China

[Tommy Gun]

At the end of July 2009, China owned about $800 billion in US Treasuries.

In 2009 the US China trade deficit was -$208,688,000,000.

Why don't we just tell them we're not going to pay off the debt; let them try and collect...and that we aren't buying from them anymore...replace it with manufacturing in the US. Protectionism from China under the guise of not condoning communism. What would the consequences be?

[Chris]

You mean other than total economic collapse?

The first thing that would happen is every other country wondering if they were going to get paid. So immediately all that petroleum headed our way heads elsewhwhere.

Then there's the third of our workforce that's involved in making products for export that we no longer export.

We "beat" the Soviets by outspending them on military hardware and technology. We ended up with some cool toys, but we later found out we came pretty close to using them. So we decided as China emerged to skip the military thing and bring them into modern times as a trading partner with mutual interests instead of an adversary with competing interests.

From a macroeconomic perspective, we have many businesses in this country bebnefitting from the economic benefits of selling cheap imported products. If you want that $699 flat screen that Wal Mart sells 10,000 of a month to now be that $4500 flat screen they sell 200 of, tell China to pound salt.

The 50's were a grand time in this country. Back when we had all the steel and all the machinery and all the natural resources, we experienced a fantastic boom. But it was an artificial boom. The rest of the world figured it out. Now we need to have our next boom, whatever that is. Or we have to get used to living the way the rest of the world does. The one option we don't have is going back 50 years in time.

[phragle]

suicide.

[Bobcat]

Damn Tommy, you can't emulate the marine industry in world wide financial matters.

[Trim'd Up]

Without China, where the hell would we get the money to run OBama's government? They are probably going to cut us off at some point anyway.