PLEASE RAISE INTEREST RATES!!!!

[GTaudiophile]

The ? is currently 1.51282 against the $ and increasing by the minute!

How is Obama's hope going to add value to the USD??? TELL ME THAT! Why do none of our candidates give a damn about the value of the dollar???

It's going to be damn near worthless by November! There won't be a ship left to save!!!

 

[FoBoT]

but won't that help our trade imbalances

 

[rchiu]

Heh, I thought this is a free economy we have in the US. Are we heading down the road of China and place some control on our currency?

 

[GTaudiophile]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
but won't that help our trade imbalances

If only we still manufactured/exported anything...worth a damn...

 

[lupi]

Wheat is at an all time high. Oil is at an all time high. Dollar is at an all time low.

And based on what Benny just told congress it looks like the rates are going down again.

 

[bamacre]

The days of fiscally responsible government are gone. Both parties want to spend money recklessly, they only differ on how they want to spend our money. We are headed straight for a fiscal brick wall, and neither party gives a damn. The children inheriting this mess will revolt.

 

[GTaudiophile]

Originally posted by: bamacre
The days of fiscally responsible government are gone. Both parties want to spend money recklessly, they only differ on how they want to spend our money. We are headed straight for a fiscal brick wall, and neither party gives a damn. The children inheriting this mess will revolt.

And we aren't even really paying for the baby boomers' retirement yet...

Americans are riding the fvcking Titanic: they think its unsinkable. They think they have triumphed over nature and God to become the best that mankind can ever be. They consume with reckless abandon. All the while the warnings go unheaded. The iceberg is right ahead. We will sink. Few will survive. And those few will be the rich. The poor and middle class will freeze to death in the icey waters.

We are finished, ladies and gentlemen.

 

[LegendKiller]

Take your pick.

1. Raise rates, suck liquidity out of the market, have the biggest banks fail, credit face a massive contraction, and drive us into a deep recession or even potentially a recession. The dollar will be worth more, but the US economy will be worth far less.

2. Drop rates to maintain liquidity, blunt the possibility of a debilitating recession, face a dropping dollar for a period of time, but eventually the dollar will rebound.


As far as the US not producing anything, thats bullcrap. The US produces a massive amount of stuff, both goods and services. With the dropping dollar both become much more attractive, many manufacturing companies are booming right now. NYC is seeing record numbers of tourists.

Look at farm production, prices of wheat have doubled on reduced supply and massive demand. Farm production and wealth this next year is going to be huge. That alone will spur farmers to produce more and use less government subsidies to keep fields bare.

The biggest problem we have is oil. Personally, I hope it keeps going up. It's about time Americans got off their fat asses and realize that pumping hundreds of billions into the ME is not the effective way of running a country. We could have prevented his 28 years ago with Carter's plan, but we wanted our SUVs and V8s.

That's what's driving the bulk of inflation and the sooner we get off our crack addiction, the better.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Fed chief signals another rate cut

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile

Originally posted by: bamacre
The days of fiscally responsible government are gone. Both parties want to spend money recklessly, they only differ on how they want to spend our money. We are headed straight for a fiscal brick wall, and neither party gives a damn. The children inheriting this mess will revolt.

And we aren't even really paying for the baby boomers' retirement yet...

Americans are riding the fvcking Titanic: they think its unsinkable. They think they have triumphed over nature and God to become the best that mankind can ever be. They consume with reckless abandon. All the while the warnings go unheaded. The iceberg is right ahead. We will sink. Few will survive. And those few will be the rich. The poor and middle class will freeze to death in the icey waters.

We are finished, ladies and gentlemen.

Yup.

That's the main reason I supported Paul. We have to cut spending and decrease the size of the federal government.

 

[rpanic]

Its a race to the bottom.

 

[LegendKiller]

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
We are finished, ladies and gentlemen.

I am the last person to deny we have significant problems facing us. However, saying that "we are finished" is ridiculous and really hyperbolic and not needed. Resigning yourself in a fatalistic way is not productive. I guess in 1930 we should have just thrown in the towel, get a grip you fricking whimp.

