问答题Practice 1　　The catchphrase of the hour is that America is living beyond its means. The expression is used so much by politicians, economists and editorial writers that it is depreciating faster than the dollar. But there's no way around it. It tells t

Practice 1　　The catchphrase of the hour is that America is living beyond its means. The expression is used so much by politicians, economists and editorial writers that it is depreciating faster than the dollar. But there's no way around it. It tells the story. The Data Resources numbers show Americans increase their spending this year almost three times as fast as their after-tax income. What else can we explain it? What is more, as a nation, the U.S. has been doing the same thing throughout the 1990s. For years the country has been consuming more than it produces, making up the difference by borrowing abroad. It can't go on.　　The stock market's tumble, which has caused a loss of $1 trillion in paper wealth, is but the first step in a process that must sober the nation. At the same time, in the next few years the U. S. will have to throw its amazing dream machine into reverse and start paying its debts. Inevitably, this will mean a lowering in the U.S. standard of living as Americans are forced to produce more than they consume to service a soaring foreign debt. Per capital income may keep rising but more slowly than in the past. The trade account will go slowly towards balance or even surplus in the mid-1990s. But in the meantime, Americans will receive less for their exports because the dollar will fall considerably before U. S. exports are competitive. And pressures to reduce the federal deficit will tighten the lid on defense spending.