Comment by matwood
8 hours ago
The US economy has been one of the best performing economies ever, which has been great for the country overall. Deeper economic ties with other super powers is also a pretty good at keeping the peace. While there are some specific issues, it's hard to argue it hasn't been good for the country overall.
In terms of the country's overall health I think you could argue we've sold industrial capacity for wealth, and it's too early to say if it was a good trade. Reliance on China for Rare Earth Minerals is commonly referenced, [1] but China is in general a major supplier to the DoW, which negatively hampers our ability to for example credibly deter an invasion of Taiwan. Arguably Post WWII Pax Americana, which relies on industrial capacity, has kept the peace more so than economic interdependence. For example Pre WWI Germany and the UK were each others' largest trading partner, and a conflict was argued to be economically unthinkable. [2]
It also increases the immiseration of those in the areas replaced[3], which is likely a contributor to rising populism and political instability. Most of this malaise is just hidden in places like the Rust Belt.
[1]https://www.csis.org/analysis/rare-earth-export-restrictions...
[2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Illusion
[3]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disease_of_despair
Best performing for whom?
If the type of prosperity you want to point to is "stock market go up," we need to talk about who owns the stocks and who doesn't.
It's been good for everyone. Quality of life in the US has risen with GDP.
"Let them eat growth!"
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Not with Trump in power, most of our allies are looking for other places to do business.