 

[neodyn55]

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile

Originally posted by: bamacre
The days of fiscally responsible government are gone. Both parties want to spend money recklessly, they only differ on how they want to spend our money. We are headed straight for a fiscal brick wall, and neither party gives a damn. The children inheriting this mess will revolt.

And we aren't even really paying for the baby boomers' retirement yet...

Americans are riding the fvcking Titanic: they think its unsinkable. They think they have triumphed over nature and God to become the best that mankind can ever be. They consume with reckless abandon. All the while the warnings go unheaded. The iceberg is right ahead. We will sink. Few will survive. And those few will be the rich. The poor and middle class will freeze to death in the icey waters.

We are finished, ladies and gentlemen.

LOL at thinking the world's most powerful economy is finished. You need to travel internationally to a few third world countries to see what the meaning of "finished" is.

If it indeed is, then the rest of the world is finished too. Not everyone has "decoupled" from the US.

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: LegendKiller

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
We are finished, ladies and gentlemen.

I am the last person to deny we have significant problems facing us. However, saying that "we are finished" is ridiculous and really hyperbolic and not needed. Resigning yourself in a fatalistic way is not productive. I guess in 1930 we should have just thrown in the towel, get a grip you fricking whimp.

I somewhat agree. But unless we make some rather drastic changes, and soon, we are going to be in big trouble.

But the momentum, as far as government spending, is heading in the wrong direction. And unfortunately, the current and future leadership (Hillary, Obama, McCain) don't seem to want to change that.

 

[Jaskalas]

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
The ? is currently 1.51282 against the $ and increasing by the minute!

How is Obama's hope going to add value to the USD??? TELL ME THAT! Why do none of our candidates give a damn about the value of the dollar???

It's going to be damn near worthless by November! There won't be a ship left to save!!!

Your hysteria is natural given the impending events. Of course one man will not change Washington. If anything Washington will change him. You CANNOT elect a President, even the best possible one, and stop the events that are unfolding. It is simply not within his power.

The ultimate power is held by the people. If you don?t like your money being stolen by a bankrupt and unrepresentative US government, then push for secession. That is your only choice.

 

[LegendKiller]

Originally posted by: bamacre

Originally posted by: LegendKiller

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
We are finished, ladies and gentlemen.

I am the last person to deny we have significant problems facing us. However, saying that "we are finished" is ridiculous and really hyperbolic and not needed. Resigning yourself in a fatalistic way is not productive. I guess in 1930 we should have just thrown in the towel, get a grip you fricking whimp.

I somewhat agree. But unless we make some rather drastic changes, and soon, we are going to be in big trouble.

But the momentum, as far as government spending, is heading in the wrong direction. And unfortunately, the current and future leadership (Hillary, Obama, McCain) don't seem to want to change that.

If Ron Paul would have shut up, stopped with the idiotic tangental attacks on the government and become an outspoken critic of big government *only*, he probably would have made a difference.

I really want a candidate to explain it like a financial statement.

"You see, if you make $5 Trillion, but spend $10 trillion, you must borrow $5 trillion, if you do this every year, eventually you will outstrip your ability to borrow and people will put you into the subprime category of deadbeat borrowers".

"Do you want America to be a subprime borrower?"

Keep it simple, keep it straight, and keep it honest.

 

[Jmman]

Whenever I see these sinking dollar threads I have to chuckle a litttle bit. You realize that Bush has intentionally followed a weak dollar policy, right?

 

[Fern]

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
The ? is currently 1.51282 against the $ and increasing by the minute!

How is Obama's hope going to add value to the USD??? TELL ME THAT! Why do none of our candidates give a damn about the value of the dollar???

It's going to be damn near worthless by November! There won't be a ship left to save!!!

Why are you personally concerned about the value of the dollar vis-a-vis other currencys? I think there is much irrational concern about this among the general populace here in the US.

Do you have bills (owe money) in foreign denominated currency?

Are you planing on purchasing imported products and afraid the price will rise (after currency translation)?

The only product which readily comes to mind that we all purchase and is affected by the reduced value of the dollar is oil (gas really).

A lower value dollar helps with our balance of trade deficet in 2 ways: as foreign products become comparatively more expensive we purchase less, as US products become comparatively cheaper foreigners purchase more. Eventually, this alone will serve to support the value of the dollar (more demand for dollars by foreigners purchasing US goods).

IMO, the manipulation of interest rates should be used for other, better purposes than currency value adjustments. If our US economy were "overheating" (growing too rapidly) interest rate increases would be made, instead we're trying to avoid (or come out of, or minimize) a recession. That calls for interest rate decreases, not increases.

Fern

 

[LegendKiller]

Originally posted by: Jmman
Whenever I see these sinking dollar threads I have to chuckle a litttle bit. You realize that Bush has intentionally followed a weak dollar policy, right?

Personally, I think it's a pretty decent idea in many ways. The dollar was too high to allow for competitiveness. You'll start seeing offshoring become more rare, manufacturing will become juiced, commodity prices will raise as international demand swells allowing farmers to stop using public funds to make land fallow. You'll see savings become more prevelent as foreign goods become less attractive and foreign money become more expensive. Domestic funds will become more expensive on an all-in basis, driving a raise in capital bases of banks. Many say inflation prevents people from saving, since real value is eroding, but the opposite has happened in the past.

People will become more entrenched and we may return to some modicum of fiscal conservatism rather than dramatic consumerism.

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
Fed chief signals another rate cut

Bernanke needs to STFU.

I understand the potential merits of a weak dollar policy, but the latest round of rate cuts has already done more harm than good. Further rate cuts will only burden consumers with even more inflation that they already can't afford.

 

[babylon5]

USA isn't going to explode or disappeared. But it sure is not going to be #1 leading the world with the way things are going.

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: LegendKiller

Originally posted by: Jmman
Whenever I see these sinking dollar threads I have to chuckle a litttle bit. You realize that Bush has intentionally followed a weak dollar policy, right?

Personally, I think it's a pretty decent idea in many ways. The dollar was too high to allow for competitiveness. You'll start seeing offshoring become more rare, manufacturing will become juiced, commodity prices will raise as international demand swells allowing farmers to stop using public funds to make land fallow. You'll see savings become more prevelent as foreign goods become less attractive and foreign money become more expensive. Domestic funds will become more expensive on an all-in basis, driving a raise in capital bases of banks. Many say inflation prevents people from saving, since real value is eroding, but the opposite has happened in the past.

People will become more entrenched and we may return to some modicum of fiscal conservatism rather than dramatic consumerism.

I cannot believe just how much you've come full circle in the past year. You've gone from attacking me just for saying that Fed would "inflate away" the economic problem to fully embracing as a great idea. It's almost Orwellian...

 

[LegendKiller]

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: LegendKiller

Originally posted by: Jmman
Whenever I see these sinking dollar threads I have to chuckle a litttle bit. You realize that Bush has intentionally followed a weak dollar policy, right?

Personally, I think it's a pretty decent idea in many ways. The dollar was too high to allow for competitiveness. You'll start seeing offshoring become more rare, manufacturing will become juiced, commodity prices will raise as international demand swells allowing farmers to stop using public funds to make land fallow. You'll see savings become more prevelent as foreign goods become less attractive and foreign money become more expensive. Domestic funds will become more expensive on an all-in basis, driving a raise in capital bases of banks. Many say inflation prevents people from saving, since real value is eroding, but the opposite has happened in the past.

People will become more entrenched and we may return to some modicum of fiscal conservatism rather than dramatic consumerism.

I cannot believe just how much you've come full circle in the past year. You've gone from attacking me just for saying that Fed would "inflate away" the economic problem to fully embracing as a great idea. It's almost Orwellian...

No, it's reality. Seeing the liquidity crunch in this market has been a real eye opening experience. Things aren't so black/white when you start to realize that the equity markets are about 1/3 the size (or less) of debt markets and when debt markets seize up, everything goes to shit.

I have never said I knew everything and I am fully able to admit my mistakes and change my viewpoint publicly.

 

[jpeyton]

And people laughed when I told them to convert their dollar holdings to Euros.

 

[LegendKiller]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
And people laughed when I told them to convert their dollar holdings to Euros.

Your reasoning is idiotic. You need dollars because you spend dollars here. If you are investing long-term it's stupid to keep your investments in all foreign stocks.