J.D. Vance, in an NYT interview with Ross Douthat, says that we will know if the Trump economic plan is successful if we make a significant dent in the current trade deficit. Is he right?
I’ll answer the question with a question. Does it really make sense to say that the trade deficit is a more meaningful measurement of our economic well-being than per capita GDP, the unemployment rate, or the rate of inflation?
If Vance is right, in fact, we should be deliberately trying to generate a large recession, because it would reduce the trade deficit. I somehow doubt the American public would be very enthusiastic about that.