"The trade deficit is not something I would lose a lot of sleep over. If you look at history, for example during the Great Depression of the 1930s we had a trade surplus every single year. It didnt help us get out of the Great Depression. By the same token, during the prosperity of the nineties we had a trade deficit every year, and that didnt stop the prosperity. Those words [trade deficit] have a lot more emotional impact than they have economic impact."When you consider that "the trade deficit" and net foreign investment in America are an accounting identity, you can see why there might be worse things to worry about than that evil "deficit."
I was all set to ball you out for posting misinformation, but then I looked into how so many political pundits are using the terms "the trade deficit" and "net foreign investment" when they're talking about the current and capital accounts. Maybe this is why there's so much more heat than light on the subject, the fact that it's often an argument between political hacks and private businessmen each with their own values and language.
OK, so the facts never stop professional doom'n'gloomers who just complain and say a capital account surplus is just America going into debt with foreigners buying us out. No problem, America is so amazing it can do both --prosper and provide a home for professional doom'n'gloomers.