Here we go again with the mythical trade deficit:

The U.S. trade deficit shot up 12 percent in April to $56.96 billion, reflecting a surge in oil imports to the second highest level on record, the government reported Friday. . .

The soaring trade deficits have translated into a major political headache for President Bush as critics contend his trade policies have failed to protect American workers from unfair foreign competition, resulting in a string of record deficits and the loss of more than 3 million manufacturing jobs since mid-2000.

The trade deficit just means we buy more than we sell. For instance, I had a $30 trade deficit with my dry cleaners last week. Leaving the grocery store this weekend, I looked at my receipt and noticed an $80 trade deficit. Does that mean my dry cleaner and my grocer are better off than I am? Of course not. I don't want to have to dry clean my own suits every week or milk my own cows to get milk. I pay other people to do that for me. Should the government step in and tell me that I can't buy milk and have to go produce it myself?

Dr. Walter E. Williams says that the trade deficit actually shows just how well our economy is doing.

The fact that foreigners are willing to exchange massive amounts of goods in exchange for slips of paper in the forms of currency, stocks and bonds should be a source of pride. It means America, with its wealth, rule of law and the sanctity of contracts, inspires foreigners to hold large amounts of their wealth in U.S. obligations. Their willingness to do so means something else: Trade increases competition. Ultimately it's competition, many producers competing for his dollar, that truly protects the consumer. What protects producers, at the expense of consumers, are restrictions on competition. The quest to restrict competition is what lies at the heart of the trade deficit demagoguery. When's the last time you heard a consumer complaining about his buying more from a Chinese or Japanese producer than that producer buys from him?

It's been my experience that trade deficits are nothing more than a way to talk down the economy and trash the current administration.