"Who will tell the people?" A well written opinion piece from the NYT

[Judge]

first of all, he won't surender to our enemies...

Originally Posted by Frenchy

And your choice for president will do what?

[Judge]

what's really the use...

I tell you that FIAT currency is not a factor BECAUSE ALL CURRENCIES ARE FIAT (INCLUDING THE STRENGTHENED EURO) and you, completely missing hte point, rail about 'currencies aren't important" - which I didn't say... In addition, there are signs the dollar is bottomed and will begin strengthening. Investors have to insure that the Fed has quit cutting rates, but as soon as they are assured of that or the fed starts raising rates somewhat again, then the dollar will rally.

It's just too frustrating to give you the Dr. Seuss version and it still blows past you. And you don't answer the questions, just rant around them... it's boring. So why should I continue?

Originally Posted by cucamelsmd15

Still waiting for that lecture from the "economist" himself.

[cucamelsmd15]

Originally Posted by Judge

what's really the use...

I tell you that FIAT currency is not a factor BECAUSE ALL CURRENCIES ARE FIAT (INCLUDING THE STRENGTHENED EURO) and you, completely missing hte point, rail about 'currencies aren't important" - which I didn't say... In addition, there are signs the dollar is bottomed and will begin strengthening. Investors have to insure that the Fed has quit cutting rates, but as soon as they are assured of that or the fed starts raising rates somewhat again, then the dollar will rally.

It's just too frustrating to give you the Dr. Seuss version and it still blows past you. And you don't answer the questions, just rant around them... it's boring. So why should I continue?

I can tell you didnt read a thing I wrote. The truth hurts, huh? Please, tell me what good a weak dollar does for us. You can say that a weak dollar doesnt matter until youre blue in the face, but fact is, youre still wrong.

Please Judge, refute this statement:

Multi-national companies farm their research out to the US in DROVES lately because its less out of their pocket. Rephrased, its MORE money into another countries pocket.

Note that I did not say ANYTHING about every other currency being a fiat currency. Again, missing the forest for the trees. Lest we forget your OWN WORDS:

And the currency has nothing to do with it

Again, completely and utterly wrong.

So, care to address the weak dollar? How about the housing market and foreclosures? How many people "own" their houses again? Im sure these people would love to hear your "explanation".
California foreclosure "surge": Up 327% from '07 levels

[jmichna]

Originally Posted by cucamelsmd15

...Please, tell me what good a weak dollar does for us....

I do not have a strong understanding of economics, but it seems to make sense that a weak dollar would be beneficial in making US goods and services cheaper in other countries, increasing our exports (of goods or services) to those countries. If this is indeed true, it would also help begin correcting our trade imbalance. Both those things seem beneficial to me. Conversely, a strong dollar increases US buying power, but would also tend to increase the foreign products or goods we purchase in the US, and make our goods & services more expensive for foreign purchasers, further harming the trade imbalance.

Taken together, the whole thing seems to want to "self-correct" as a system.

Or, have I got my thinking muddled up and just do not understand how economics works?

[XDConvert9mm]

Originally Posted by jmichna

I do not have a strong understanding of economics, but it seems to make sense that a weak dollar would be beneficial in making US goods and services cheaper in other countries, increasing our exports (of goods or services) to those countries. If this is indeed true, it would also help begin correcting our trade imbalance. Both those things seem beneficial to me. Conversely, a strong dollar increases US buying power, but would also tend to increase the foreign products or goods we purchase in the US, and make our goods & services more expensive for foreign purchasers, further harming the trade imbalance.

Taken together, the whole thing seems to want to "self-correct" as a system.

Or, have I got my thinking muddled up and just do not understand how economics works?

I don't think the above is off the mark.

I would like to add that the unfortunate part of the weak dollar policy is that U.S. manufacturers that produce and sell only in the U.S. are getting killed on raw goods costs that come in a large extent from overseas suppliers. The multi-national Corporations are seeing the good from this but not the small U.S. businesses.

My take is that it is a policy to bring down trade defecits and artificially supported currencies like the Yuan. Inflation in China is running pretty high realtive to the U.S. so this portion of the policy may be working. The rest of it not so much, IMO.

[cucamelsmd15]

Originally Posted by jmichna

I do not have a strong understanding of economics, but it seems to make sense that a weak dollar would be beneficial in making US goods and services cheaper in other countries, increasing our exports (of goods or services) to those countries.

