Trade deficits do not mean economic woe, they mean Americans have lots of money to spend, and can afford imported goods.
Where did this concept that Americans must ship out more than they ship in come from?
"Where did this concept that Americans must ship out more than they ship in come from?"
It's a useful tool for demagogues on both the left and right, because alot of people don't understand what the numbers mean.
My thoughts, too. Is the deficit actually such a bad thing?
Where did this concept that a nation has to pay for the things it imports come from ? Hey we can just run up the plastic forever with no end in sight.
afford what imported goods? chinese ones? in fact, most americans cannot afford imported goods from first world countries - europe and japan. the fact that many americans can ONLY afford goods from china is not a sign of our wealth.
"Let London manufacture those fine fabrics of hers to her heart's content; let Holland her chambrays; Florence her cloth; the Indies their beaver and vicuna; Milan her brocade, Italy and Flanders their linens...so long as our capital can enjoy them; the only thing it proves is that all nations train their journeymen for Madrid, and that Madrid is the queen of Parliaments, for all the world serves her and she serves nobody."
(Prominent Spanish official - Alfonso Nunez de Castro in 1675)
"and can afford imported goods"
That's about all we can afford. Without Chinese and Vietnamese imports, many Americans couldn't afford nearly as much 'stuff' as they can now.