What is a Dollar worth these days?

Quote:

---

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The dollar fell to a seven-month low versus the yen and hovered just above a record low against the euro Monday as it resumed its slide amid concerns about the U.S. ability to fund its current account gap.

The dollar had fallen to ¥105.18, its weakest since April, before trimming losses to ¥105.49 in later trading. The yen also drew support from Tokyo stocks, which closed up nearly two percent at a five-week closing high.

The greenback stood at $1.2948 per euro, close to the all-time low of $1.3005 set last week. The dollar index fell to its lowest since November 1995.

The dollar trimmed gains as U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow stuck to his usual line, repeating Monday that the United States backs a strong dollar but rates are best set in markets.

more...

---

Source

If they like a strong Dollar, then why do they make it so the Markets dont trust it? :unsure:

Im not complaining.... the weaker the Dollar, the cheaper things are for us in Europe (in Theory).. but surely there must be some worry over how weak its actually getting by now... :blink:

If it gets really cheap, its about time to take a trip to Mannys Music in NY again,
they got some Guitars, hehe...

:)

All my life I have heard about the weak and strong dollar. Yet I live in a state with a pathetically low minimum wage (Federal minimum of $5.15 and hour) which is conversely the most expensive state to live in and own a business in.

In Theory a weak dollar should mean that the prices go down around here when the opposite is true. The rush of 20 and 30 somethings from NY City moving upstate has put property values at an all time high around here, and yet I am making just about what I was making 12 years ago (technically making less since I switched job types) and even then, were I to be in the restaurant business, I would actually start for the same amount I was making in '92.

When the financiers get to discussing money and the the US dollar it sounds like Latin to me. What does any of it mean in real life to a guy like me? Nothing. My taxes are too high, I cannot afford proper dental care, there is not a shot in HELL that I will be owning a house anytime soon although my parents at my age somehow were able to own property and they were musicians ffs.

I guess I should say important things about the strength of the US dollar and jobs and outsourcing etc. but all I could think of when I read this was why does NY State suck so badly? I mean while everybody was bitching about Bush nobody seemed to notice that our state government (which has been fucking us for years) had the same people re-elected. It's frustrating to know I live in an area that seems to exist for people who have money to move to.

That is the truth of it. Upstate NY is a great place to move to if you have money, but for the love of god don't let your kids stay here unless you want them to either work in retail, the restaurant business or become a carpenter/painter/some form of contractor. Seems like no matter how weak or strong the US dollar is, NY State residents really get the shit end of the stick.

Sorry bout the rant, just feeling particulary poor today, and having lived elsewhere, what gets me is there is no Microsoft or IBM here, there is no manufacturing, there is no call for tech people on the level of other places, there is simply a huge swarth of economically repressed area with a bunch of people making enough to exist. I mean the best I see people do here is graduate, get some shitty job and work it long enough so that you can get a car loan. Single income households are rare here, since how can you feed your family on one income AND own a house AND pay property taxes?

And my job made it seem like I should jump for fucking joy when they gave me a raise to $9 an hour.

In US dollar sense look at it this way: after child support, taxes and my $35 a week insurance premium that DOES NOT cover dental, I take home $214 a week. $856 a month. Factor in $400 rent, $50 electric, $30 telephone, $20 internet, that leaves me $75 a week to live on. Food, cloths, laundry, taking the kids out to eat, new shoes for them, whatever, I have $75 a week to live on. It isn't Bush either, it has been this way in NY State since the 70's, and despite our Republican Governor NY State is a predominantly Democrat rules state, so it isn't Partisan leadership that fucks us, it is leadership period.

$1 does not even buy a bagel and cream cheese here, it does not buy a package of band aids or a toothbrush.

Wanna know why Americans are so obese (other than people eat too much and don't exercise of course) ? Because we can afford to feed ourselves if we eat shitty food. I get by on lots of Pasta, eggs, white bread etc. I hate my diet. I know how to eat proper but the ONLY TIME I could afford to eat how I like was when I both had a job and sold marijuana at the same time. The succesful contractors around here do that, they have their business and grow/sell pot on the side. Not making this up either.

The US dollar must work someplace, but in NY State we really get taken for granted. I mean Presidential Candidates spend more time if Iowa then they do in the 2nd or 3rd most populus state in the nation.

-SJ™

Well, that story might explain why Bush won.

I imagine SJ struggle is a microcosm of the nation as a whole.

People tend to think in very concrete terms financially. If Bush taxes less than Kerry then maybe SJ can get 100 dollars a week to live on, not 75 or 50.

That is how people think. It is about what can you do for me right now. Can I buy new shoes next week. They don't live in "the big picture" because they can't afford that luxury.

To those outside the US, the only thing they really see is our foreign policy. Since this is all they care about, they distort the magnitude of this facet of our government and it's import in the election.

When Bush wins, they call us all stupid, not realizing that to us, foreign policy pales in comparison to a little extra take home money.

Just a thought.

As for strong dollar/weak dollar- I stopped worrying about this when I realized that economists really don't understand what they are talking about. So much of their "theory" never pans out in the ral world.

I thought Bush was responsible for the poor state of your economy at the moment?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DanB

I thought Bush was responsible for the poor state of your economy at the moment?

---

Sure we can blame SJ struggles over the last 12 years on Bush. That would be the easy thing to do, although it wouldn't really make sense.

I thought that things had gotworse in the last 4 years?

I am sure I remember reading about it on here :huh:

Seems like the economists have been telling us for years that when you've got a strong economy you have a strong currency, the two go hand in hand. All of a sudden that's all been turned on it's head. Now they are saying that if you've got a strong economy you should have a weak currency, and vice-versa.

Why are they saying this? Because GWB needs to convince his electorate that everything is rosy, and the economists don't want to rock the boat.

The truth is somewhat different. Massive deficits at the moment will have to be paid for at some point, and there will be interest charges on top. Who pays for this? The same people who are benefiting from the current tax breaks? Don't you believe it, it is always the little feller who pays, because he hasn't got anywhere to hide his money when payment time comes around.

Of course, if you can find a country full of oil you can steal it may help.

Love the sig, Lynx. :)


Well, IANAE, but to my way of thinking, there's advantages and disadvantages to having a strong currency.

Advantages:
- You can vacation abroad for less, and have more spending cash while you're there.
- Imported goods cost less, so you can possibly afford that Sony plasma screen at last.

Disadvantages:
- Exports drop because it's more expensive for people in other countries to buy them.
- Manufacturing will slow because of the drop in exports.
- Very real possibility of job losses or reduced working week to compensate for less product demand abroad.
- Less foreign investment because there are cheaper places to get products manufactured.
- In the case of the US$, oil costs us more here in the UK (although when the US$ weakens and oil becomes cheaper, it never actually falls 'at the pumps').

All this adds up to a negative balance of payments, which seems to weaken the currency.