When you buy more stuff than you sell, eventually you have to sell off parts of the farm to pay the bills.  You can say "we're engaging in commerce... hurray!"  But you have to sell off assets.  It's a dumb strategy.

The U.S. - if you didn't know - is buying more than it sells.  $800 billion more than it sells.  And we're selling off the farm because of it.  Even though wacko free traders say "we're engaging in trade... hurray!"

This is what we have wrought, with no signs of slowing, only signs of acceleration:

For much of the world, the United States is now on sale at discount prices. ...

Last year, foreign investors poured a record $414 billion into securing stakes in American companies, factories and other properties through private deals and purchases of publicly traded stock, according to Thomson Financial, a research firm. That was up 90 percent from the previous year and more than double the average for the last decade. ...

Beneath the headlines, a more profound shift is under way: Foreign entities last year captured stakes in American companies in businesses as diverse as real estate, steel-making, energy and baby food.

I'll wonder if Fortune magazine wished they had not commissioned this poll.

*  68% say trade helps others, not us

*  78% believe trade harms our workers

*  55% believe American business has been harmed.

But get the spin in the article.  No mention of the trade deficit, job loss, the imported food, or manufacturing loss.  Its all about voters "fear" and their "feelings."

We are a nation crawling into a fetal position, cramped by fear that America has lost control of its destiny in a fiercely competitive global economy. The fear is mostly about jobs lost overseas and wages capped by foreign competition.

No mention of currency manipulation.

Especially now, as the U.S. economy sputters, we are on the verge of becoming a country of economic nationalists.

No mention of VAT tariffs.

Fear is a potent force in American politics, and Democratic Party leaders have astutely tapped into rising voter unease about globalization.

The article uses the word "fear" four times and "feelings, "feel" or "felt" four times.   "Anxious" or "anxiety" three times.  "Mood" four times. 

Metaphors and anecdotes are all they've got.  The reporter, Nina Easton, uses the powerful metaphors of American's being confident about taking on the world, and says we no longer do.  He does not realize we have unilaterally disarmed.  Other countries apply tariffs and subsidies against us, bet we do not.  Double digit points on the scoreboard for the other team before the football game starts.

Ms. Easton then has a personal anecdote... she says the Maytag closure is not so bad, in Newton, Iowa.

In the U.S. the newly shuttered Maytag plant in Newton, Iowa, doubles as an altar to the political spirit of economic nationalism. ...  When I visited Newton on the eve of the Iowa caucuses, I expected a dying town. Instead I found a vibrant community of 16,000 with serene neighborhoods and a bustling downtown.

So Easton sees some shoppers at a Wal-Mart, and her faith in free trade is restored. 

This is the level of thought we are dealing with.  It is a mob mentality of the free traders.  Irrational.  They cannot see it is rigged trade, and become very agitated when the rigging is pointed out.

The Coalition for a Prosperous America is holding the first Issues Forum in a series, targeting the Consumption Tax.

CPA's core reasons for pushing consideration of this type of tax are laid out in this policy.  

The Huckabee campaign has pushed a consumption tax called a Fair Tax.  That plan is immature, but is driving some public attention.  CPA will try to mature the idea to make the underlying concept more acceptable regardless of party or ideology.

Letter writers to the Des Moines Register are debating the merits and demerits of the flat tax here and here.  
 

Once upon a time, the U.S. was the world''s biggest creditor.  Now we are the world's biggest debtor.  China is our banker.

China holds $1.5 trilliion in foreign reserves from their trade surplus.  A new high in the midst of rapidly accelerating gains. 

Good job free traders. You're smart folks.  Sorry we did not listen to you.