[hubbubhubbub]

Frankly the game winning RBI is one of the most meaningful stats in all sports. But what the trade/gap deficit really means is that capital (and with it jobs) is flowing out of the U.S. Now you may call that meaningless but no sane person would.

[ALPAPilot]

What it means is currency is flowing out of the U.S. and products are flowing in. That cash has to come back to the U.S. in some way or its only use is to wallpaper someone's office or wipe someone's ass. It comes back via purchases, investments, or currency exchanges. The exchange rate just depends on the choices being made.

Since the Chinese peg their currency to the dollar, they have no choice but to invest.

[Zhangliqun]

But what the trade/gap deficit really means is that capital (and with it jobs) is flowing out of the U.S. Now you may call that meaningless but no sane person would. FALSE: The trade deficit is consistently matched dollar for dollar by foreign investment into this country. It's pointless to talk ONLY about what is "flowing out" if you don't also examine what's flowing IN. We have had trade deficits pretty much every year for the past 30 years. Our economy has had its ups and minor downs during that time but nothing serious, and the trade deficit has had no significant effect one way or the other. If the trade deficit was such a scary thing, we would be in a second Great Depression by now. We're not. Germany has had a horrible economy for the past 30 years. They are running a trade surplus right now. Plus, poor developing countries usually run a trade surplus. Again, meaningless.