[kevao]

What crap. I believe the 300 million people occupying the better part of an entire continent can be self sufficient in just about every way.

LMAO!!! You are pulling my leg, aren't you? I mean, just one obvious example:

Tell your self-sufficiency theory to Singapore, a tiny little island country with basically ZERO natural resources, 5.5 million people, the third most densely populated tract of land on the planet. Yet, their standard of living is exponentially beyond the wildest dreams of many basket-case countries with fortunes in natural resources.

By the way, most of those resource-rich, yet scandalously poor, basket-case countries have one thing in common -- they're closed, protectionist economies....

[central_va]

Are you mentally handicapped? Are you saying the USA could not be self sufficient? Are you stupid. In our case Free Trade is a choice, the USA is not Lichtenstein.

All counties are not the same, all political systems are not the same but somehow text book marco economics is supposed to apply to all nations equally. Drop your text book antics, we are adults here.

[central_va]

By the way, most of those resource-rich, yet scandalously poor, basket-case countries have one thing in common -- they're closed, protectionist economies....

They are corrupt Kleptocracies. Trade has nothing to do with it.

I wish you'd stop comparing the USA to the third world it really reveals what you really think of the USA. Sad and pathetic.