Who fact-checks the fact checkers? After the debate Monday night, CNN engaged in a fact-checking exercise. Many criticize these exercises for being more slanted and less accurate than what’s being fact-checked in the first place, and sure enough, this is what happened with China trade and jobs. CNN, for example, …
The presidential debate yesterday moved to trade with China, with the usual rhetorical suspects—including “outsourcing” and the “trade deficit”—taking center stage. President Obama announced that his Administration had filed a complaint against China with the World Trade Organization. But a groundbreaking new report from Heritage proves that importing goods from …
The federal government recently announced that it is expected to run a budget deficit of more than $1 trillion for the fourth straight year. One often-overlooked result of these large budget deficits is their negative impact on U.S. exporters. Sales of U.S. Treasury securities to foreigners are not counted as …
Popular opinion demonizes the U.S. for importing more goods than it exports, or running a “trade deficit.” This view maintains that the trade deficit is costing jobs and slowing economic growth. “The $600 billion annual deficit is the most significant barrier to achieving a robust economic recovery and creating jobs,” …
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) just announced that the country’s current account deficit for 2011 was $473.4 billion. This number includes transactions like exports and imports. Cue the “sky is falling” headlines. However, the BEA did not point out that the overall U.S. international transactions deficit was $0. …
Today the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis announced that the trade deficit for July fell by $6.8 billion. Exports increased by $6.2 billion and imports decreased by $500 million. Historically, decreasing trade deficits are often a sign of economic weakness. When workers are unemployed, they have less money to spend. …
The U.S. Commerce Department today announced that the trade deficit for April was $43.7 billion. This number is misleading because it implies a “deficit” in terms of dollars leaving the country, which is not the case. For example, the trade deficit numbers do not include the billions of dollars foreigners …
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis just announced that the trade deficit for March increased to $48.2 billion. The federal budget deficit plays a major role in creating U.S. trade deficits. When the government sells Treasury bonds to finance the budget deficit, it competes with U.S. exporters and private borrowers …
America’s trade deficit rose in January. Many times an expanding trade deficit indicates an expanding economy and more American jobs. In January, this may not have been true. The single biggest factor in pushing the trade deficit higher in January was higher oil prices. Unfortunately, these may also push the …
Consider these recent print headlines: Economic Growth Slowed by Trade Gap; Economic Growth Cut Sharply Due to Trade Gap; and Economy Slows to 1.6 Percent as Trade Gap Widens. The people who wrote those headlines and the corresponding articles must have awfully short memories. Last year, the trade deficit fell …
