Why do we need more factory jobs?

[RVonse]

Living standards rise from 1800 to 1870 while the US ran trade deficits.

Not if you were black. Just about every war was based on economic reason's and the civil war was no exception. It's hard to be honest about the standard of living really when slavery is in practice.

 

[laughing dog]

Living standards rise from 1800 to 1870 while the US ran trade deficits.

Not if you were black. Just about every war was based on economic reason's and the civil war was no exception. It's hard to be honest about the standard of living really when slavery is in practice.

That is ridiculous - the standard of living is observed. The term "standard of living" usually applies to the general population. If you want it to mean that everyone (or every group) sees the same trend, I doubt that anytime period had an increase in the standard of living.

My point was and is that the trade balance is not a good indicator of what is happening to the standard of living.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

The number 1 reason we need manufacturing again is to become a nation of thrift instead of the nation of squandering. The US needs to become productive again...to produce more than we consume like we did BEFORE WW2. And the only legal and moral way to do that is to produce more goods than we consume which requires a local manufacturing base to do this.

The basic problem here is the trade deficit doesn't show the true picture. The thing is we tend to import goods and export services--and since services aren't a thing they don't get counted as an export.

Of course services are counted toward GDP. Even government spending is counted toward GDP which it shouldn't and wasn't in the past when measurements were honest.

Considering Warren Buffet's success understanding money and his honesty, I'm inclined to believe what he is saying about this subject. Buffet is not the only billionaire saying this either, Ray Dalio (another billionaire) tells exactly the same story with the US. Our nation can NOT continue to consume more than it produces. Because the squandering of existing infrastructure, education, and production is the recipe for poverty and 3rd world status.

Either we need to drastically lower what we consume or we need to start producing more. Right here in the US.

I normally agree with him (and put my money where my mouth is--I own some shares of his company) and his argument is correct except for the issue of the money coming back as services.

 

[laughing dog]

Of course services are counted toward GDP. Even government spending is counted toward GDP which it shouldn't and wasn't in the past when measurements were honest.

GDP is the value of all final goods and services produced by a country during the year. It is typically measured by domestic spending on final goods and services plus foreign spending on domestically produced goods and service (i.e exports) less domestic spending on foreign goods (i.e imports). Since government purchases final goods and services, gov’t spending on final good and services has ALWAYS been counted in a honest measurement of GDP.

Now, if you are referring to gov’t transfer payments as gov’t spending, those have NEVER been included in GDP because they do not represent production of a final good or service.

Considering Warren Buffet's success understanding money and his honesty, I'm inclined to believe what he is saying about this subject. Buffet is not the only billionaire saying this either, Ray Dalio (another billionaire) tells exactly the same story with the US. Our nation can NOT continue to consume more than it produces. Because the squandering of existing infrastructure, education, and production is the recipe for poverty and 3rd world status.

Either we need to drastically lower what we consume or we need to start producing more. Right here in the US.

Which has nothing necessarily to do with the trade balance

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Living standards rise from 1800 to 1870 while the US ran trade deficits.

Not if you were black. Just about every war was based on economic reason's and the civil war was no exception. It's hard to be honest about the standard of living really when slavery is in practice.

That is ridiculous - the standard of living is observed. The term "standard of living" usually applies to the general population. If you want it to mean that everyone (or every group) sees the same trend, I doubt that anytime period had an increase in the standard of living.

My point was and is that the trade balance is not a good indicator of what is happening to the standard of living.

I think his point is that standard of living didn't count slaves.

Same as the German per-capita economy fell considerably with reunification.