One of this country's biggest economic problems is a tsunami of misinformation. You can't have a rational debate when facts are so easily supplanted by overreaching statements and errors. Here are three misconceptions about our economy that need to be laid to rest.
Detroit's Big Three are in hiring mode again, and Japanese automakers are building cars in the U.S. to export to Asia. And they aren't the only ones ramping up U.S. production. Is America at the beginning of a new industrial age? The answer lies in China.
To quell rapidly climbing prices, China has raised interest rates for the third time since October. But signs are growing that it may not be able to keep the problem under control. And despite the economic threat from inflation, China isn't likely to let its currency rise.
The grandstanding is understandable for politicians facing voters battered by the Great Recession. But China's growth is fueling the strong results that companies continue to deliver. And China's global trade surplus has actually been shrinking.
It's almost an article of faith in some economic circles Indian and Chinese households will increasingly support not only their own economies, but those of the rest of the world as well. A closer examination brings that faith into question.
