Warren Buffett on trade deficits

The successful American businessman and investor Warren Buffett was quoted in the Associated Press (January 20, 2006) as saying "The U.S trade deficit is a bigger threat to the domestic economy than either the federal budget deficit or consumer debt and could lead to political turmoil... Right now, the rest of the world owns $3 trillion more of us than we own of them." Buffett has proposed a tool called Import Certificates as a solution to the United States' problem and ensure balanced trade.