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That's a good point. But doesn't that process rely on continuous appreciation of the assets that are the targets of investment? What happens when you hit an inevitable down cycle and your assets are no longer good targets for investment? I'm specifically thinking of disasters in countries like Argentina when investment dried up.

The problem with Latin American and other places was not the trade balance but government spending and government loan guarantees. The market would quickly have sorted things out had politicians not been involved. The capital would have been used for investment rather than socialism. It's the difference between teaching someone to fish versus giving them a fish.

The problem in the US is out of control government, not out of control business. Business operates within constraints imposed by markets, which will be imperfect, but correct themselves quickly. Government operates outside those constraints. So asking government to constrain markets is like asking the wolf to guard the hen house.

I am a business professor with a PhD in marketing. To fully understand what I am talking about requires quite an education. I have had eight years, and still do not understand it fully. But certain things are well-known, even to liberals. One of them is that free markets are way more efficient than controlled ones.

The two industries with the most out-of-control pricing are health care and education. It is no coincidence that these are the two industries with the most government regulation. Imposing more restrictions on imports and exports would yield results comparable to those we face in education and health care: it would dramatically increase the price of everything and produce a semi-permanent class of people who produce nothing but useless paperwork.

The problem with Latin American and other places was not the trade balance but government spending and government loan guarantees. The market would quickly have sorted things out had politicians not been involved. The capital would have been used for investment rather than socialism. It's the difference between teaching someone to fish versus giving them a fish.

The problem in the US is out of control government, not out of control business. Business operates within constraints imposed by markets, which will be imperfect, but correct themselves quickly. Government operates outside those constraints. So asking government to constrain markets is like asking the wolf to guard the hen house.

I am a business professor with a PhD in marketing. To fully understand what I am talking about requires quite an education. I have had eight years, and still do not understand it fully. But certain things are well-known, even to liberals. One of them is that free markets are way more efficient than controlled ones.

The two industries with the most out-of-control pricing are health care and education. It is no coincidence that these are the two industries with the most government regulation. Imposing more restrictions on imports and exports would yield results comparable to those we face in education and health care: it would dramatically increase the price of everything and produce a semi-permanent class of people who produce nothing but useless paperwork.

Thank you for your detailed and well reasoned response.

Okay. I see where you're coming from. But I think I wasn't clear. I see what you're saying wrt to government regulation and Argentina. Thanks for clearing up the difference between the two examples.

However what I still don't understand is how an American economy dependent on foreign investment can deal with the inevitable corrections in the world economy. I understand that India and China are quite unstable economies currently so in the near future there's no reliable alternative to investment in America. But in the future how will the American economy sustain itself?

As you and many others have mentioned America has moved to a services and high technology oriented economy. I only have a rudimentary understanding of economics, but from what I understand other countries are quickly catching up to America in many high tech and services industries. From my limited understanding I know that the strongest economies need to be involved in fields with high barriers to entry to maintain their superiority. I see these barriers leveling between the world economies.

How do you see America maintaining its economic superiority? And in what fields?

One year running your own business (or Pretzel Cart by Holland Tunnel) would probably eclipse them eight :-)
But Liberals (commies really) may well know it, but they do not strive for it. Their aim is full control as demonstrated by commie "paradise" shiny example. I grew up in the commie system, where all (not much) was taken care of. Now I am filthy capitalist pig, started from zero (OK, suitcase of clothes) and standing on my own feet, watching in horror where is America marching towards. Seems very similar: brainwashing, using masses to gain control, eventually to screw them all with totalitarian system and power. It worries me. Been there, hate to be there or my children again.
The KEY is Freedom, Competition and government nose out of our businesses.