cableguy, I’m not a big fan of that war, but we had a trade deficit before the war. It’s true we enjoyed budget surpluses under Clinton, but we apparently had trade deficits during that time as well.
I do agree we’re going broke. But I think we’ve been going broke for some time now. From what I can tell from the 'net, our last trade surplus was in 1975.
Of course, this sort of thing has been in the news for years.
By the way, Hobbes, I don’t know what the farm subsidies are like now, but at one time when I lived in North Louisiana, I’m pretty sure that a married couple claiming to farm 500 acres (250 acres per person) of cotton could get a $200-per-acre subsidy. And that was apparently still the case in 2003. Someone correct me if my understanding is in error, but does that mean that someone could get $1,000,000 in subsidies in ten years on 500 acres?
The Heritage Foundation said that the overall average subsidy (i.e., on all crops) in Louisiana in 1999 was $250 per acre. heritage.org/Research/Agricu … Id=1000761
Now, back to living for the moment. . . .