Put Some
Mountain in the Capitol
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The Trade Deficit provides the best and most reliable indication of the relative international trade position of our country vs. the rest of the world. A look at the chart on the right provides incontrovertible proof that our trade position is deteriorating. Over ten years of steady deterioration of our international trade position is very alarming to say the least. But the author is even more concerned about the apparent lack of concern about our country's deteriorating international trade position. Every new age rocket scientist, the so called economists, clearly state that the ever increasing record breaking trade deficits can not continue forever. That a day of reckoning must come. So when our country continues down the road of trade deterioration another month, should there be some concern? Would a more accurate title for news reports on our excessive trade deficit be:
How long can our country continue to accumulate foreign debt at these excessive rates?
But instead of addressing this festering problem - the Bush Administration and leading Congressional leaders of both parties have passed CAFTA (See: CAFTA passed House by two votes ...) agreement seemingly oblivious to the long term implications of these failed economic polices. In fact what they call "Free Trade" is misnamed, it is "Expensive Trade" and since this idea narrowly passed Congress in 1992 (NAFTA) our country's international trade position has steadily deteriorated. Now they are setting their sights on the next Expensive Trade Agreement, the FTAA mis-named the Free Trade Area of the Americas.
Take a quick look at the chart on the left. Now remember this is the chart provided by the US Commerce Department. This is not a chart of success it is a chart showing the results of failed policies and the trend has been downward since 1993.
In our life time this country has made the transition from the world's largest creditor nation into the world's largest debtor nation. That is not the legacy of a successful policy, but if something is not changed is the legacy we are leaving to our grandchildren. Unless something changes, we will go down in history as being responsible for the greatest accumulation of debt in the world's history (See: BUSH: Go ahead liberal punks - just try to outspend me!). This should be especially troubling to Christians. It should be obvious to all that such levels of debt accumulation can not continue forever. But instead of beginning to look at these trends in a realistic manner, our elected officials from both the Republican and Democrats seem content to ride the downward slope. To repeat the basics (virtually unchanged over last ten years, only gets worse): Trade in Goods
When Americans need the products those factories used to produce - they have to buy imports. As long as more factories move to foreign countries than move to our country, we will export less and import more! The Expensive Trade Agreements - misnamed Free Trade Agreements are resulting in moving factories and goods producing facilities to foreign countries. CAFTA which was recently shoved through Congress will only create more empty factories - resulting in Americans having to buy more imports. Trade in Services Every time an American company outsources jobs to a foreign country, those services are no longer available to sell to foreign companies or for American companies to purchase domestically and are now imports. While we still have a trade surplus in services it is shrinking and at the current trend will be a deficit around the end of this year.
The products that these former American facilities and jobs used to produce are no longer produced in our country. They are produced in foreign countries and are now imports so imports rise. They can no longer be exported so exports decline. This is not rocket science.
Maybe you should load up one of these Republican or Democrats that say this is good for us and drive them to an empty facility parking lot. Give them a pencil and paper and let them count the trucks leaving with products for sale! Let them count the number of people arriving for work! In a few days they might begin to get the picture, but the real question is do they represent you - or do they represent special interests? Agriculture Agriculture has been producing a positive trade balance for decades. But even this mainstay of American Trade is sliding toward a negative balance. In May, Agriculture was down to breakeven, continuing the trend downward toward a deficit in what has been a positive balance for decades:
American companies are shunning agriculture
products grown in our country under high standards to import food
stuffs grown with much lower standards.
Conclusion: In conclusion - every component of international trade is on a downward trend. There is one category that shows the extent to which President Bush's (and previous President Clinton's) economic policies are destroying our international trade position - advanced technology. Now most would believe that our country leads the world in advanced technology, which at one time we did. But no longer:
Even in advanced technology products - empty factories and development centers do not generate much! And the trend continues. Virtually every month additional "high tech" companies outsource development and make major investments in foreign production facilities (See: More American jobs to foreign countries, HP this time ...). American jobs that are sent to another country have something in common with empty factories, call centers and development centers. A lot of Americans who used to think every thing was going well - they used to work there.
How Continuing Trade Deficit affects you, the citizens Some may ask, "Why should I care?" The answer to that will fall into two categories; those that are directly affected and those who are not. Directly affected:
Not directly affected:
The continuing downward trend of our Trade Deficit is a formula for disaster. A few months ago the new age rocket scientist, Alan Greenspan stated that we had a problem, that ever increasing Trade deficits can not continue forever. Then Warren Buffet echoed our claim that the Bush policies are destroying your grandchildren's future
Meanwhile the Bush Economic Polices continue their march into our country's history. Seemingly oblivious to the long term effects of these economic policies the Bush Administration continues to feed the public one crisis after another while using the power of the government to build "political capitol" (see: Bush Trade Policy - a look behind the scenes of a failed economic policy - its ugly!). We no longer have the capacity to produce enough goods to balance the Trade deficit. This was recently confirmed in a report in a Chicago paper (http://www.suntimes.com/output/business/cst-fin-hale10.html):
If all of our remaining facilities ran at 100% capacity for the rest of the year and exported every bit of additional product - we would still have a trade deficit! But instead of polices to increase utilization and capacity of our facilities we have government polices in place which encourages their relocation to foreign countries! Until the failed policies are changed - there is nothing to stop the downward trend! Lets repeat that statement, it is very important:
There should be little question about the effects of the current economic policies. The trends are so obvious that you do not even need to be a rocket scientist to figure out where they are headed. Do not be misled by small month by month fluctuations. Our international trade position is steadily deteriorating. Down, down, down - like a submarine with screen doors. It is up to you the American citizen to decide how long - you - are going to let it continue. The most recent Expensive Trade Agreement - CAFTA - was passed by the narrowest of margins in the US House of Representatives, by one vote. Many of you have voted for and supported members of Congress that turned their back on you under intense Bush Administration and corporate lobbying. You have the power to "retire" these corporate representatives and get replacements who will represent you - not special interests. Every one of the US Representatives that voted for CAFTA (Roll Call Vote: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll443.xml#Y) is up for election next year.
The Southern Party has released a position statement that would change the failed and misnamed "free trade" to one of FAIR Trade (See: A Southern Party of Georgia Position on solving our country’s Trade Deficit). If you are concerned about this issue - we hope you will take a few minutes to read this position statement. We also appreciate any help in passing this information on to others.
“Nobody
made a greater mistake than he who did nothing
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Continued
Decline
