[dennisw]

What exports?

We’ve squandered our entire industrial base.

What have we got to export anymore?

Grain? Cattle. Leftist Hollyweird movies and CD’s.

EXACTLY!

Oh, we have things to export but nothing like we did 10-20-30 years ago. Entire industries have been decimated. The factories are gone and abandoned to rust and rats

You can lower the US dollar by 50% and we'll have trouble evening up the trade deficit.

Canada and Australia are energy self sufficient and have no trade deficits. So their currencies are strong and soaring against the US dollar
The EU does not run a trade deficit so the € is strong

[1rudeboy]

The EU does not run a trade deficit so the € is strong.

I called you on that BS last week, or the week before. Did the EU suddenly swing into a trade surplus in ten days?

[Thorin]

>>>>Oh, we have things to export but nothing like we did 10-20-30 years ago. Entire industries have been decimated. The factories are gone and abandoned to rust and rats

>>>>You can lower the US dollar by 50% and we'll have trouble evening up the trade deficit.

You are exactly right.

[valkyry1]

We might not be exporting much, but those industries have not been abandoned.

I think if there was a national will and leadership, those industries could be spun up fairly fast /relatively to the rest of the world)

I think that some of what we see is a manifestation of a stealth economic war against us, for example even if the low US dollar is taken out of the equation, I tend to doubt that Venezuela et al are charging their friends for a barrel of oil as much as what we are paying.

What do you think?