Economic Panic
Is the era of U.S. economic primacy over? The twin deficits, the rise of China, and outsourcing have persuaded many that it is. But haven't we heard all this before? FP dips into its archives to look back at other moments when U.S. economic power seemed to be slipping away.
"Since the current trade imbalance is outside the range of historical experience, no one knows how much the dollar would have to fall to balance America's international accounts. However, the number is apt to be large enough to scare everyone."
-- Lester C. Thurow and Laura D'Andrea Tyson
"The Economic Black Hole"
(Summer 1987)
"Since the current trade imbalance is outside the range of historical experience, no one knows how much the dollar would have to fall to balance America’s international accounts. However, the number is apt to be large enough to scare everyone."
— Lester C. Thurow and Laura D’Andrea Tyson
"The Economic Black Hole"
(Summer 1987)
"[Japan’s] economy will become as large in absolute dollar terms as America’s early in the next decade…. Japan could be described as "an economic giant but a political pygmy" during the Cold War, but the United States must avoid the reverse appellation in the years ahead."
— C. Fred Bergsten
"New Foreign Policies: The Primacy of Economics" (Summer 1992)
"Much has been made of U.S. dependence on foreign energy, but the country’s dependence on foreign cash is even more distressing. In a real sense, the countries that hold U.S. currency and securities in their banks also hold U.S. prosperity in their hands."
— Lawrence Summers
"America Overdrawn"
(July/August 2004)
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