Deficit 2006

12-18-06

The following information was reported by Associated Press….(Martin Crutsinger)


WASHINGTON - America's trade deficit shot up to an all-time high in the summer, reflecting a huge jump in the bill for foreign oil.

The Commerce Department reported Monday that the current account trade deficit increased 3.9 percent to a record $225.6 billion in the July-September quarter. That represented 6.8 percent of the total economy, up from 6.6 percent of the gross domestic product in the spring quarter.
(The deficit for the entire year is close to $800 Billion)

“The figure is closely watched by economists because it represents the amount of money that must be borrowed from foreigners to make up the difference between what America imports and what it sells overseas.”
Let’s get this straight….The United States buys 800 Billion dollars of more “stuff” then we sell, to other countries, and then we borrow money from them to pay for the “stuff?”

“Lower oil prices, robust export growth and some cooling in import growth should bring the deficit down, beginning in the fourth quarter," said Nigel Gault, an economist with Global Insight, a private forecasting firm.

The tooth fairy decided to pay my rent, my car payment and all my utilities because he missed giving me a quarter when I was six.
“Lower oil prices, robust export growth and some cooling in import growth.” Ha ha ha………..how about throwing in the Cubs winning a World Series…..or Sylvester Stallone making another Rocky movie….come on….some things will just never happen...and it’s time to accept certain realities.

I can tell you that there is some “stuff” being produced and sold, which simply confuses my cerebral vortex equilibrium…and truly makes me wonder….what the hell is going on?

A few weeks ago I was reading about the Opium crops in Afghanistan and how much more they are producing since the Taliban was overthrown. I remember in 2002, at the beginning of the Afghan conflict, reading a story that poppy fields had been reduced to their lowest numbers in years, and that it was due to the simple fact that the Taliban were not into drugs. It was supposedly one of the areas that substantiated the Taliban’s strict observance of Islamic law.
The current story stated that the Opium crops were now helping to pay for the resurgence of the Taliban, especially in the southern part of Afghanistan.
It’s important to remember than Opium is generally a CASH CROP so none of these figures can be included in the import/export numbers….as stated in the beginning of this article. I’m fairly certain that the United States is not growing Opium to help offset the trade imbalance but then this morning I saw the following headline on page B3 in the LA TIMES.

Pot is called biggest cash crop
“The $ 35-billion market value of U.S.-grown cannabis tops that of such heartland staples as corn and hay, a marijuana activist says. “ (Eric Bailey)
Afghanistan produces Opium….Columbia produces Cocaine and the United States produces Marijuana….and the governments of these three countries do not appear to be reaping any rewards, such as tax revenues. I would imagine that Columbia and Afghanistan “officials” probably receive some form of compensation, due to the levels of political corruption that has been “reported” in those countries for years.
The corruption regarding drug trade within the United States is probably much harder to prove.
We are a nation of statistics so it becomes our responsibility to keep track of not only world trade numbers, but also who is getting high…and of course who is supplying those people who want to get high.
The United States should start using its vast creative capabilities in ways that might not have been previously considered…..EXAMPLE:
We increase our Pot crop production from $35 billion to $150 billion….and then we completely destroy the poppy fields in Afghanistan with non-toxic methods, so the fields could be used for growing another product….such as Marijuana. All those people that no longer have access to Opium, which becomes heroin, will really need the Marijuana.
It will be much harder trying to redirect the Cocaine industry. The “Big” boys in the cocaine business are much harder to eliminate. The main reason for this difficulty is due to the amount of trees in Columbia. Too much foliage; Afghanistan has three trees outside of Kabul….so it’s very easy to locate anything growing. And besides the foliage problem, the Cocaine guys are so jacked up on their product, that no one can get a word in edge wise. It’s a very nervous drug and everything about it becomes nervous and once nervous becomes the dominate aspect of an endeavor…calm people just want to ignore the endeavor. I’ve learned over the years that calm people really don’t like nervous people and people who use cocaine on a regular basis are extremely nervous….or if not, then they drink way too much.
We’d have to increase the dollar value of Columbian Marijuana to offset the loss of Cocaine revenue and after juggling the numbers it might be hard to get $10,000.00 for a half an ounce of Columbia Gold….when we can grow better pot right here in California for $750 an ounce.
Columbia is screwed no matter how we dissect the numbers…they will need to come up with their own plan after all the Cocaine users in America start smoking pot instead.
Afghanistan, on the other hand, will become a satellite growing country for the United States and its world domination of the Marijuana industry.
The trade deficit will be reduced and so many people will be smoking pot that it won’t be possible to even spell defisett.
So many situations in the world could be handled with…CAT….creative alternative thinking.

Of course another solution would be….people just stop getting high, and everyone who grows something that makes you high…suddenly is out of business. And eventually they would figure out an alternate crop to produce. I seriously heard one time that if every Chinese person ate a banana at the same time….there would be no bananas for four years. That seems like a nice crop for Columbia….and they’ve already got a lot of trees….so what’s the problem with a few billion more banana trees. Our marketing geniuses in New York could start a rumor about how bananas contain magic ingredients, that when consumed in large qualities…could help reduce the trade deficit.
To the Columbian drug lords I have only one question….would you rather supply China with a banana a day, for every citizen or continue to be the gangsters of nose powder? The problem is that people who own weapons don’t usually like to surrender them…which is truly another entire problem.

And a problem that is so intense that I’ve got to go visit the Medical Marijuana facility in Malibu….now where did I put that prescription? Yes doctor, these trade deficit statistics really give me a migraine…..er, I mean a backache….no really……I meant to say I think I have glaucoma….oh, the trade deficits are reason enough? Thank you.


Michael Timothy McAlevey