WHAT IS THE POOREST COUNTRY OF THE WORLD ?

[SamuelRSmith]

Mr Khan said:

mrstickball said:

libellule said:

mrstickball said:

*edit*

I know Sam and others tried to explain trade balances and how they aren't an indication of wealth, so I won't go there.

Just remember: The reason we're able to run such an insane trade balance is that during and after World War 2, we ran a surplus for ~40 years straight. That helped us grow and bring in a considerable amount of resources and wealth to surpass every other country.

"surplus" ? when US exported a lot you mean ?

because if you look at the debt, it starts going up (being negative) since 1900 (with variations ofc) ... so this debt story is an ancient one and even during the "after war", USA (and others countries ofc) had a debt

I'm talking about trade surplus/debt. Your talking about public debt (the kind the government holds as loans).

After WW2, we had a trade surplus for 40 years, but didn't always have a public surplus (meaning the government brought in more taxes than it spent).

The two are interlinked though. Foreign governments buy up our bonds so that we have money to buy their stuff, and they know we're good for it, so they'll profit in the short term (trade) and in the long-term (bond interest)

They're interlinked as a mechanic, in the short term, but in the long term, the two can run seperately.