Man, I thought I was the ultimate cynic! (Cynicism is one of the most valuable tools we have in facing a dishonest world). I am fascinated (capital F) by this theory of yours, and never put two and two together in this way!
I intend to look into this theory more. You really may be onto something here, John. Thank you for planting an intriguing seed here (you have found fertile ground!)
Ill get back to you .
~ joanie
Following this line of thinking one step further, the trade imbalance is subtractive to GDP, but government spending is additive. Is it just a coincidence that the $450 billion in deficit spending in 2003 almost exactly balances out the U.S. trade deficit for the year?
Maybe the government had to spend that much money to just to keep the GDP numbers in positive territory and conceal the devastating effects of all those cheap imports.