Yesterday, my son and I had a discussion about a glass half-full/half-empty situation. He decided he was a half-full kind of person. Here's one of those stories.
The title is "Record exports shrink May trade gap" and the story is here. For the non-economists in the crowd, here's what this means. We (the USofA) shipped out more stuff than we brought in. What's especially impressive is that EVEN WITH THE COST OF OIL, we did this. Very little gasoline comes stamped with a "Made in the USA" label on it. So we have to send our hard earned $$ to foreign countries like Canada and Mexico and of course Saudi Arabia to buy it.
When gas/oil prices are high, we have to spend more. Just like you & I do at the pump. But with all the complaints about a weaker dollar, the falling dollar, oh my, the prices on American goods has increased also. So people in other nations are sending more dollars back to us.
Does this mean the recession is over? Well, the recession never started, but it doesn't mean our economic problems are over. The FDIC took over a very large bank (IndyMac). That means that the government is paying out some big bucks to put a finger in the dike of the mortgage problem. And that has more fallout to come. What makes this story so bad is that one of our finest congressmen may have helped start this one.
But the glass is definitely half full. We can all take a little comfort in knowing that we are now producing more and selling it overseas.
* Updated to correct spelling in title and a few other places. Someone doesn't respect a little dyslexia.
3 comments:
Cool!
The glass isn't empty 'till it's empty... And if you're lucky, you'll get a refill before that! :)
You put forth the truth with this post and sadly it's the truth many don't want to admit. I also have to say Brooke's comment sums it up nicely.
Brooke, I like your comment "if you're lucky, you'll get a refill" Nice add-on to an old adage.
Alfie, Thanks for the comment.
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