re: https://bsky.app/profile/rajakorman.bsky.social/post/3lkbdfilsfs27
persistent trade surplus countries just have to write a check to their own people, then deal with higher accounting deficits or tax the rich. any inflation is limited because, well, excess supply.
persistent deficit countries have to build industries they've forgotten or never known how to run. 1/
obviously this is oversimplified, because the goods and services previously exported by surplus countries won't precisely match the goods and services domestic publics will want to buy. directed subsidies can help ameliorate this. 2/
further, surplus countries that produce high-value goods tend to have metacapacity — they know how to build competitive industries. deficit countries less so. 3/
you'd much rather be a surplus country than a deficit country in a time of growing trade barriers. the main benefit to deficit countries is they can learn to become more like surplus countries. /fin
