Mint has published another infographic, this time on the trade deficit of the United States. A trade deficit occurs when a country imports more goods than it experts. In other words, it is a transfer of wealth from one country to another. Over a short period of time, this is not a problem. However, over many years, or decades in the case of the United States, this can be a problem. Mint takes a look through the decades at how the U.S. went from having a trade surplus with the world in the 1960’s and 1970’s to having a trade deficit ever since then. Personally, I do not like how the infographic was produced. First, the years in a decade are grouped together, which makes it difficult to tell when we transitioned from trade surplus to trade deficit. Secondly, the graphic has a line graph showing the surplus or deficit in a percentage of GDP. The problem is that it does not show a deficit as being negative, shows it as positive with just a different color. Finally, the graphic uses a pie chart to show which countries are our largest trading partners. According to the pie chart, we only had nine trading partners. Still, you can take this opportunity to learn from the mistakes of others, and make a better graphic yourself. Click on the link for a high resolution version of the infographic.
Spending Beyond Our Means: US Trade Balance By Decade
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