If your goal was to destroy the middle class...

[Acanthus]

Can you even conceptualize how trade works? When you send US Dollars out to another country, they have to use the dollars, and guess what is the only country that accepts US dollars as payment for goods?

Umm in the information age? All of them?

That is the dumbest argument i've heard in a long time. If they were purchasing an equal amount of goods there wouldn't be a deficit in trade.

 

[spidey07]

If you want to destroy the middle class a couple simple steps could be used

1) Take over private companies in manufacturing like auto industry, this would impact manufacturing wages and benefits
2) Dictate wages so top talent goes out of country to avoid government caps on your income
3) Raise the prices of all goods by imposing outlandish gas mileage requirements, specifcally on trucking industry
4) Raise price of oil by imposing drilling moratorium
5) Do nothing about the largest tax hike in US history
6) Scare the crap out of business by constantly attacking them
7) Pass a law that raises the price of healthcare insurance, further reducing peoples spending money
8) Make banks stingy with credit by enacting legislation that gives the federal government never before seen power to take over banks
9) Overall have polices so radically marxist that business and people simply hold onto their wallets instead of spending furthering the death spiral. Everybody knows the outcome of communism.

I think I covered the main topics, but that's a sure fire way to accomplish it.

 

[JS80]

Umm in the information age? All of them?

That is the dumbest argument i've heard in a long time. If they were purchasing an equal amount of goods there wouldn't be a deficit in trade.

If you understand trade economics, the US dollars that flows out of this country due to trade means they have to send it back here and either invest or consume in US assets or goods, which benefits US residents. Currently the Chinamen are buying US treasuries instead of buying US goods/services. But hey if they want to buy an overpriced asset that doesn't return shit and degrade their dollar assets, more power to them.

 

[Acanthus]

If you understand trade economics, the US dollars that flows out of this country due to trade means they have to send it back here and either invest or consume in US assets or goods, which benefits US residents. Currently the Chinamen are buying US treasuries instead of buying US goods/services. But hey if they want to buy an overpriced asset that doesn't return shit and degrade their dollar assets, more power to them.

We don't trade with China using hard currency.

Both of us have fiat currency and can the money can be exchanged. You do know that, right?

The dollar is the standard of the world and accepted in damn near every nation on earth. They don't just store up mountains of $20s and buy a space shuttle from us.

 

[JS80]

We don't trade with China using hard currency.

Both of us have fiat currency and can the money can be exchanged. You do know that, right?

The dollar is the standard of the world and accepted in damn near every nation on earth. They don't just store up mountains of $20s and buy a space shuttle from us.

No shit Sherlock. Whoever China passes it on to, it eventually has to make it back to the US either to be invested or consumed.

 

[Linflas]

The original post makes zero sense. Absolutely zero. China's manipulation of their currency makes their people poorer. If we did the same, we'd be poorer. If the OP supports having a central bank, then he's the one who wants to see the middle class destroyed.

I'm sick of so many people thinking that inflation makes most people richer.

I would be amazed if you could find anyone that lived through 1970-1980 period of stagflation that believes anything close to that.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

Both parties deserve blame and they're both almost the same when it comes to these issues.

 

[Acanthus]

No shit Sherlock. Whoever China passes it on to, it eventually has to make it back to the US either to be invested or consumed.

It is the currency of the world... It can be spent absolutely anywhere... There is no reason at all to expect that the money is ever coming back to the US... or that it isn't all just exchanged away to other currencies anyway.

Remember, fiat electronic currency, not cash, and not backed by anything.

 

[soulcougher73]

You're going to leave Ron Paul alone in congress?

Maybe we can finally get something good to come out of Congress then

 

[werepossum]

Saudi Arabia?

LMAO! Nah, Saudi Arabia is just one of the nations accepting bigger piles of American dollars.

