nuclear power plants would help this problem immensely
We need to export more liberalism, its the only way to
dissolve the fabric of their societies as much as ours.
It's called globalization. I always make a point of having at least a third of my portfolio invested overseas. So?
As long as its a publicly traded company, wherever it's based, wherever it has operations, you can bet it's partly domestically owned, and partly foreign owned.
Back when protectionists were howling about 'foreign automakers' my take was always, "So? Buy Honda, Nissan or Toyota stock."
I am really sad to see Fox news reporting in the same bogus way about the trade deficit that one sees on Buchannan-eque nativist sites.
The Trade Deficit is not financed.
When you by the Chinese VCR at Walmart, the money goes immediately to the company who manufactured it. There is no borrowing and no real deficit to speak of. You get a VCR that you wanted in exchange for the $10 you paid for it.
The fact that the US sells more or less products overseas than those sold to US consumers borders on meaningless.
In fact, if it means anything, the US economy is booming. In fact, there is nothing to say that huge amounts of foreign items are re-sold inside the US by domestic manufacturers and are yet counted as DEFICIT.
I fervently hope and pray freepers are not believing these bogus panic stories.
The US economy is booming and the Bush bashers are pulling out the stops to induce a counter panic.
Nothing stops Americans from investing in America except they would prefer to spend all their money and save or invest nothing. Maybe foreigners have more faith in America than Americans do.
It was "They couldn't conquer the U.S. during World War II so they're going to buy us up now."
lifted from the headlines...1989
And thats not including all the huge amount of territory(LAND) OWNED by the federal government within the States.. Which is not State land anymore but federal land.. The States diminish the federal government increases.. and the genious of many different governments diminishs.. to one central government which, as the Soviet Union proves, don't work well..
Which will come back and bite us badly one of these days. Soon.
The Gov't owns a good amount of assets, such as land, out west. Privatize it to US citizens to help increase the amount of private assets citizens have. A quasi-land run, adapted to the new millenium. There are numerous ways to do it that could excite "disenfranchised" portions of the population, use a carrot and stick approach to get members of the generational working class/poor to change their self destructive culture in order to recieve "free" acreage--if you marry the mother of your kids, get a trade/skill/degree, stay clean, speak and write like an average person, ect. Ie, embrace the characteristics that would have kept you from being poor in the first place, but an asset, "The American Dream", directly dangled in front of you if you pursue those traits *now*.
Other land can be sold to US corporations at a discount, use that money to help pay off the debt, and give tax breaks if they take a chance and hire either A) unskilled workers and train them or B) American college graduates. Basically depopulate the over-urbanized cities and create new towns on formerly Gov't land, towns created by encouraging good "culture" among those groups that have lacked it. I've thought about this for a while, but I won't bore people with a bunch of specifics.
And of course, privatize social security, which would put more citizens involved in the U.S. Stock Market. And have a tax code that rewards savings and asset growth--especially for middle class and upper middle class families--instead of punishing it.
It all began with the passage of NAFTA and GATT.We were warned this would happen and it has!I understand America is now the leading producer of matches and toothpicks!
The end of life as we know it.
ping
Who cares? Remember 9/11? It's all about 9/11!
HOW HORRIBLE!
Personally, I think this means that the US is a good investment. I'd be more worried if foreigners were rushing to pull their money out of the US. The only downside here is the possibility of economic blackmail, especially from countries who could dump enough US T-bills to make us change our policies. I have been hearing all my life that the trade defit and federal borrowing are unhealthly, but still haven't seen it yet. And I'm starting to get up there in years.
>At the end of 2004, the total foreign direct investment in this country came to $1.53 trillion, 8.2 percent more than in 2003.
Does anyone know if this is an increase in the fraction of total investment? IOW, did total investment increase by more or less than 8.2%?
If you think this is worrisome, wait till the Chinese revalue the Yuan, stop selling things to us, and start buying us out for dimes on the dollar.