“because it relies on continuing inflows of foreign investment to pay for it” Meaning: We have to borrow money from others.

I doubt you’d like any solutions to this problem. End welfare. Cut medicare and medicaid. Start scaling back social security. End earmarks. No more Katrina spending. No more UN spending. Cut taxes so that the top bracket is 25%.

This would immediately end the deficit and allow us to pay the debt off in 10 years.

It’s not business spending that’s at fault here; it’s wasteful govt spending on useless social programs.

robert108 on October 15, 2008 at 06:06 pm

Your objection to social spending is duly noted.
However it is buisiness that are failing, unless you don’t consider banks as buisiness. I suppose you consider that $700 billion social spending.
I am not denying that when a buisiness buys and ressels a “toy” that buisiness makes a profit. However dollars do not grow on trees. If I buy underwear from China and sell it in the USA surely I will profit. But that is profit for the underwear only. Do I make enough of a profit as to buy enough underwear to meet the demand? No? So I need capital to be able to buy more. Which means I have to borrow. The Chinese flush with dollars are willing to fund my buisiness.
I cannot borrow directly from them. A bank can, with backing from uncle SAM. Since we spend more than we produce we cannot go on like this forever. We do not have an unlimited supply of dollars. The investment banks along with regular banks are failing or are in danger of failing. The money tree dryed out. Notice GM and Ford did not go and borrow from the Chinese. They can, but the Chinese will want a slice of them and not a simple repayment plan. Since our banks are out of dollars we the taxpayers are asked to lend money to our banks so they can lend it back to us (a ponzi scheme). It would not serve the politicians well to admit the fucked up if they allowed foreigners to own our banks, Ford or GM. It is election time, so the dream up these shemes to cover their incompetency.
To end this I will close by saying that IMO no nation can stay sovereign for long if they are not capable producing more then they need. It is this excess capacity that makes a nation wealthy.We are importers and not exporters.

Millions of jobs have been shipped overseas.

Meanwhile we’re wealthier than other and unemployment has recently been at rock bottom.

Where are you going to find the people to take all of these jobs when we get them back?

The Whistler on October 14, 2008 at 04:37 pm

It is not just about jobs. Seen our trade deficit recently?

Yes it is. If you did not have an income producing job, would your grocer extend credit to you indefinetely?
We borrow to buy our foreign goods. How long before the Chinese and others demand payment?

If I didn’t have an income producing job, I would not have a trade deficit with my grocer. I would buy nothing from them, and they would buy nothing from me (cause I had no money). The proof of a deficit shoots your point down. We have money and are spending it on China. There is no credit being given. “Trade deficit” means that we spend more money on them than they spend on us.

You don’t understand ANYTHING.

Ironically, the very term “trade deficit” doesn’t make sense. If I trade you 6 dollars for your cool new toy…where is the deficit? Either we are saying the toy is worth more than six dollars or that the toy is less. We are trading something (money) for something else (goods). The deal is a wash. Trade is even by it’s very nature.
It’s illiterate lies that because they don’tspend as much money on OUR goods as we spend on theirs…the trade is unfair!

Kenny on October 14, 2008 at 11:34 pm

You are out of six dollars and cannot continue to be out of six dollars indefinitely. How many times are you as a nation going to use your “six dollars”? There will come a time that because your earnings are less then your spending you will not be able to buy that “six dollar toy” anymore. Therefore if you want that “toy” you have two choices: Not buy, or borrow. Borrowing has its limits. How long before the Chinese demand that we sell them something they want with those “six” dollars? What do we have to sell them that they already don’t produce? We Have America. Thats right. The good old U.S. of A. The current crisis is due to us not having any dollars left. The worthless market paper evaporated. Still we have to pay. And we are. Instead of the Chinese and Co. owning our banks, the government moved in to partialy or fully nationalize them.

…by many economists…

More bullshit. Name them. Again, moron; if not for the massive wasteful govt spending, there would be no deficit or “national debt”. Businesses operate at a profit, which is what keeps them viable. If you’re making a profit(a word you don’t understand), it exceeds your debt, by definition.
Educate yourself, instead of ignorantly parroting words you don’t understand.