Reply #14: There's no such thing as a consumption-based economy vs a production-based economy

[Hippo_Tron]

We both consume and produce things in the United States. Presently we consume more than we produce which is why we have a trade deficit. That cannot continue forever on the scale that it has because eventually the people who have lent us money will want tangible goods and services in exchange for the pieces of paper we have given them.