Come On, China, Buy Our Stuff! The usually sure-footed Adam Davidson stumbles when he writes: "Every month, the United States buys around $35 billion in goods and services from China and sells around $11 billion back. That, of course, leaves a $24 billion trade deficit. Currencies work like any other salable good in that they adjust based on supply and demand. The natural result should be for the dollar to get weaker as the renminbi gets stronger. Just as foreigners need (and, hence, demand) dollars to spend on American exports, foreigners need (and, hence, demand) dollars to invest in America. Because a rising U.S. trade deficit often signals increased foreign demand to invest in America, it's a mistake to suppose that dollars that foreigners don't spend on American exports necessarily are dollars not demanded by foreigners for use in America. In short, a rising U.S. trade deficit does not necessarily unleash market forces that weaken the dollar against other currencies. DONALD J. BOUDREAUX, Professor of Economics, George Mason University We can do something about the trade imbalance, but we don't. We can impose a stiff across-the-board tariff to counter China's currency manipulation. We should also strip their most-favored-nation status and act unilaterally on our behalf outside the W.T.O. They certainly do, so why don't we? Because it would hurt the feelings of the 1 percent? Yes, we would get higher interest rates and suffer some inflation, which would affect the 99 percent, but when a hostile power (my opinion) is stripping away the entire underpinning of our economic and military muscle, shouldn't we kick our response level up a tad? NORM WEAVER, Buffalo, posted on nytimes.com So the commenter above believes we could win a trade war with China? Because that is what he is saying, despite all evidence to the contrary in this article. CITIZEN, Rhode Island, posted on nytimes.com I'm amazed at these comments. No wonder America is drowning in acrimony and bitterness. Here you have a China undervaluing its currency with the result of millions of American jobs lost (as well as manufacturing know-how and relationships) and Americans (or Chinese hackers?) seemingly jump with joy. If we really are a country of hate, resentment and ill will toward fellow Americans, we deserve decline. If not, we deserve a government that represents the interests of citizens, not multinational corporations whose profits have surged because they dumped American workers for Chinese ones (who live 12 to a dorm room, work 70 hours a week and make $250 a month). LARK, San Francisco, posted on nytimes.com