Correct This 'Deficit'?
12 April 2006
Editor, The Washington Post
1150 15th St., NW
Washington, DC 20071
Dear Editor:
You report that "the administration has taken a get-tough approach with China, the country with the biggest trade gap with the United States" ("U.S. Trade Deficit Improves in February," April 12).
Because there's absolutely no reason to suppose that any two countries will sell to each other the same amounts that they buy from each other, concerns about a U.S. trade deficit with a single country are especially harebrained - about as harebrained as I would be if I fretted about my trade deficit with the Washington Post. After all, because I have a paid subscription to your paper but you buy nothing from me, I run a trade deficit with you. Unlike the administration, however, I have no plans to punish myself because of this situation.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Editor, The Washington Post
1150 15th St., NW
Washington, DC 20071
Dear Editor:
You report that "the administration has taken a get-tough approach with China, the country with the biggest trade gap with the United States" ("U.S. Trade Deficit Improves in February," April 12).
Because there's absolutely no reason to suppose that any two countries will sell to each other the same amounts that they buy from each other, concerns about a U.S. trade deficit with a single country are especially harebrained - about as harebrained as I would be if I fretted about my trade deficit with the Washington Post. After all, because I have a paid subscription to your paper but you buy nothing from me, I run a trade deficit with you. Unlike the administration, however, I have no plans to punish myself because of this situation.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Posted by Don Boudreaux on
Monday January 15, 2007 at 8:44am