An Economic Misconception With Exports and Imports

I disagree with him. Producing exports does feed the families through the wages paid to the workers making the things. We consume both exports and imports but in different ways!

It's better to be self-sufficient.

So dumb.... Like the capacity to have excess exports means that you won't have anything for yourself

I lived in Canada for 3 years as a child. I learned this in 6th grade in a Canadian school. Why is it that American college students don't even understand basic economics?

First time I’ve listened and felt like Milton is wrong

Not only was he correct about the economic details, but he was also right about how widespread this misconception is—even decades after his speech, just look at the comments..

Nonsense. We must be profitable. And we can't with a trade deficit

He's largely correct. But beware importing all your food, if someone else can stop the ships.

Re: the capitalist free market comparison of the international trade of imports & exports.


It’s about doing a proper cost-benefit analysis. Where people get lost is in the incommensurable difficulties of calculating factors of foreign exchange such as currencies, shipping, storage, etcetera.

The methodology of calculation must either be consistent, or at least translatable for consistency in comparison, between domestic and foreign goods.

Let’s face it, it isn’t. And that is either by design, or by incompetence, to facilitate money laundering, theft, and stupidity (which are hidden costs).

The misconceptions and concerns that I see in the comments are all related to the assignment of values to a cost-benefit analysis of the economic model.
It’s complex, to say the least, and dangerous to oversimplify or overlook factors involved in trade. Many of these factors are incommensurate and require detailed analysis to properly calibrate & assess them. This is a huge stumbling block.

This is if there is a free market. He means - quality of life is largely determined by availability and prices of goods. More qoods, more access, lower prices. If you can export a lower amount of material goods and get more material goods (that your society values), in turn. That is ideal. Ie: Australia exports lots of raw materials that if mined only for Australia... the prices would be rock bottom - but they can export that ore and import material goods like tvs cameras technology etc - that make the lives of Australians better - more than additional iron ore (or other) might.