by emptywheel
Atrios points out that the Euro has just pushed past $1.40.
Let's see. In the last two days, the Fed has cut interest rates by half a point, making what is probably a futile attempt to staunch the subprime crisis. And yesterday, Henry Paulson asked Congress to raise the debt limit before we once again hit our debt limit on October 1--which will make the fifth time Bush has had to ask his creditors to increase his credit card balance.
Is anyone surprised the dollar is at record lows? Good thing my brother-in-law's wife is having a baby in South Carolina, which means the Irish in-laws will visit the states more frequently. Because Europe is going to be much too expensive for people from banana republics like the Bush-era USA.
Update: Oh jeebus. As Lurcher points out, the Canadian dollar is hovering around parity with the US dollar.
The Canadian dollar reached parity this morning, having been as low as 62 US cents in 2002!!
Posted by: Lurcher | September 20, 2007 at 10:02
Bush acts and world markets react. That's the way it is. They'll act and the rest of the world will be busy figuring out what they did, and then they'll act again. /s
The incredible shrinking dollar. Remember when it meant something to be a millionaire?
Posted by: Neil | September 20, 2007 at 10:05
I knew it was a smart move when I hung on to that Canadian $10 bill I brought back from my vacation summer before last. It was only worth $7.50 (US) back then. I should be a currency trader. Oh wait, my peso investments haven't done that well over the years (lots more opportunity for those down here in Texas)...
Posted by: William Ockham | September 20, 2007 at 10:08
In addition to the fact that Canada is now one of the major oil exporters to the US and a purveyor of commodities to the rest of the world like base metals that are currently at record high prices, we have had the benefit here of Clintonomics (funny no one ever calls it that- wonder why?) As a result of hard decisions made in the 1990s, we have had continual federal and provincial surpluses, even with reductions in personal income taxes, corporate taxes and the national sales tax. And we managed this while still maintaining a single payer national health care system that costs around 10% of GDP, compared to 16% of the much larger per capita US GDP. As Barack Obama's tax plan and Hillary and Edwards health care plan make clear, there are solutions to the US problems that can be implemented, even with the punishing effect that compound interest will have on the obscene run-up in the national debt that has occurred under Shrub.
Posted by: Ishmael | September 20, 2007 at 11:12
Ishmeal
Oh, I'm not complaining you guys are at parity. And it'll get worse. I'm just hoping it'll wake up Joe Sixpack who (no offense) would never want to be second place to a bunch of Canadians.
Posted by: emptywheel | September 20, 2007 at 11:19
Meanwhile Dupont puts its money in bullet-proof vests -- half-billion-dollar expansion of Kevlar production.
Seems like they're not betting on a quick exit from foreign adventures.
Posted by: emptypockets | September 20, 2007 at 11:22
Or Dupont is seeing an increasing market for it here. (Gotta protect those gated-and-guarded enclaves from the rest of us.)
Posted by: P J Evans | September 20, 2007 at 11:57
EW - agreed, a declining American dollar could have the same effect on the political landscape, if properly managed, that the "Missile gap" or Sputnik had on the American sensibility in other contexts.
Posted by: Ishmael | September 20, 2007 at 12:17
Hey, twentyfive percenters. YO, the twenty four percent of you who think you're rich enough to vote republican.
How do you like your president now that He's fucked up the only thing you really care about - you know the bill formerly known of as the dollar.
Posted by: Dismayed | September 20, 2007 at 12:27
And it will get worse - there is an artificial discount on the price of imported oil due to the linkage of oil prices to the American dollar. If OPEC decides to price in Euros, or even diversify their petrodollars into other currencies (you can only recycle so many petrodollars back to the US through arms sales to the Gulf States), the pressure on the dollar will increase and inflation could skyrocket. Bush's legacy in economic matters could in effect "Carterize" the coming Democratic administration. Why the Democrats do not see the danger in being saddled with the mess instead of pulling the pin on these bombs now is beyond me.
Posted by: Ishmael | September 20, 2007 at 12:34
Sorry to disappoint you EW but as far as I know NO Europeans are interested in visiting the States. Why should we give your government our bank, credit card, travel and religion information. I have several friends in the States (as do a lot of us over here) and nobody is travelling there despite the exchange rates. I have even cut down on telephone calls and e-mails because they are now subject to interception, I even worry that my snail-mails are monitored.
You are gradually isolating yourselves from the rest of the world, and quite frankly we don't care any more. You have bought it on yourselves - everything seems to be broken and you don't seem to know how to fix it.
Just one thing, please don't drag the rest of us down with you when you go - we quite like our world as it is.
Posted by: JeffinBerlin | September 20, 2007 at 17:10
JeffinBerlin is reflecting the same sentimate I found on a recent trip to Vancouver.
As polite as Canadians are, I was asked several times "what are we going to do about our terrible government." I've been on many a trip to Canada and never before gotten questions like that.
The question is "What are we going to do".
The only answer I can offer is - Change starts in the primaries.
And hey, could we for once put up a candidate for president that's soul hasn't been purchased by corporate america. What would the illuminatti do if we actually picked someone they hadn't hand groomed, say John Edwards or Bill Richardson.
And what do you say we fire Nancy Pelosi? Is Harry Reid up this time around? - let's get rid of his pansy ass too.
Posted by: Dismayed | September 20, 2007 at 18:53
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Posted by: john | October 21, 2007 at 12:17