflows, right? We then use that money to invest in…aw never mind.
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It is a good thing that Trump started off applying twice the tariff rate he wants.
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OK, let’s see who owns what before we go all USA! USA! On us:
- Canada: The largest foreign owner, with 31% of foreign-held U.S. agricultural land.
- Netherlands: A significant owner, with 12% of foreign-held U.S. agricultural land.
- [Italy](Google Search Also a major foreign owner, holding 7% of foreign-held U.S. agricultural land.
- United Kingdom: A substantial foreign owner, with 6% of foreign-held U.S. agricultural land.
- Germany: A key foreign owner, holding 6% of foreign-held U.S. agricultural land.
- China: Owns a small fraction of the land, about 1%.
- Other countries: Around 100 other countries own the remaining 38% of foreign-held U.S. agricultural land.
OK, but how much of our land is owned by “foreigners?”
Foreign investors own or have an interest in roughly 40 million acres of U.S. agricultural land. This represents about 3.1% of all privately held agricultural land and 1.8% of all land in the United States. Canada owns the largest portion of this foreign-owned land.
Well OK again, but is it a one-way street?
**AI Overview**Yes, the US does have substantial land holdings around the world, primarily through the Department of Defense, which owns, leases, or possesses 26.1 million acres worldwide. The US is also the second most active country in the world for land trade, buying land from 28 countries and selling to three. While the US is active in buying and selling land, it’s the second most active country in the world, after China
Well, double OK. Is there more? Yes, actually there is!
Yes, US corporations do own land in other countries. In fact, they own over nine million acres of land in various countries around the world. This investment is part of a broader trend of US companies investing significantly in foreign economies, with over $6.58 trillion invested as of 2022. This includes various types of land ownership, such as for agricultural purposes, real estate, and businesses with land holdings.
So, roughly speaking, we own about as much of everyone else as they own of us?
Yes
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People are tripping over each other trying to tell me that $1Trillion trade deficits are good for the nation.
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I don’t think they have to. Just let time negotiate for them.
at 4% US government is paying foreign entities it is $320 Billion+ / year
This is $320Billion we don’t have and need to borrow.
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I posted an interview, with Friedman and Charlie Rose, some weeks ago, where Friedman pretty much said that. He said that other countries trade their goods for dollars. Then, the only thing they can do with the dollars is buy US debt, which they will always be willing to do. Rose, in effect, called Friedman nuts, because Friedman was insisting the US can print dollars, spend them, borrow them back, and spend them again, to infinity.
This clip did not receive any recs when I posted it before, so, here it is again. The God of 1980s economic thinking, saying the US can print and borrow, to infinity.
iirc, Friedman said about the same thing in “Free To Choose”. His points were that the US should go totally free trade, not charge tariffs on anything from anyone, unilaterally, so we can buy the cheapest goods in the world, printing and borrowing the dollars to pay for it, because, he claimed, the counterparties will always be eager to accept dollars. Sounds like Tooth Fairy thinking to me.
Steve
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