Slog News & Arts

Line Out

Music & Nightlife

« The New NAFTA-Gate? | Limn »

Thursday, March 6, 2008

How Many Times…

posted by on March 6 at 11:15 AM

…can the dollar drop to “historic new lows” before the business press is forced to describe the dollar as being in free-fall?

RSS icon Comments

1

the answer, my friend...aw, screw it. I'm investing in Canadian beaver pelts.

Posted by dbell | March 6, 2008 11:19 AM
2

All you in the "Ron Paul is a nut" camp can feel free to keep quiet now. He predicted this in the 1st Republican debate a year ago when the rest of them were singing happy tunes. No one listened to Cassandra either, and look what happened there. Crack on him all you want, but He. Was. Right.

Posted by PJ | March 6, 2008 11:25 AM
3

There's no such thing as a "free-fall" here. There's a downward market trend, but no gravitational pull towards 0. WA is a net exporter so a weaker dollar benefits us (the purchasing power declines, but we get more of them). If you've ever complained about the trade imbalance, a cheaper dollar solves that problem.

Posted by nbc | March 6, 2008 11:28 AM
4

@2, So since he was right about one thing, he's right about everything else?

Posted by Me | March 6, 2008 11:29 AM
5

And ps, PLEASE don't come with "but he advocates the gold standard and blah blah" or any of that crap. It's okay to admit someone who has been studying economics for over 30 years can have a critical eye for the state of the nation's finances. His mantra has been, "Save more, quit borrowing so much, from private banks and from China, and bring the troops home." He alone realized that the money saved from this illegal war would bring hope back to the nation rather to a country that doesn't want us.

Posted by PJ | March 6, 2008 11:31 AM
6

But he advocates the gold standard and blah blah.

Posted by Mr. Poe | March 6, 2008 11:35 AM
7

Yo me,

With a crap economy, the standard of living for everyone but the super rich goes down. When that happens, tensions rise. When tensions rise, a country becomes less unified, be it socially or politically . If any of the 3 still with a shot at winning the general elections have half a brain, they should bring Paul in as an advisor in some capacity. I say again, it's okay to have someone who actually knows something about economics who has been bucking the Greenspan/Bernanke bunk for so long. And "one thing"? I take it you are a huge fan of the Patriot Act? The war in Iraq and possibly Iran? Illegal wiretapping? Desecration of the constitution? Sure, pal. You and Bush could go fishing together.

Posted by PJ | March 6, 2008 11:36 AM
8

"the dollar's plunge continues unabated" sounds like a description of a free-fall to me

Posted by violet_dagrinder | March 6, 2008 11:37 AM
9

How many times must the liberals raise our taxes, before the market is allowed to be free?

The answer, my friend, is Ronald Reagan

The answer is Ronald Reagan


Posted by Jeff Stevens | March 6, 2008 11:40 AM
10

I'm insisting to be paid in Euros from now on.

Posted by michael strangeways | March 6, 2008 11:41 AM
11

Sure Ron Paul might have been right, but it's not there wasn't broad consensus among economists that this was happening. Why should Ron Paul get credit here, when the rest of his economic package includes BS such as the gold standard?

Posted by nbc | March 6, 2008 11:42 AM
12

@7 "Greenspan/Bernanke bunk"

I suggest you read Greenspan's memoir. Politically he's essentially an alpha-Paultard, BFF with Ayn Rand, etc. But as central banker he comes to appreciate the role of an independent Fed, even from a libertarian viewpoint. It's good reading besides.

Posted by nbc | March 6, 2008 11:48 AM
13

It just goes to show the mindset of elected officials to say whatever it takes to get elected. Where were this broad consensus before the primaries started? I'm not a huge fan of Reagan either because his social policies were so stupid. Paving the way for mandatory minimums? Killing all funding for alternative energies? Not a fan. What appeals to people about Paul is that his economic arguments are strong. His ideas about abolishing the drug war should be trumpeted from the front pages everywhere, especially now that it is known we have more people in prison per capita than 2 of the most repressive governments of the modern day. Not just one thing, indeed.

Posted by PJ | March 6, 2008 11:51 AM
14

In related news, oil is around $105 a barrel.

Posted by Will in Seattle | March 6, 2008 12:13 PM
15

I was just in the lobby of TDAmeritrade trying to get some paperwork taken care of, and some talking head on Bloomberg TV, used the phrase "the dollar is in a free-fall". So.

Posted by Zach | March 6, 2008 12:29 PM
16


"If any of the 3 still with a shot at winning the general elections have half a brain, they should bring Paul in as an advisor in some capacity."

Thanks! I needed a laugh.

It's amazing how many people don't realize what a joke Ron Paul is.


Posted by K X One | March 6, 2008 12:49 PM
17

welcome to the 3rd world.

Posted by max solomon | March 6, 2008 1:04 PM
18

maybe, but the joke looks to be on us. just because someone has been crying about wolf attacks for years doesn't mean they got lucky when the wolves finally attack.

sincerely,
diggum

Posted by diggum | March 6, 2008 1:05 PM
19

3rd world, max? Breakfast and lunch still cost the same today. I still caught the bus to work today. People still watched American Idol en masse this week.

Posted by Gomez | March 6, 2008 1:14 PM
20

@19: Breakfast and lunch don't cost the same here. Europeans have driven up the cost of everything, especially housing. Just wait--it's coming your way, too.

Posted by NYC | March 6, 2008 1:24 PM
21
He alone realized that the money saved from this illegal war would bring hope back to the nation rather to a country that doesn't want us.

And to think, not a single person other than Ron Paul thought spending two trillion dollars in Iraq might be a bad idea. President? The man should be king! King I say!

Posted by duh | March 6, 2008 1:29 PM
22

Lyndon Larouche has been predicting a great economic collapse far longer than Ron Paul. Should we give him some love as well?

Oddly, both Paul and Larouche have been in favor of rounding up the gays.

Posted by eclexia | March 6, 2008 1:35 PM
23

Is it time to eat the rich yet?

Posted by NapoleonXIV | March 6, 2008 2:33 PM
24

Do you have to be rich to have a Swiss bank account? I'm thinking of getting one...

Posted by SDizzle | March 6, 2008 2:44 PM
25

Dan the Euro was at $1.40 in 1996.

If you want to invest in Euros the ETF FXE is an easy way to buy.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/business/2001/euro_cash/history/

Posted by McG | March 6, 2008 2:57 PM
26

The low dollar is not really all that much of a cause for concern. It helps our exports and encourages the shifting of global production to the US. This happened in the 80s with Japan moving auto production over here.

Now if long term rates on T-bills start soaring coupled with high inflation then we can start talking about a real problem.

Posted by Giffy | March 6, 2008 3:01 PM
27

Oh, my God, it's worse than I thought. I clicked on the link, and here's the headline:

"Dollar's Slide Extends to Third Day of Record Lows This Week Before ECB Decision".

Goddamnit, Erica, isn't there ANYTHING you can't ruin?

Posted by Fnarf | March 6, 2008 3:02 PM

Comments Closed

In order to combat spam, we are no longer accepting comments on this post (or any post more than 14 days old).