After almost two years of economic downturn, exports through Savannah increased 11.4 percent, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Port traffic typically augurs a region’s economic well-being. Agriculture and industry across Georgia and the Southeast might finally be ready to invest, grow and hire.
“Exports are starting to rebound and drive the economic recovery,” said Curtis Foltz, executive director of the Georgia Ports Authority. “We’re starting to see this thing turn around and continue to build momentum.”
But don’t get too excited. As the article notes, “Much of the export boost is credited to a weak dollar that makes Georgia products artificially cheap. And an increasingly difficult China, the major export destination, holds great sway over U.S. trade success.”
In fact, as Niall Ferguson offers in the Financial Times pretty dire warnings that should be read in full. Here’s a sample:
First, the impact of government spending (the hallowed “multiplier”) has been much less than the proponents of stimulus hoped. Second, there is a good deal of “leakage” from open economies in a globalised world. Last, crucially, explosions of public debt incur bills that fall due much sooner than we expect
… [E]ven a casual look at the fiscal position of the federal government (not to mention the states) makes a nonsense of the phrase “safe haven”. US government debt is a safe haven the way Pearl Harbor was a safe haven in 1941.
Chilling.
