[mamelukesabre]

I’m not sure. But you could count shipping containers, or weigh them. There’s a problem with going merely by dollars. When china completely takes over one segment of manufacturing, like say tennis shoes, the price drops way way down. So if you are only counting dollars, you are under counting that product.

btw, your link only goes up to 2007. extrapolating to 2010 would put china above america I believe.

[kenavi]

But you could count shipping containers, or weigh them.

By your logic, Americans who want a strong manufacturing base should be targetting domestic manufacturers who are reducing the weight of their products!

Maybe you'd prefer the Soviet system, which would brag about increasing shoe production, never mind that the shoes they made people didn't want.

Our system has to start from individual choice and freedom. But we are living in a world and trading with many nations whose governments produce goods on the backs of the health and freedom of their own subjects, er citizens. They export their goods to us and don't buy as much from us. As a result they end up with a big mountain of our green paper they own title to, a bunch of electronic digits in their name. Ultimately, that money can be used only here. They've become just as dependent on us as we on them, more so, since we can feed ourselves and if we need to we can power ourselves as well.

Trade brings the rest of the world our way. Our real troubles are self-inflicted. No outside force forced us to use our homes as piggy banks to finance with debt the biggest consumer binge since the last days of the Roman Empire. We need to focus our efforts and our resources on things that really matter in life.

Happy New Year, by the way, and may you and yours and our Nation be blessed in the coming year and years.

[Bastiat_Fan]

So China sends us stuff we can use... and we send them.... pieces of paper? Pretty good deal.