What's the best way to strengthen the dollar?

[XDConvert9mm]

Reductions in spending in D.C. along with a corresponding decrease of the defecit would be a huge help. Raising interest rates would help attract investors back into Treasuries and thus strengthen the dollar but would prolong the housing mess we are currently (hopefully) skipping along the bottom of. I'm hoping by early to mid '09 things will have stabilized enough to allow raising rates without killing the rather fragile economy all over again.

[trik396]

Originally Posted by afmo

the net effect would be a shift in funds from commodity markets (gold and oil anyone? both at record highs) and back into interest accounts. Speculators have driven both those commodities to record prices as a direct result of ben bernankes wreckless rate slashing. Rather than letting the mortgage crisis run its course, bernanke screwed us in the long run by trying to save everyone.

Bernanke did in fact screw us, as did his predecessor, but not by trying to save everyone. Think big financial institutions and banks who made a killing in the last decade from risky lending practices. And I mean a KILLING... but this greed bit them in the ass. But of course the Fed steps in and saves them by giving them money by the truckload, literally. Wonder how many lunches the big wigs at Bear, Morgan, Lehman, and the others had to pop for to get there sob stories across... The American public should be outraged at the corruption in our financial institutions. Instead we hold signs and protest "Big Oil". Fools.

[PackerfanXD]

Originally Posted by trik396

Bernanke did in fact screw us, as did his predecessor, but not by trying to save everyone. Think big financial institutions and banks who made a killing in the last decade from risky lending practices. And I mean a KILLING... but this greed bit them in the ass. But of course the Fed steps in and saves them by giving them money by the truckload, literally. Wonder how many lunches the big wigs at Bear, Morgan, Lehman, and the others had to pop for to get there sob stories across... The American public should be outraged at the corruption in our financial institutions. Instead we hold signs and protest "Big Oil". Fools.

One of the most intelligent and dead-on posts I've read in some time.

[XDConvert9mm]

Originally Posted by afmo

the net effect would be a shift in funds from commodity markets (gold and oil anyone? both at record highs) and back into interest accounts. Speculators have driven both those commodities to record prices as a direct result of ben bernankes wreckless rate slashing. Rather than letting the mortgage crisis run its course, bernanke screwed us in the long run by trying to save everyone.

I would have to disagree that this was the result of Bernanke's decisions. He was just reacting to a situation he was thrown in to. IMO Alan Greenspan bears the brunbt of the blame for today's mess. He was warned as early as 2001 that the loose money policies would create trouble and he ignored them all.

[KEVWYO]

Would a slow and methodical raise in interest rates increase the unemployment rate? Does an increasing unemployment rate add into the weaker dollar due to the weaker economy that is causing the rise in unemployment?

[AZXD]

Develop our natural resources.

Think about it.
We were at our strongest, as a nation, when we exported our excess energy. We now know we have it. But the clowns in DC have allowed, what we know we have, to be locked down by the Green Generation.

A simple declaration of I don't give a crap about your freakin tree, or some damned bird because we're talking National Security would be met with resistance. This is true!

But a STFU would put these groups in their place.

The real problem is the clowns sleep with the Green generation Lobbyists, and put the populace against each other as they laugh and say "See, if we keep this up, and masquerade around enough ... The minions will re-elect us and/or make a donation."

Our weakened dollar is the result of PetroDollar Warfare and we are loosing on purpose

[KEVWYO]

Originally Posted by AZXD

Develop our natural resources.

Think about it.
We were at our strongest, as a nation, when we exported our excess energy. We now know we have it. But the clowns in DC have allowed, what we know we have, to be locked down by the Green Generation.

A simple declaration of I don't give a crap about your freakin tree, or some damned bird because we're talking National Security would be met with resistance. This is true!

But a STFU would put these groups in their place.

The real problem is the clowns sleep with the Green generation Lobbyists, and put the populace against each other as they laugh and say "See, if we keep this up, and masquerade around enough ... The minions will re-elect us and/or make a donation."

Our weakened dollar is the result of PetroDollar Warfare and we are loosing on purpose

Well you lost me but that's typical for me.

[AZXD]

Originally Posted by KEVWYO

Well you lost me but that's typical for me.

Please don't take this as an insult. It is not meant to be.

Do some research. It makes perfect sense to me.

[one-eyed-fatman]

What's the best way to strengthen the dollar?

My best answer to this is by not letting every stinking corporate and government con job that comes along screw you out of your hard earned dollars.

[XDConvert9mm]

Originally Posted by one-eyed-fatman

My best answer to this is by not letting every stinking corporate and government con job that comes along screw you out of your hard earned dollars.

That's only the best way to strengthen your dollar. Such actions would inevitably hurt the dollar.