I really don’t understand why Americans can’t see that our oil dependence is destroying our country financially and socially.
Below I copied in some information about our trade deficit for April. It is from Daily Finance, in AOL. I was shocked to see at the bottom, for the first time they linked oil to the deficit. Good for you Joseph Lazzaro, writer of the story. I did a little checking and found this great site, www.Pickensplan.com. From there I found the information about our trade deficit due to oil in April. Below you will see we sent $29.2 Billion to foreigners through out trade deficit in April, but $18.6 Billion of that was due to oil imports. Our trade deficit would have only been $10.6 Billion if we stopped importing oil. To me, this is the single most important issue facing our country and solving this problem helps solve our other issues.
Read Pickens blog:
US trade deficit rises slightly in April
Joseph Lazzaro
Jun 10th 2009
For the second month in a row, there has been a minor setback on the trade front, but hopefully it won’t mark a return to the nation’s reckless trade deficit condition of the previous five years.
The U.S. trade deficit increased 2.2 percent in April to $29.2 billion, as exports fell at a faster pace than imports, the U.S. Commerce Department announced Tuesday.
Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had expected the trade deficit to total $28.5 billion in April. The March trade deficit was revised slightly higher to $28.5 billion from the previously released $27.6 billion. The trade deficit totaled $26.1 billion in February.
Imports continue to fall
In April, imports dipped 1.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted $150.3 billion — the lowest level since September 2004. Exports, pushed lower by a large decline in capital goods and services, fell 2.3 percent to $121.1 billion, the lowest level since July 2006.
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Economic Analysis: Despite the second straight monthly uptick, the nation’s trade deficit picture continues to improve, from a long-term perspective. Clearly, Americans are cutting back their consumer goods purchases, and it’s reflected in the steadily declining import total. The hyper-consumption that characterized the leverage era was unsustainable and has ended, and the era of the ‘frugal consumer’ is well underway. What the nation must now do is pass a comprehensive energy policy to reduce its dependence first on imported oil, and then on oil, in general; that will keep more energy dollars at home, re-circulating in the American economy, aiding investment and helping to create domestic jobs, among other benefits.
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