4 ms·
> We could close our borders to the world entirely and be fine after an initial discomfort. I'm no economist but a trade deficit in the hundreds of billions[0]
by zimpenfish 2y ago
> We could close our borders to the world entirely and be fine after an initial discomfort.
I'm no economist but a trade deficit in the hundreds of billions[0] suggests otherwise.
[0] Wikipedia says 773B for 2023.
- rayiner 2y agoWhich is just 3.3% of GDP.
- zimpenfish 2y ago> Which is just 3.3% of GDP. Again, I'm not an economist, bear with me and explain what that's got to do with the trade deficit being a deficit? You could have a GDP of a quintillion dollars a year but if you're consistently running a trade deficit (which the US has for decades), that strongly implies you cannot close your borders with impunity. If you could supply the goods cheaper than importing them, people would, no? Simple capitalism!
- philipwhiuk 2y agoMore than enough to push you into a recession even ignoring the reality that your current growth rate is propelled by a very frothy tech sector.
- totallynothoney 2y agoMuch like a 3.3% BAC is just mild buzz.
- brimwats 2y agoCanada is the source of more than 80% of the US's potash, the source of fertilizer. Without that, the entire farming industry and its crops withers and dies. It is not something easily sourced and not something easily replaced, and the crops all die long before it can be sourced or replaced. Your suggestion to close the border is absurd, jingoistic, empty, and meaningless.
- throaway89 2y agoThere'a a whole generation of Canadians who won't send a single dollar anywhere near the US thanks to Trump. I don't think we'll ever forget this.