I can't believe how many people assume that if we buy something, and we reckon it in dollars, then we must be getting those dollars back in trade. There are three things that do not show up in trade imbalances: Stocks (ownership of American companies; bonds (requires even more dollars later); and real property (of which we will eventually run short.) Granted, a lot of those dollars are changed into other currencies. But since we run huge trade deficits with the world as a whole, obviously those dollars are not coming back in trade.

America is like the farmer making $50K a year and working his ass off. One day someone offers him $5K for a small piece of land. Encouraged, he begins to sell land. Pretty soon he stops farming altogether, since he's making even more money selling land than he ever made farming. But eventually he runs out of land to sell, and he can't return to farming since he's sold all his land, so he's screwed. Once we've sold all our real property and stock, we're screwed. The rents we pay, the profits from our corporations, will flow out of the country. And our iPhones and MP3 players and LCD televisions are really going to need replacing with the latest models. And we're really going to pitch hissy fits.

 

[bamacre]

LMAO! Nah, Saudi Arabia is just one of the nations accepting bigger piles of American dollars.

I can't believe how many people assume that if we buy something, and we reckon it in dollars, then we must be getting those dollars back in trade. There are three things that do not show up in trade imbalances: Stocks (ownership of American companies; bonds (requires even more dollars later); and real property (of which we will eventually run short.) Granted, a lot of those dollars are changed into other currencies. But since we run huge trade deficits with the world as a whole, obviously those dollars are not coming back in trade.

America is like the farmer making $50K a year and working his ass off. One day someone offers him $5K for a small piece of land. Encouraged, he begins to sell land. Pretty soon he stops farming altogether, since he's making even more money selling land than he ever made farming. But eventually he runs out of land to sell, and he can't return to farming since he's sold all his land, so he's screwed. Once we've sold all our real property and stock, we're screwed. The rents we pay, the profits from our corporations, will flow out of the country. And our iPhones and MP3 players and LCD televisions are really going to need replacing with the latest models. And we're really going to pitch hissy fits.

:thumbsup:

 

[JS80]

LMAO! Nah, Saudi Arabia is just one of the nations accepting bigger piles of American dollars.

I can't believe how many people assume that if we buy something, and we reckon it in dollars, then we must be getting those dollars back in trade. There are three things that do not show up in trade imbalances: Stocks (ownership of American companies; bonds (requires even more dollars later); and real property (of which we will eventually run short.) Granted, a lot of those dollars are changed into other currencies. But since we run huge trade deficits with the world as a whole, obviously those dollars are not coming back in trade.

America is like the farmer making $50K a year and working his ass off. One day someone offers him $5K for a small piece of land. Encouraged, he begins to sell land. Pretty soon he stops farming altogether, since he's making even more money selling land than he ever made farming. But eventually he runs out of land to sell, and he can't return to farming since he's sold all his land, so he's screwed. Once we've sold all our real property and stock, we're screwed. The rents we pay, the profits from our corporations, will flow out of the country. And our iPhones and MP3 players and LCD televisions are really going to need replacing with the latest models. And we're really going to pitch hissy fits.

When foreign investors invest in the US, our asset values increase, and benefits American stockholders, homeowners, bondholders, etc. You assume that trade imbalances go to perpetuity and eventually they just "own" all of us.

 

[pcgeek11]

you couldn't have done a better job of it!

Congrats!

Have free trade with 2 billion impoverished people.

Actually give tax breaks to companies that move their manufacturing overseas.

Do nothing when countries like China manipulate their currency.

Hide the disaster for awhile by letting banks run wild with loans and artificially high home prices.

When it comes crashing down blame it on the Democrats.


Extraordinarily brilliant.

So, You are saying the Dems were not involved in this?

Barney Frank, Obama, ..... in relation to the fannie and freddie crap. They were two of the ring leaders.

 

[werepossum]

When foreign investors invest in the US, our asset values increase, and benefits American stockholders, homeowners, bondholders, etc. You assume that trade imbalances go to perpetuity and eventually they just "own" all of us.

Yes, until I see some evidence otherwise I assume that trade imbalances go to perpetuity - or rather, go until we're out of things to sell or pawn.