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Originally Posted by HAL-9000
There are some things to remember about the USA that need to be taken into context when comparing us to other countries. As an American, it is unfortunate that they are not so flattering, but they need to be accounted for in any comparison.
Coming and going, we inflate our economy by about a trillion dollars (~10% of GDP) per year. Subtract that scheme we have right now, and jack up taxes so we actually PAY for our goverment instead of using rock-bottom financing from the People's Bank of China, and you have a financial situation that basically is like, well...France.
END RANT
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Germany actually has a trade surplus, Yet they still have 10% plus unemployment, low growth and the same powder keg of political instability that France has,
500 billion dollars trade deficit could be termed as the largest transfer of wealth in history, a rich to poor redistribution that any socialist would consider fair.
Yet at this same time the US economy is growing at about 500 hundred billion a year which probably works out to a wash on some economist spread sheet model. Some of those dollars do come back in the form of Germans Japanese building auto manufacturing plants in the US (China wanted to buy an oil company recently) so I think it is probably a net gain for the US on the free trade scenario.
The main economies that do not practice free trade are the socialist economies and they are the world’s worst performing ones. It looks to me like the US has more of a winning strategy long term while not perfect we historically low unemployment and relatively low inflation with strong economic growth. Probably not perfect but it works.
What gets me is the leftists socialists and communist model wherever it has been tried it has failed as a viable political /economic structure. Russia, eastern Europe , Europe, china, south America (I can not believe they are trying it again) etc. It feels great when you stop beating your head against the wall so why keep doing it?
Clinton and Blair’s third way is just a rehash of Hitler’s third way. No new ideas. The left wing communist and socialist template is second wave political philosophy in response to the 1880’s Industrial age social upheaval and generally hit it’s peak during the 1920’s to 1960 FDR and LBJ’s Great Society. Technology is transforming the world as much as the industrial revolution did and what form it take nobody knows. Bush’s ownership society? Something else? Nobody knows but my guess is that inefficient models i.e. left wing will fade as serious contenders.
US Government spending is out of control and despite what people say that my tax rate is 35% add 13.9% SS (I am self employed) federally mandated taxes through the state income, property and sale taxes it actually brings the amount to over 50%. And what gripes me on this one is that LBJ decoupled the fund so the government could spend the surplus , which they have on off budget Items. Then Clinton set it up so the government can now Tax SS income. Taxing me twice on the same money? SS is under funded? It is my money! I could spend it more eff. Than any government employee I think we fire all republicans and democrats (limit them all to one term) and keep a little more ourselves.