The Trade Surplus Dilemma

A country cannot buy more than it sells forever unless it is already filthy rich.

If a nation is a net debtor, like the US, the math proves it eventually has

to flip the script and run a trade surplus just to pay back the interest. It is unavoidable.

Think of the Current Account as simply the gap between what a country saves and what it invests.

If you are spending more than you earn, you are borrowing from abroad. But here is the

kicker: these are just accounting equations. They predict the inevitable bill

coming due, but they don't explain why we keep spending until it happens.