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"Trade is far and away the largest weight on the U.S. economy at
present," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com.
"This is a risky time."
So we read in yesterday’s Washington Post [2].
Suppose Mr. Zandi had instead used a synonym for "trade": commerce. Does it make sense to say that "Commerce is far and away the largest weight on the U.S. economy at present"?
I think not. How in the world can trade — commerce — voluntary exchange — be a ‘weight’ on an economy defined overwhelmingly by a deep and extensive division of labor?