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Thursday, September 20, 2007

We’ll Always Never Have Paris

posted by on September 20 at 7:12 AM

And its unclear how much longer we’ll have Vancouver, B.C.

The dollar fell its lowest-ever level against the euro on Thursday as the european currency traded above $1.40 for the first time since it was introduced in 1999. The U.S. currency also moved closer to parity with the Canadian dollar.

RSS icon Comments

1

goddamn it.

Posted by Rotten666 | September 20, 2007 7:20 AM
2

"Say Yes To War" October 2002 by Dan Savage.
One result:

American flags were flown at half-staff Wednesday throughout Grandview, Yakima County, in honor of 20-year-old Army Spc. Matt J. Emerson, who died in Iraq.

Posted by Preening Troll | September 20, 2007 7:21 AM
3

off topic troll alert

Posted by terry miller | September 20, 2007 9:19 AM
4

Woo hoo! some smartie-pantses are saying this is the downside of the fed reserve's big rate cut yesterday. could get a lot worse if Saudi Arabia or China dump their dollars for Euros. The rollercoaster's going faster now, mommy - make it stop!

Posted by tomasyalba | September 20, 2007 9:26 AM
5

Yeah, that's pretty horrifying. There's something deeply humiliating about trading on a par with the Canadian dollar.

Posted by Judah | September 20, 2007 9:29 AM
6

just retreat into our bunker until 09, and the value of the dollar will go back up with a dem in the white house.

i'm going to germany saturday. pray for my credit card.

Posted by maxsolomon | September 20, 2007 9:39 AM
7

George Bush has done a marvelous job of currency management.

Posted by BB | September 20, 2007 10:05 AM
8

A devalued American dollar is just one of the major problems the Fed is creating. Think about it:


-Interest rates are already at historic lows, and yet we basically need a bailout?

-Government, business and personal debt levels are at unprecedented highs.

-The savings rate has been negative for more than two years because most people aren’t saving anything and deposit interest rates will now likely go even lower.

-The national debt has almost doubled from around $ 5 TRILLION when Bush took office in 2001 to almost $ 9 TRILLION today –we’ve borrowed almost as much in the last 6 and a half years as IN THE ENTIRE PREVIOUS 225 YEARS COMBINED!


The Fed’s new message: Fuck fighting inflation. It's bailout time for corporations and the rich, and everyone else will get to play at the bankruptcy casino.

Make no mistake, this was a purely political decision and they’re creating a perfect set up for sky high interest rates, unemployment and inflation in the future, also collectively know as stagflation.

Posted by Original Andrew | September 20, 2007 10:11 AM
9

This is what happen when as a country you simultaneously cut taxes and go on a military spending spree for 25 years. It's not as if the taxes go away forever--the accumulating debt means lower economic growth, and eventually either new taxes to offset the debt or higher inflation and/or depreciation of the dollar vs. other currencies to make the debt smaller compared to the size of the economy.

The next time some brain-dead trickle-down-on everyone else right-wing "conservative" argues for lower taxes, remember that this is what they're really arguing for--taxes deferred or transformed into inflation and lower economic growth, with lower-income and middle-class Americans paying the bill.

The solution is an end to war in Iraq, lower military spending overall, higher wages for the lower 3/5, and a progressive tax system that asks wealthy Americans to pay more. We can start by taxing all income including dividends and capital gains at the same rate, eliminating high-end deductions, and raising the standard deduction. We need universal health care and a higher minimum wage indexed to inflation. Then we need investment in renewable energy, mass transit, and public broadband to create more high-paying middle class jobs.

Posted by Cascadian | September 20, 2007 11:18 AM
10

Good thing some of us are dual citizens. And can move there if need be.

Posted by Will in Seattle | September 20, 2007 11:34 AM
11

This actually bodes poorly for the Canadian GDP...now more and more Canadians will be coming across the border to purchase goods here, as prices for equivalent goods tend to be higher overall in Canada, and haven't adjusted with the exchange rate. Might be a good time to invest in a kiosk at Bellis Fair.

Posted by laterite | September 20, 2007 11:46 AM
12

thank god i'm working on that transfer ... can't wait to start making my annual salary in pounds instead of dollars. it'll be nice coming back for low cost vacations. kinda like my college trips to mexico.

Posted by chris | September 20, 2007 12:01 PM
13

@11 god, i had forgotten about that. when i moved to bellingham in the late 80s all the canadians would bring their RVs across the border and camp out at bellis fair for the weekend, doing insane amounts of shopping. if we were feeling ballsy, my friends and i would go around the parking lot and collect "overnight parking fees" from naive canucks. easy beer and weed money.

Posted by chris | September 20, 2007 12:04 PM
14

@11 - nah, not really.

Why? Three reasons:

1. US still addicted to oil, and Canada is our major supplier.

2. Canada still has tons of cheap hydro, tidal, wind, solar, and nuclear energy, because unlike the US, they are investing the profits from the oil business into alternative energy production - just look at the two hydro dams they're building in BC (Waneta and Revelstoke) while we sit on our hands.

3. Olympics. Say it again. Olympics. Dude, you're going to Van and you KNOW IT! P.S.: Curling rocks and has the hottest babes ...

Posted by Will in Seattle | September 20, 2007 12:44 PM
15

Will in Seattle @ 14,

When I first heard of curling, I thought it was hot, sweaty, pumped up dudes doing bicep flexes. Suuhhweeet!

Boy was I surprised when it turned out to be shuffleboard on ice!

Posted by Original Andrew | September 20, 2007 1:15 PM
16

Despite the fact that much of the media is downplaying/ignoring this, it's something I suggest everyone keep an eye on...

http://quotes.ino.com/chart/?s=NYBOT_DX

Here you can watch your money slip away, eying the day when gas will be $10/gallon.

Also, learn this word - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stagflation


Posted by Paul | September 20, 2007 1:47 PM
17

Again, and I hate to keep harping on this, but People Should Start Paying Attention And Repeating This Information: VP Dick Cheney Has Significant Investments In Euro Currency.

http://www.counterpunch.org/whitney07052006.html

And no, I'm not now, nor have I ever been, a supporter of Lyndon LaRouche.

Posted by david | September 20, 2007 2:00 PM
18

WiS : True dat, the Olympics will be huge, and Vancouver's still in somewhat of a real estate boom. At the same time, I always think of Vancouver as being somewhat removed, both physically and culturally, from the rest of Canada, and am not sure how much the benefit of all its activity trickles over the Rockies. I suspect Toronto's and Montreal's problems differ quite significantly from Vancouver's. Also, I'm not sure I take much stock in Canadian boasts of enviro-friendliness. They still do lots of clear-cutting and strip-mining, and are tearing up the northern plains extracting gravel oil.

Posted by laterite | September 20, 2007 2:22 PM

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