"Is everyone discouraged, or will we still travel like always" Please bear in mind that not everyone on this board lives in the US.

Of course, Caroline, your point is well-taken. This weak dollar benefits you, so why not come visit the US?

adeben: Canadian dollar, too.

Very good point P_M, I've been thinking of a quick shopping trip to NY for just that reason!

K_M : nothing personal of course (against any of the mostly fine people on this board) - but not until there is regime change

Sorry, of course I meant P_M !

&gt;&gt;<i>I thought it was called the European Monetary Unit, or euro for short.</i>

Shouldn't they call it the EMU then? As in, &quot;That croissant costs 1.5 emus.&quot;

Good one, elle!!

Caroline, I respect your position, but I hope the dollar will be stronger by the next regime change. Of course, I said that 2 years ago and it continues to head south....

Theoretically a weak dollar would be better for our exports but apparently nobody is buying much! What it also does is make foreign investment here more appealing and so more and more infrastructure, buildings, stocks, are being purchased by foreign investors...I'm surprised the xenophobes in the militias haven't rebelled by now.

A few years ago the dollar was at par with the Euro and I enjoyed that. Now it costs more to travel so you either stay home or pay more.

Just be glad you're not changing Canadian dollars:
1 $CDN = 0.61 Euro

I am sure this will be the beginning of the end of this thread, but could someone explain how a &quot;regime change&quot; will make the dollar go up against the euro?

well.... no, never mind. I'm going to be a good neighbour....

&gt;a weak dollar would be better for our exports but apparently nobody is buying much! &lt;

In Feb 2005 (last month I could find), the US exported $100,000,000,000 worth of goods and services. This is larger than the yearly GDP of most of the world's countries.

Exports account for about 10% of the US yearly GNP of about $12,000,000,000,000.

In 2004, the US trade deficit was about $600,000,000,000, approx 5% of GNP.

&gt;...a weak dollar ...make(s) foreign investment here more appealing and so more and more infrastructure, buildings, stocks, are being purchased by foreign investors..&lt;

Been there. Done that. Went through the same thing when Reagan was President. A square foot of real estate in Tokyo was worth more than the whole NYSE. Had to listen to the Japanese telling us that we should study their business methods. Had to listen to the Europeans lecture us on economics (among other things).

Currently the unemployment rate in the US is half that of the Eurozone.

The Japanese economy has been stagnant for over a decade.

Plus &Ccedil;a Change, Plus C'est La M&ecirc;me Chose

Yes, Ira...thank you for the &quot;economics lesson&quot; but the fact remains that we have a HUGE trade deficit and that there is a tremendous amount of foreign investment in this country.

Did I misstate the &quot;facts&quot; as they are interpreted down in Madison and have you decided to give up your trip to France????

Wren, I did not suggest that a regime change will affect the value of the dollar. All I said was that I hope it will be strong again by 2008, which as you know, is the next change.

Trade deficit? How about a budget deficit, and an expensive and unnecessary war for oil that benefits the rich while at the same time cutting taxes on the rich. Your dollar is very shaky because people are losing faith in it, rightly or wrongly.

Sorry...

Voting with my feet and now living in Mexico.
M

Not to turn this into a political thread....

BUT WHY NOT?!

...I'm trying to figure out the significance of this apples-to-oranges comparison:

&quot;Exports account for about 10% of the US yearly GNP of about $12,000,000,000,000.

In 2004, the US trade deficit was about $600,000,000,000, approx 5% of GNP.&quot;

To me, there is no particular virtue in having a trade DEFICIT that is equal half of our total exports. It actually illustrates the magnitude of the problem.

The theory about exports being more attractive should have some validity, but U.S. consumers and industries can see what a weak dollar means when they fill their tanks and pay for other commodities that trade on the world market. Higher commodity prices, including energy, can suck up a good share of the &quot;advantage&quot; of a weak currency in many industries.

The dramatic decline in the value of the U.S. dollar over the past few years is a reflection of the mismanagement that is going on under this Administration. Borrowing hundreds of billions of dollars every year -- partially to cover short-sighted tax cuts that are disportionately given to very small percentage of the population while waging a costly war isn't a good policy direction any way you cut it.

Check out some other countries with weak currencies and see if that is really what you would like to emulate. Over time, the only sure thing that it seems to translate into is a lower standard of living.

PM...apparently the monitors scratched that post. What I was referring to wasn't yours.

Although the value of the dollar vis-a-vis other currencies has declined, it's a double edged sword. Obviously, a nation's currency has a large effect on its import/export business. And the US is the most powerful economy in the world by far, and lately had taken a longer range view of world affairs by prmoting democracy in the middle east in its hugely successful effort in Iraq, regardless of the uninformed and insulting remarks of fly<b>boy.</b>

Not to mention the dollar stood strong during the 50+ years the US had to protect Europe from the Soviet Union!