[A. Pole]

The Bush Administration has allowed the dollar to decline dramatically against foreign currencies and shows every intention of sticking with this strategery. This is a profoundly pro-export, anti-import strategy, and exactly the right medicine to address the hemorrhage of jobs.

It is hard to stop the decline of the dollar without triggering the serious crisis. It is a natural free market correction and dollar has to loose much more of its value before tariff free imports from China stop to be lucrative.

[dogbyte12]

The average purchasing power of an american worker declined 0.3% in August, following a decline of 0.2% in July. Basically what this means is, that in June, a worker's salary could pay for 1000 widgets, now the same worker can afford 995.

It is only 1/2 of 1% but it is dramatic. If you lose a manufacturing job that pays $54,000 an hour, and take a $35,000 job like somebody here was suggesting, your net income has dropped by 35%. Is that what is going to happen in this country?

It is in effect. No manufacturing jobs, so the wife works, and the couple together earn what a manufacturing job would have paid and more, for one guy with the wife at home.