Скачать или смотреть Jeffrey Sachs on Trade Deficits and Economic Misconceptions

Jeffrey Sachs critiques the misunderstanding of trade deficits in the U.S., particularly former President Trump’s tendency to blame other countries, using a credit card spending analogy. He argues that trade deficits stem from domestic overspending relative to production or income, reflected in the current account deficit, not trade policies. Sachs attributes U.S. deficits to government overspending (about $2 trillion annually beyond revenues), fueled by transfer payments without corresponding taxation, driven by a political system influenced by wealthy anti-tax donors. Trump’s unilateral trade policies, enacted via emergency decrees (e.g., 45% tariffs on China), are labeled economically baseless “one-person rule,” disrupting the mutually beneficial global trade system based on division of labor, resulting in a $10 trillion global market capitalization loss. Sachs argues that trade wars, particularly with China, disadvantage the U.S., as China relies on the U.S. market for only 12% of its exports. He warns of a collapsing U.S. political system, where emergency decrees enable arbitrary decisions, potentially fostering insider trading.