Buddy, can you spare a dollar? [US currency crisis]

The Belfast Telegraph ^ | 12/10/2004 | Rupert Cornwell

[FierceDraka]

Despite the trauma of 9/11, the US remains in many respects oblivious to the world beyond its borders.

Not oblivious, we just don't care.

But I agree with the author on one point: We need to save more money. Marketers and bankers try to make me ashamed about my lack of outstanding debt, but I like the way I do things. I have a peace of mind that comes from owning all I have - lock, stock, and barrel. If I can't afford it, I don't buy it.

I am a free man, not a serf indentured to some damned bank.

Thrift used to be considered a virtue. Now it is scoffed and shunned as provincial and non-productive.

But look where trillions of dollars of debt have gotten us - our currency and economy are beholden to the whims of foreign investors, instead of belonging to Americans as it should be.

[boris]

1969: One dollar = 1/35 of an ounce of gold.

2004: One dollar = less than 1/400 of an ounce of gold.

Stealth devaluation by Richard Nixon.

Could this be part of the reason?

[FBD]

>"if we could just have that damn wall back we could easily reduce it by 2-3 points. if we could have our money back, probably even more. and if we then could lock up every crazy commie in the east and shoot them if they try to leave we'd probably have full employment :("<

- HA! are you telling me...communism is back in fashion, in (formerly) East Germany?
You'd think they would have learned...

[Dec31,1999]

Thus this modern crisis is barely noticed back home. Despite the trauma of 9/11, the US remains in many respects oblivious to the world beyond its borders.

Excuse me? We only sent our most beloved halfway arounf the world to fight Islamofascism and we get a respose like this from the Euroweenie journalist as a reward.

No good deed goes unpunished.

[Paul C. Jesup]

American tourists arriving in Europe will find they are paying five times more for a coffee or a hotel room than they would at home. But in the US, the currency crisis is passing almost unnoticed. Rupert Cornwell reports 10 December 2004

No wonder the elitist news media is complaining about this, because they are getting the short in the stick on this one when they visit their elitist anti-America friends in Europe.

[Dec31,1999]

To tell you the truth, I wish I were in your position. I'd be nice. But until that time.....I owe, I owe, it's off to work I go....(Whistling)

[wu_trax]

no, neither the euro nor the yen, nor any other important currency is covered by gold.

Gold is a really good idea for monarchies or insane dictators, but not for a free market-economy.

[wu_trax]

Yes, you would think that... but apparently they didn't.

I mean, personally I am all for a strong social security system, strong unions etc. I really want that, I couldn't live in a country like the USA. But these people, they just want the state to do EVERYTHING for them. We made € 1 trillion of new debt to spend over there + a lot of tax-money they got.

Now we cut the unemployment benefits and made the unemployed prove they search for a job, simply because we ran out of money, and instead of searching for a job or stating something on their own, they demonstrate against it.

Given our economical situation even the unions have been fairly reasonable in the last years, but a lot of people in the east haven't.

Then, add to that that its now practically impossible to govern this country. We have 16 states now, the elections are purely at random and every one of them could change the majorities in our 'Senate'. That means that there is an election somewhere every few month, because of that the federal government doesn't want to hurt anyone. Ofc it's not like the federal government could actually decide anything on its own, our 'Senate' has some form of veto-power over almost everything. Sure, Schröder could keep us out of the Iraq war but foreign affairs is almost the only thing he can decide on his own. If you now think the states do a lot of things on their own, you are wrong. Except for the education-system (which sucks) they also have no real power. its all one big mix-up between federalism and centralism. it more or less worked with fewer states, but now things became impossible.

let me give you one word of advice: if you have a federalism that actually works KEEP IT, do not, under any circumstances, let the federal government take any more power than absolutely necessary. Either that or completly switch to centralism. For here i don't care which way as long as we get a working government.

but other than that, life's great :)

[kittymyrib]

The cheaper dollar is a shot in the arm for our agricultural exports, and that's a huge help to our economy. As to imported goods costing more, I haven't noticed that cutting into the sale of big plasma TVs this Christmas.

[who knows what evil?]

...that unless one wants to be harassed by rude euro weenies...

Save yourself the trip "over the pond"...you can be harassed by euro-trash right here in New England. What a bunch of arrogant, self-absorbed snobs.

[democrats_nightmare]

Only real thing he stated that is true is that the rate of savings in the US is way too low. Rest is well you know what...

[Constantine XIII]

Scorn and amazement were etched on the face of the man in front of us at St Louis airport in the heartland last month when he received one of the latter in change at a vending machine selling Metrorail tickets into town. "What the hell is this?" he asked, peering at the offending object in his palm as if it were a hand grenade.

ROFL

[Constantine XIII]

I'm going home from Norway next week. Let me tell you, the exchange rate is a killer ><

But then, their 25% sales tax doesn't help, either. :P

[Constantine XIII]

Yeah, all that, plus unless you live right next door to an international airport, you'll pay twice as much to get to someplace in Europe from home.

Europeans don't get that. You can get to Cologne from Oslo for about $25.

However, it cost me $1200 to get to Oslo from Knoxville and back. ><

[Dec31,1999]

To tell you the truth, I wish I were in your position. I'd be nice. But until that time.....I owe, I owe, it's off to work I go....(Whistling)

[FBD]

"I am all for a strong social security system, strong unions etc. I really want that, I couldn't live in a country like the USA. But these people, they just want the state to do EVERYTHING for them..""

- It's all a matter of degrees, of a slippery slope, FRiend...I'm sure those folks just *want* a little more of what you *want*, (or have.)

And I'm sure there are people who *want* a little less government assistance than you, but still *want* it nevertheless...
Socialism is a slippery slope, that generally ends up in the loss of personal liberty, personal responsibility, and in the end; personal achievement.

Men far wiser than you and me, saw it coming a long time ago:

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"Socialism, like the ancient ideas from which it springs, confuses the distinction between government and society.-As a result of this, every time we object to a thing being done by government, the socialists conclude that we object to its being done at all.-We disapprove of state education. Then the socialists say that we are opposed to any education." ~ Frederic Bastiat -’The Law’

"The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground." ~ Thomas Jefferson

"A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul." --George Bernard Shaw

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But we have the same problem here, in the USA.

As I said; it's all a matter of degrees in the same slippery slope.

Catch you around, FRiend, I enjoy your comments!

Regards