Haim is absolutely right: we will need to find more products that we can sell abroad. A negative trade balance cannot go on forever, and Hollywood won’t do it, we need more things we can sell. One dramatic relatively recent example is Israel - some 30 years ago they were selling for the most part souvenirs and oranges. Now, they are doing advanced chips and biotech.
What will be the next big American export is hard to tell. If I knew what it will be, I’d look to invest in it. As the Romans used to do, recently we exported into Afghanistan and Iraq a better political and social structure. That’s nice (assuming that we will eventually succeed), but it’s still not enough. Wars cost money, and we need something that pays.
Who knows, maybe eventually the issue of balance of payments will simply die a natural death. Let’s say, for example, if we do at some point develop those highly capable (so far imaginary) robots which I mentioned in my post to Haim – then, international trade itself may largely become a thing of the past. All widgets would be made locally, cheaply and quickly.
Well, enough futurism for one morning. Sometimes, it’s nice to step out of the boxy “matrix” for a while and let the mind wonder a little… -g. |
