Please see your post 509; I believe you are the only erroneously conflating a trade and budget deficit. The two are not the same thing.
But .gov needs to get down to earth and not run huge deficits which are financed by China - Japan.
All of which reminds me of a certain mining town, now gone bust for many years. The (silver) lodes/ore bodies were discovered by Mexicans, who being familiar with similar ore bodies in Mexico, ran small operations and made a decent living.
Their silver was shipped to Los Angeles, then forwarded to the US Mint in San Franciso (CA)
Soon enough, one sharp operator set up a little trading post and advanced them supplies and the things needed for an on-going operation and the good life. Eventually, the Mexican chaps were over their heads and lost everything, to the store owner.
I believe this nation is at that point. We shipped a S/L of jobs overseas, but yet we want to continue the good life by borrowing - both as individuals and the government we elect.
Remember, most folks are capitalist when things are going up, but soon turn to socialism when things go down. (Borrowed that from another FReeper)
(Now let's see if Mojave knows the mining town I'm referring to)