> High health care spending is yet another way the US subsidizes other countries.
Look at the US's trade deficit and dollar devaluations of the past 50 years to see who is subsidizing who. But that's beside the point.
Look at it less nationalistic and rather as corporations vs. consumers. American consumers are "subsidizing" large corporations in an oligopolic market.
Your 50 years is a radical exaggeration. America had a budget surplus and stable dollar 12 / 13 years ago. Which is why gold was $270x / ounce, and oil was $12 to $20 and gasoline was still $1.
Trade deficits are mostly irrelevant so long as you aren't accumulating debt, and your domestic economy is highly productive.
I run a huge trade deficit with Amazon.com for example, as do all of their customers. That's ok because I'm being productive elsewhere, and the profits I'm generating through work make it possible to run that deficit. The same concept works at a macro economic level.
America ran trade deficits during almost the entire 19th century. There was more money (eg British investment) and goods flowing in, than out. The huge profits being generated domestically by the productivity gains, made it possible to finance that deficit without debt accumulation.
Gov't budget and import/export of currency has nothing to do with each other.
Current account deficit is what I wanted to type, not only trade. It works like this since Bretton Woods (okay, 40 years ago): US has current account deficit, that means that US dolars (or bonds in USD) are collected by other countries, and the US receives physical values (traded goods, raw materials, etc.) in return. When the USD loses value vs other currencies, the other countries posess now less value, because the USD they own is worth less physical stuff/other currencies.
The US is trying hard to do the same thing with China currently, since China has bunkered some 3 trillion USD. Devalue the USD a few percent vs the Renminbi and the US has saved a lot of value it would otherwise have to "pay back" to China some day.
Its a good thing to run the leading international currency (ie the USD) because of the implicit value transfer to your own country.
Look at the US's trade deficit and dollar devaluations of the past 50 years to see who is subsidizing who. But that's beside the point.
Look at it less nationalistic and rather as corporations vs. consumers. American consumers are "subsidizing" large corporations in an oligopolic market.