US Trade Deficit with Bordering Neighbors

The trade deficit with Canada is now 50 Billion per year. The amount of money sent back Mexico each week from migrant labor and/or illegal aliens is estimated at 8 billion per week. That is 416 Billion per year, not all that comes back here, over half moves to other lands including Cuba a non-trading partner and China which already have incredibly huge trade deficits with. As we trade with other nations and uplift their economies it provides us too with benefits. Peaceful and successful neighbors and trading partners makes for smooth relationships. We must worry however that if we are paying interest on the money, which is no longer in our economy much of which will not come back, then in fact we are fueling their economies and paying the interest too. Is the US the world's co-signer and if so, shouldn't we have a few guarantees and a level playing field? One could say by increasing their economies, we develop a middle class there and their citizens will then be able to afford what we sell, this is good. However if for instance Mexico trades and buys most of their consumables from China, then the money will flow to their shores instead of ours. However if we (our businesses and citizens) invest in China then we will get back some of this in growth. One could conclude that although there is a trade deficit in consumables those who of us who own mutual funds, which have emerging markets strategies, we will receive benefit and return of those dollars. When simply looking at the trade deficits, one might conclude we are in dire straights, that of course being a factual short-term view, but on further review one might also see the long-term strategy and see that as the world comes closer together everyone wins.

A country like China, which has not gone thru it's industrial revolution and uses it's masses as poor cheap labor, it maybe helping the emergence of a middle class long term, but doing so to their peril in the long run. The United States having gone thru this scenario previously and those countries in that part of the world like South Korea, Japan, etc. seeing this error ought to make light of it. For reasons of human rights, environment, fairness and even playing fields we too should speak up. If China is going to play fairly with the rest of the world and reap such benefits then a level playing field towards patents, law, environment, human rights and worker fairness needs to be top of their agenda. Likewise in our hast to remove personal responsibility for action, PC'ness and lawyer-ism in the United States, we need to look for a reality check if we are going to continue to move forward.

We also need to defer some interest payments on the flows leaving our country, or slow the out going flow. Slowing the outgoing flow without creating animosity with world or regional trade groups thru tariffs, taxes or quotas, will produce reciprocal responses and the trade war effect spins out of control. If we print the money and do not tax it as it freely leaves in two-three rapid transactions, then we are not only upside down on the money itself but also upside down on the interest payments to the Fed as we are not in control of our outward flows. When the money flows out, we need a formula to defer the interest payments on the outward flow, based on the total flow going out and the amount needed to sustain our economic well being here? There needs to be a number also and a mandate to have in the nations total float, X amount of dollars per person. That number needs to be for every man, woman and child no matter if they are illegal aliens or residents, always working for us within our borders so we do not have lopsided regions or economic despair in small towns or areas where industries are experiencing severe sector rotations. If we currently have 14 million illegal aliens in this country, then we need to include those folks too (this article is not attempting to debate the illegal alien reform needed). At all times this money needs to be flowing here and creating opportunity for all Americans. Otherwise our citizens are also borrowing money and going into huge debt, to maintain the American Way of life and those who cannot maintain the debt load will be falling out of the middle class, too many people fall out of the middle class and the whole world loses as there is no way to sustain the exporting nations standards of living for their citizenry thru gainful employment prior to them developing their own local economies for sustainable and reasonable standards of living. Consumer Debt in our country is way out of control and we have many people in a death spiral, where they will never be able to retire or afford health care when they can no longer work. We live in a free nation and economic enslavement from the manipulation of money supply or the miss management of money flows is in fact a form of slavery. Whether such issues are contrived, planned, result of competing ideals or happening from the inability to see the bigger picture is clearly irrelevant as no matter where fault it is placed is fact and needs fixing.

One might say that those individuals who used credit cards or borrowed money did not have to borrow it in the first place, yet the standard of living required to keep one's head above water in the US is seeing an upward trend comparatively speaking with the cost of living. Likewise education cannot keep up with the need for advanced knowledge in specific careers required to keep American Enterprise ahead of the game, thus thru a combination of un-leveled playing field in other nations, over regulation, increasing lawsuits and a stealing of proprietary information, it does not appear that the US can maintain her number one status or use their superstar status to help the rest of the world grow up to a quality of life we have previously and as of yet still enjoy. With a few adjustments however it is possible to stay the leader in all issues of social, economic, human rights, law in the never-ending evolution of human civilization.

First we need to watch our borrowing as a nation and pay attention to our ability to service the current debt load. We need to make a deal with the fed for new formulas to protect our quality of life for our citizens so they can balance their own budgets, pay off some high interest bearing debt and begin to save for their future. We need to bring back a sense of personal responsibility of action with each and every citizen. We need to reduce the over regulated field so that corporations, small business, capitalists, innovators and entrepreneurs re-invest in America and themselves to deliver desired products and services to propel that quality of life. We need to get with our trading partners and neighbors and reach an understanding of environment, fairness to workers, patents, law and human rights. A world set of standards based on realities of natural law, human innate characteristics and reasonable fairness to all concerned.

The US appears to be one of only a few nations, which has proven it can do this, yet we have falling down in many areas as well. We need to walk the walk and get our own house in order if we are to dictate to the world how the game must be played. It is human nature to compete, it is also human nature to cheat. If we wish to limit the unfortunate latter of the tow, then we should design this system to take those humanly truths into consideration and allow the human spirit abroad and American Spirit here to guide the next wave in the upward cycle. We should be paying attention to the flow of all things inter-related and interconnected to the systems that are currently in play. Today in the United States it often feels more like the United Countries and those issues we have here now between states, laws, courts, politics are making it hard for us to provide a seamless government, which can properly interact with itself, it's citizenry, it's military and it's industry. It is further compounded when you throw in over 200 other nations all wanting top billing. If we can prove we can run a country with 50 states and make it all work as one, then we can take that model to the Planet of Nations or "Team World" which translates nicely into 20 languages. Right now we have issues with the ability in the US to prove we know what we are talking about. We are dividing our selves and in-fighting over means when we all want the same thing. We are so close to getting it done and finding the ends we all seek. It is that vision we need now to bring the world together as one team celebrating human life, the human experience, the human spirit and ready to defend against any threat. We have a chance right now to make it all work, but we need to get serious about what we do here and now. It just might be a good time then in this current period of here and now to prove to our selves and prove to the world that America still has what it takes to lead. By solving our problems and working together we can do just that, lead by example. I propose such ideals as the ideology to make it so.

"Lance Winslow" - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs