I Found a Dollar!

With the dollar going down the tubes faster than you can say “dollar,” it looks like the United States is really going to take a financial beating.

Manhattan retailers are starting to display signs in their stores that read “We accept euros.” A company based in Belgium is trying to buy Anheuser-Busch, the largest brewery in the United States. The day of the almighty dollar is nearly gone, declining steadily for the past six years.

Europeans vacationing in the United States are finding a bargain hunter’s paradise while Americans who can still afford to vacation in Paris are being subjected to sky-high hotel rates, for traveling and even on the quaint sidewalk cafes and bistros.

All things American are nearly dirt cheap to many foreigners from across the puddle, while those of us who choose to (or are forced to) stay here at home is faced with hefty increases for energy, food and imported goods.

As of 2008, our dollar has diminished in value by nearly a quarter of its purchasing power since hitting a peak in 2002.

Almost half of our $10 trillion national debt (in 2008) is held for foreigners, mainly in Treasury Bills. Imagine what consequences a withdrawal could have!  The “Group of Eight” wealthy democracies, Germany, Britain, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States met yesterday in Japan, but the issue of the falling value of the dollar was not part of its agenda.

It looks like our “friends” have abandoned us, leaving the United States to fend for itself in this crisis.

So what do you see looking forward to the health of the United States economy? Can you still see the dollar as the leading international currency or has it had its 15 minutes of fame?

Where are we going? Must we content ourselves with a government that continues to piss away monies to other nations who have never and never will contribute to our welfare? Is there something that the incoming administration can and will do to better this situation, or is the great Eagle finally going to become extinct?

Voice your thoughts here … while there is time. At the rate we’re going, who knows if there will be a tomorrow for us?

Memo to self: This is about as bad as it’s ever been and even with my glasses on I can’t see any real hope for the future. © 2008 RJScott