Ask yourself a few questions:
1. How does the US get most of its goods?
2. What happens to the jobs/services that are here that are now being farmed out? See my previous example for the answer.
3. How does a weak dollar affect us domestically? How does it affect YOU at the grocery store and at the gas pump?

[jmichna]

Originally Posted by cucamelsmd15

Ask yourself a few questions:
1. How does the US get most of its goods?
2. What happens to the jobs/services that are here that are now being farmed out? See my previous example for the answer.
3. How does a weak dollar affect us domestically? How does it affect YOU at the grocery store and at the gas pump?

Cucamelsmd15,
I think I see where you are coming from by the direction of these questions, but, for example, your first point...

If we had been under a weak dollar for an extended period of time, wouldn't more of our goods be produced locally, since they would be less expensive than foreign goods with a stronger currency?

To point two, if our dollar is weaker, wouldn't that make off-shore jobs and services more expensive relatively? This would seem to tend to bring jobs/services back home.

To your third point, as long as we depend on foreign (raw) materials/crops, etc., I definitely can see where a weak dollar causes higher prices. But, should this not make domestic resources/domestic crops/domestic goods more price attractive? I fully understand that oil is out of this game, since we get about 60% of our oil from foreign sources, but the rest ought to be fair game?

I also appreciate that a lot of industry has already moved outside the US, but where there is a market and it makes economic sense, someone will fill that need... either new guys or companies moving back, because it makes sense to do so. Does not a weaker dollar invite this situation.

[cucamelsmd15]

Originally Posted by jmichna

Cucamelsmd15,
I think I see where you are coming from by the direction of these questions, but, for example, your first point...

If we had been under a weak dollar for an extended period of time, wouldn't more of our goods be produced locally, since they would be less expensive than foreign goods with a stronger currency?

Going back to what XDConvert9mm said, where does the raw material come from?

To point two, if our dollar is weaker, wouldn't that make off-shore jobs and services more expensive relatively? This would seem to tend to bring jobs/services back home.

This is a two way street. We are having jobs farmed in, as I described. Unfortunately, these are multi-national companies, whose profits go elsewhere besides the US in the form of both revenue and taxes. See what Im getting at?

To your third point, as long as we depend on foreign (raw) materials/crops, etc., I definitely can see where a weak dollar causes higher prices. But, should this not make domestic resources/domestic crops/domestic goods more price attractive? I fully understand that oil is out of this game, since we get about 60% of our oil from foreign sources, but the rest ought to be fair game?

I also appreciate that a lot of industry has already moved outside the US, but where there is a market and it makes economic sense, someone will fill that need... either new guys or companies moving back, because it makes sense to do so. Does not a weaker dollar invite this situation.

Again, look at the amount of goods imported vs. domestically produced, and I think youll find your answer. Your oil analogy is applicable to far more that just oil if you think about it.

Im not going to blow sunshine up your ass and say "currency doesnt matter" like some people will around here. Currency is only part of the puzzle, as Im sure youve noticed, but currency, and more specifically, currency value weighs in on everything we have touched on.

[Judge]

no you're on target, but the question wasn't a 'weak' dollar, ti was a 'fiat' dollar...

there is a difference whether camel understands or not..

Originally Posted by jmichna

I do not have a strong understanding of economics, but it seems to make sense that a weak dollar would be beneficial in making US goods and services cheaper in other countries, increasing our exports (of goods or services) to those countries. If this is indeed true, it would also help begin correcting our trade imbalance. Both those things seem beneficial to me. Conversely, a strong dollar increases US buying power, but would also tend to increase the foreign products or goods we purchase in the US, and make our goods & services more expensive for foreign purchasers, further harming the trade imbalance.

Taken together, the whole thing seems to want to "self-correct" as a system.

Or, have I got my thinking muddled up and just do not understand how economics works?

[cucamelsmd15]

Originally Posted by Judge

no you're on target, but the question wasn't a 'weak' dollar, ti was a 'fiat' dollar...

there is a difference whether camel understands or not..

Wow, moving on to bold faced lies now are we? Again Judge, please refute this:

Note that I did not say ANYTHING about every other currency being a fiat currency.

Please show me where Ive said ANYTHING in this thread about our currency being a fiat currency.

Again Judge, refute my previous statements, if you can. The difference here is that one of us has a well founded thought out argument. The other has already resorted to personal attacks in this very thread. You do the math.