A modest proposal to resolve the Chinese trade deficit

No serious economist believes the United States' budget and trade deficits are sustainable. China is one of the biggest sources of the trade deficit, and makes up for it by holding vast dollar reserves, thus effectively underwriting the budget deficit. At some point, the balance has to be righted and they will have to find goods or services of interest to them from the US to redeem those dollars for.

One possibility: buy back all the priceless cultural artifacts that were pillaged under the quasi-colonial domination of China by western powers, most notably the United Kingdom, and which found their way to the US after an improverished Britain had to sell the family silver, so to speak (bought at the cost of much diligent opium smuggling, I might add). Of course, that would be selling the US' own family silver, but if Americans can't moderate their appetite for cheap Wal-Mart goods, it is ineluctable.

Defaulting on Treasury bills is not an option (it is actually illegal for Congressmen to question the Federal government's creditworthiness, a Civil War holdover), and in any case, as Argentinians can attest, that is no silver bullet to the woes stemming from financial recklessness. Even America's "exorbitant privilege" of having its currency be the world's reserve would not make up for that ocean of red ink if used as a one-time joker card.

As it turns out, China has requested the US stop the importation of Chinese antiquities, in compliance with UNESCO treaties. Perhaps granting them a right of preemption would do the trick...