Factoid: Bush’s Economic Policies

[The Lone Liberal]

Poll question: Factoid: Bush’s Economic Policies

The huge trade deficit is created by an imbalance between what the U.S. manufactures and shipped overseas and what goods are imported into the U.S. It means we send more money out to foreign countries than they send to us. Now, what happens to those dollars we send out? It is re-invested by the foreign government. They use it to buy things and mostly they buy up the American infrastructure. They buy what few factories we have left, they buy land, they buy buildings, they buy companies. In shorthand they become the owners of America.

Now, under the Bush and Republican economic policy , who do you think is rapidly becoming the number one owner of America?

[MAlibdem]

1. i think i read in the economist

that china and japan were rapidly buying up us treasury bonds to keep their currencies deflated against the dollar, while the Euro is becoming very strong. So the chinese also own our currency...great, lol.

btw...characterizing china as "communist" is questionable. They are more corporate authoritarians, aka Fascists

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. Japan

should be a choice, as they have had factories here for decades.

[mstrsplinter326]

4. great point - I was going to make it, but you beat me to it.

[The Lone Liberal]

5. Communist China is now in front of Japan

according to the Economist. I just find it exceedingly strange that the Republicans are pursuing policies that is selling this country to their arch enemies, the Communist. The world has indeed turned upside down.

[greatauntoftriplets]

3. The Chinese have traditionally been sharp businessmen.

.

[TreasonousBastard]

6. There are two things going on ...

buying money, like Treasuries and Eurodollars, and buying corporate infrastructure. Both are investments in the US that have to be made to even the balance.

Central banks buy dollars and Treasuries, which means a lot of that debt is to foreign governments, and the private sector buys both those and our infrastucture.

Canada, Britain, Japan and the Netherlands were historically the leaders in buying infrastructure, but I haven't checked lately who's doing the buying now. I hear even the Russians are looking to buy US steel companies at bargain prices, so the future looks "interesting."

China doesn't have much of a reason to buy US assets yet, but they have enough money to jump into the fray should they decide to come in in a big way. They might wait, like Japan did, until they are more established with their own businesses and stable brands. China makes a lot of stuff, but they don't have a Sony or Toyota yet.

I remember over the years, even long before Shrub, commentaries about the US having a huge "For Sale" sign on it. Arab oil money buying real estate, Japanese opening factories and golf courses... It's been going on for a while, and the players change over the years.

If we keep running current account deficits, no one knows how long it will be before we have to sell the Jersey Turnpike to the Koreans to keep things afloat.