Imports have been increasing more rapidly than exports, that's one of the reasons the Trade Deficit keeps hitting record highs.
We can have a strong dollar and attract lots of foreign investment, or we can have a weak dollar and a strong export-based economy.
Why should we want to be an "export-based" economy when we've been blessed with natural resources and are the largest consumer market in the world?
We can easily make America more attractive to business investment by eliminating the corporate income tax and implementing tort reform. This needn't weaken the dollar through deficit spending, either. Treasury revenues "lost" by the corporate income tax reduction can be offset by levying a relatively low, flat-rate revenue tariff on imported goods. Other measures to reduce federal deficit spending and balance the budget would also strengthen the dollar.
|
1994 |
1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
Foreign Direct Investment in the U.S. |
45,095 |
58,772 |
103,398 |
103,398 |
174,434 |
283,376 |
314,007 |
159,461 |
62,870 |
29,772 |
U.S. Direct Investment Abroad |
73,252 |
92,074 |
84,426 |
95,769 |
131,004 |
209,392 |
142,627 |
124,873 |
115,340 |
151,884 |
Comments?