Danny and Goober's oversimplification's are typical of a neophyte attempting to explain a complex financial measurement. Here is a fairly accurate explanation: Balance of payments - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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I think at this point there needs to be a focus on an immediate increase in spending and I think this is a time when deficit fear has to take a second seat . . . I believe later on there should be tax increases. Speaking personally, I think there are a lot of very rich people out there whom we can tax at a point down the road and recover some of the money."
-- Barney Frank, October 20, 2008