The point you are missing, trefoil, is that America was a producer economy and a net creditor during the timeframes you speak of. We are now a consumer economy and the largest debtor in the world. Since our economy is a net importer as seen by the trade deficits, it is not possible for us to "grow out of this". Also, remember that America had solid trade barriers until about 100 years ago to make sure we were not overrun by foreign goods as we are now. Our economy has been debt driven since we went from a net creditor to a net debtor during Reagan's term.
Laissez-faire capitalism is not the same as a mixed economy, i.e. no companies are bailed out, the government does not put up a guarantee for bank deposits, the government do not set the interest rate, the government does not print fiat money etc. in a Laissez-faire capitalistic system.
Give me some reason why we can't return to being a producing nation. Once again, you argue like present conditions have to continue forever. As for trade barriers, those work fine if you're a developing nation, but are a disaster for an advanced economy, as all it would do is prevent the advanced goods needed to keep us going from coming in. Imagine a world without Blackberries: they're from Canada. Advanced economies trade advanced goods with each other. If they stop doing this and providing competition to each other, they stop advancing, pure and simple.
True capitalism leads to poverty. Just look at the last century, when there was no minimum wage and poverty was skyhigh to benefit the few factory owners. Minimum wage is not true capitalism.
You are quite right they couldn't even figure out how to manufacture cars that's how bad the system was. college_trad3r. Truly sad.
Over 25% of America's manufacturing ability is sitting idle because of the influx of foreign goods. How can we be a producing nation if we just import cheap items from abroad? This system you espouse, trefoil, breaks down when we have to borrow from overseas to turn around and buy their goods. There is no balance, so the system will fail, as it is on the path to doing.
What you're not getting is that what will fail is the currency regime that's been around since 1971, when Nixon took the dollar off gold. The US isn't going to fail, but this system will. As was predicted by an economist named Paul Einzig in The Destiny of the Dollar, written right after Nixon took the dollar off gold, floating rates led to "currency nationalism", where countries deliberately debased their currencies to gain their products a competitive advantage, the last and largest culprit in this long-running game being China. That's over with this recession. The next few years you'll see a gradual turn towards some other regime to replace this one. Once the dollar is no longer the reserve currency and is replaced by something neutral that game will be well and truly done. The US will no longer be the buyer of last resort for everyone because it simply can't. Everyone hasn't gotten the message yet, but they will. As for the US, it will thrive under the new regime as well, simply because, as a republic, we have an advantage that Machiavelli himself noted republics as having hundreds of years ago: we let people keep what they have and hand it down to their heirs. And we have a government strong enough to allow people to be secure in their wealth. So people are unafraid to strike out on their own and try new things. That's really all you need.
Spoken like an unenlightened, liberal kid. LMAO. You make an excellent democrat. You know what leads to poverty? LAZINESS. Also the refusal to take personal accountability for one's station in life. -Prof.