Economics and the Election

My inner-economist would like to draw attention to a little-known statistic, catalogued by our friends at the Bureau of Economic Analysis. This statistic, termed the Net International Investment Position (NIIP), is one of several factors that has influenced my mindset going into November's election. The objective of the NIIP is to measure US investment in other countries relative to foreign investment in the United States. Investment is defined to include just about everything: stocks, bonds, factories, inventory, real estate, currency, etc.

In the past, from the 1930's through the 1980's, the NIIP had been a very large positive number, meaning that the United States was a net creditor to the rest of the world. Now the nation's direct debt to foreign individuals/entities exceeds $2.8 trillion, meaning that foreign interests are eroding the sovereignty and contribution to domestic well-being of American corporations. If this negative trend continues, coupled with the budget deficit, the trade deficit, and the aging of our friends "the Baby Boomers," most of us will be paying ridiculously high taxes for a really long time, starting in about 10-15 years. The US needs to get its fiscal house in order. Unfortunately, it probably won't because not enough young people vote and the AARP is going to screw us all. Maybe I should start a write-in campaign: "Alan Greenspan for President!"