>>One viewpoint is that isolating yourself from the world is a catastrophe<<
I was talking about isolation in a world gone haywire.
However, even in a sane world, free trade may not be such a great bargain for the USA. And, judging by the offshore tax just proposed, Obama thinks similarly. The more self-sufficient a country is in terms of physical and human resources, the less harmful trade isolation becomes. A population of half a billion and in a continental land mass is plenty self sufficient, especially if the continent is NA, with its abundance of natural resources. Free trade does not provide such great benefits for the USA, in a world full of countries that practice hidden or not so hidden mercantilistic policies.
As to the 40% dependence on foreign oil, it can easily be eliminated, if we sacrifice a bit, certainly less than we did during WWII. Here is a simple example: make car pooling mandatory for those than can car pool, and you can cut an awful lot of gasoline consumption. And if circumstances become dire enough to go isolationist, not many will object to $5/gallon gasoline tax. Finally, don't forget the natural gas.
I think USA trade isolationism is a far more likely outcome than the demise of the US dollar as a global currency, and dollar hyper inflation. |
