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Posted on 06/06/2010 8:59:15 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Depreciation of the dollar wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.
If we want to try and bring back manufacturing to this country we’re going to need some dollar depreciation.
a 2 minute round-up on the global sovereign debt crisis - very funny and accurate.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/video/2010/05/20/2905304.htm
Indeed: devaluing the dollar would make our exports more competitive, imports less competitive (spurring U.S. activity to compete with foreign companies), and make the part of my pension fund invested overseas more valuable in dollar terms (^_^).
“Higher interest rates will probably be the future if we don’t get our debt under control.”
...I wouldn’t mind a little bit higher interest rates...the interest I’m getting on my savings at the bank is miserable.
Look at the experience of every country that has devalued its currency. First, you get a trade advantage and sell a little more to other countries. Then you realize you are paying more for imports. (China/Walmart anyone?) Then you have inflation. Bad inflation. Then your standard of living goes down. And your standard of living stays down.
How do you like your dollar devaluation now folks?
The trouble is, because everyone and every thing (the Feds and the states, counties and cities - and probably you) in this country is living on borrowed money, when the borrowing stops, the standard of living must go down and stay down. Now show me the politician who is willing to take the responsibility for that.
Funny because its soo true. Thanks for posting.
There are two ways out...
Default on debt
or
Inflate our way out.
It appears that the inflation method is becoming more difficult than thought.
Is this evidence of the battle between the ‘deflation’ and ‘hyperinflation’ camps?
“How about CUTTING SPENDING AND ENTITLEMENTS and GROWING THE ECONOMY? I guess this isn’t politically viable.”
We can’t do anything that’s inconsistent with big government now, can we? /sarc
CUTTING SPENDING AND ENTITLEMENTS and GROWING THE ECONOMY
Only if you believe in individual liberty and economic freedom. There are few of us out here. Those of us who know how to create value and who believe that is the correct path to prosperity are out numbered by those that capture value instead. This means a shift has occured. The ‘progressives’ just don’t see it yet. After the election of the leftist, producers have taken defensive action. We’re the ones ‘in the bleachers’ that Obama talks about. We refuse to participate in the destruction of our economy though the left is doing a pretty good job by themselves.
The far left and their agenda has been exposed by Obama for all Americans to see.
Americans are witnesses to it just as Jews were the witnesses (and victims) of the Holocaust.
Very useful compilation of data. It confirms that the U.S. is a far bigger PIG than any of the PIIGS. And unfortunately, the nation is now being led by the biggest porker ever.
I’m not living on borrowed money. I worked 80 hrs a week and had to be away from all all the time and missed much of my kids growing up so that I managed to retire before I was 47.
This oil spill may end up driving me back into some kind of career activity, if just because it will take away my ability to go fishing all day it looks like.
Having said that, the price of imports going up to the point where they can’t compete with domestic products is probably a good thing. I used to be a huge free trader as most MBAs are but for our country, we can’t have both free trade status and maintain a strong currency vis-a-vis the rest of the world with the costs of livings and US dollar living standards we have in America.
That’s what spurs outsourcing.
I think dollar depreciation represents one way to at least bring down unemployment and therefore ensure stability. Would I stand to lose money? Absolutely. It’s why I’ve begun reducing my liquidity and putting it into what I hope are fiat proof assets. It doesn’t mean I can’t see that from the macroprospective the US is facing a lot of unattractive choices and devaluation of the dollar is among the least unattractive of them.
One important difference. We can do something that Greece and Latin America can’t. We can basically go into de jure empire mode and actually begin conquering our friends and neighbors and taking their resources back to the United States.
When do you think the Romans became true expansionists? It was in the first century BC when the Roman state was undergoing so much upheaval that they needed the money from vast colonial possessions just to sustain the social system in Italy.
I think we must start adopting FAIR TRADE POLICIES to go along with our FREE TRADE POLICIES even if it means getting into tariff wars with our trading partners. Most of our big trading partners such as China take advantage of us trading wise. It’s about time we fought back and use the same tools these guys use against them.
In a time of high unemployment and massive private job losses the answer is no.
Federal government becomes the last refuge of those who can’t find work in the private sector, either through federal work or federal assistance.
Think of the census workers. These people are encountering a very hostile public. Why then do it? They do it because its the only thing they can get and when it ends these people are back to square 1.
There are firms advertising jobs in the country who now openly advertise that they’ll only consider those already employed and informally that is practiced among many other companies. In an economic climate like this that is catastrophic.
I believe in small government and I’m anti-taxes. However, the time to cut the federal payroll and begin seriously taking on entitlements and the deficit was in the 1980s and 1990s because the only time an economy can absorb a cut in the public expenditures and not see it be a net negative and not a positive is when the economy is in boom because then the private economy easily absorbs those coming out of the public sector.
If you ended unemployment and laid off 15% of federal workers today all you would do is further harm consumer demand and make an already bad situation 5 times worse.
There is no magic panacea. There is no magic bullet. All the choices we’re faced with are bad. The easiest and most effective could very well end up being WWIII.
That's not going to happen. We have a major s*** storm headed our way and the only question now is when
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