Tell that to 11th century Byzantium, 17th century Spain, 18th century Holland, and 20th century Britain.
"We have so much more to spend". Have you any idea how sunk in debt the American household and corporation are ? We have been running up the plastic to disguise net downwards social mobility. The bankruptcy rates have been astronomical because households cannot survive even short periods of unemployment.
Imagine if tomorrow the government cut back welfare program and other handout programs to pre 1960's rates. I think we'd immediately know how disguised downward social mobility really is. Imagine the housing market if government housing subsidies were not $400 to $700 a month.
An increasing number of economists, including those with such clout as Milton Friedman,(http://www.hooverdigest.org/974/friedman.html) are saying that trade deficits aren't a big deal. Indeed, since the 70s, the economy has generally performed better in years when the trade deficit has increased as opposed to the years in which it shrank.
Regardless, though, a trade deficit, by any measure, is a small price to pay for free trade.