“Many years ago, there was an adage that “When General Motors sneezes, the stock market catches a cold.” In those days, GM was such a big player in the economy that if it stumbled, our economy suffered, too. The recent precipitous decline of the Chinese stock market caused our own Dow Jones average to plummet 1,000 points in a couple of days as investors ran for cover. Likewise, our trade deficit has been a dangerous drag on our economy. When China devalues its currency, this upsets the already tenuous balance of trade.”