Saturday, June 04, 2011

2+2= 4? OK. Then Justify "Free Trade!"

I'll start where Vox ends:

For the purposes of this exercise, we are assuming that the Samuelsonian metrics are valid, relevant, and a legitimate foundation for national policy.

Here's where he begins:

1. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the statistical measure for the size of the national economy.
2. The formula for calculating GDP is C+I+G+(x-m).
3. In the most recent BEA report, current dollar GDP was 15,010 billion. Exports (x) were 2,020 billion and imports (m) were 2,591 billion.
4. In Q1-11, international trade reduced the size of the US economy by $571 billion

So have at it, preferably in Vox's combox. Go ahead, justify "Free Trade."

1 comment:

J. Strupp said...

And what do ya think a weak dollar policy and passage of the Levin Bill would do to that number?