The budget deficit is a result of the trade deficit.
And the trade deficit does have to do with trade barriers, or more accurately the lack of trade barriers. We lowered the tariffs in the 1960s and that resulted in a flood of cheap imports that drove American businesses out of business, or drove them to off-shore their products.
The result is that Chinese are employed and Americans are not. That drives the budget deficit deficit because now we have to support 100 million Americans on food stamps, medicaid and other support programs. And we no longer get income tax revenues from those Americans working. And states and local communities no longer get sales tax revenues because those Americans no longer have much to spend.
That would be an interesting argument to make, if you can prove it.
Gee Danny there you go using common sense again.
You have demonstrated that Free Trade has categorically failed.
It’s supporters cannot prove it works.
If Trade Deficits were a good thing, as the statist Free Traders claim, Africa would be the economic powerhouse on the planet. Instead, most of them still pee and poop in their potable water
Job exporting companies use the reduced labor cost to affect costs & profits and the saved labor cost is exported to the government. Taxpayers pay in increased costs for the product or increased costs in taxes. Which is the most costly for the country?
You might consider that exporting jobs has ruined the SS system because the workers and owners pay no SS tax.
That must be why the trade deficit dropped to zero at the end of the 1990s.
Oh, wait........
Right on.
China sells America 400 trillion every year.
America sells China in return, just 100 trillion.
Meaning each and every year, America buys 300 trillion more from China, than China buys from America.
This is not good at all. Bring back American jobs.