The dollar hits a new low against the Euro :(

The decrease has been quick and has not made up for the inflation over the years. I will grant that the "flippers" have had at least as much to do with housing increases lately as inflation. But the idea that things get more expensive over time is normal...well it's inflation. In certain markeys (So. Cal.) there are other issues as well. But inflation is one big factor. Of course this has gone on long before GB, which is the real key. He is simply a space holder. A system not based on real work, but on games (e.g. "flippers") is the problem, and even if the housing cost dropped compared with six months ago, the long-term trend is still inflation.

BTW, what is gold now? And take a look at whatr the central banks are doing. Of course they have to tred lightly, but it's instructive.

I have heard someone say, "don't listen to what the 'elites' say, rather watch what they do." Good advice.

 

or appreciation. houses go up in value because of appreciation (supply/demand once again). more people buying houses in an area causes the prices to rise, less people buying causes them to fall. not inflation. i'm not going to cry over market speculators losing a little cash on their investments.

 

It's multifactorial. Inflation is part of it. If you don't like that one look at gold. Or for a really simple example, the drop in the dollar's value versus other currencies (as the thread title points out). There is inflation. The question is "why?"

 

dollar has been very stable against the yen, i believe it is actually better than it was a year or so ago. measuring against a single currency and screaming doom and gloom isn't a very rational approach to anything.

there is always inflation for every currency.

if you are genuinely curious, why aren't you researching instead of presupposing things that fit your point of view?

 

It's the euro, the pound, the canadian dollar, it's not just one currency.

 

you missed the point, its steady against other currencies. you aren't going to always have positive moves for each one around the planet. it's going to go up and down. if our interest rates go up, i believe the dollar would rise as well.

 

What I meant to say instead of inflation I meant recession. A percursor to recession.

Other housing construction slowdowns where related to a slowing of the economy where as this housing bubble and related slowdown is directly tied to excess liquidity and the cutting off of that liquidity is causing the new housing constructions to fall and not because of a slowing economy. I'm not saying there won't be ripple effects but our economy is dynamic and flexible enough to withstand those ripples. There maybe a slow down but I doubt it will go into recession.

 

The "game" of flipping house was tied to easy and cheap access to capital. That has disappeared and so have the demand for houses, which is why housing construction has fallen.

 

There has and always be for the most part be inflation and to a certain degree you want inflation. Because if you don't have inflation you get deflation, which is worse than inflation.

 

I think we may see a period of stagflation

 

That's a concern, but I believe a lot of inflation has been tied to the rise of commodity prices and that if the economy slows the down the demand for commodities should fall which will bring down inflation.

 

The price of oil in euros is only 57€. As the USD weakens the cost of commodities rises.

Exchange rate decline of US Dollar:
2001 € 1.1171 Euro
2002 € 1.0578 Euro
2003 € 0.8833 Euro
2004 € 0.804 Euro
2005 € 0.8033 Euro
2007 € 0.7200 Euro

 

Oil is bought and sold in American Dollars. It makes it cheaper for Europe to buy Oil, but with their High taxes on oil and gas they really don't have as much need for it as we do.

 

This is ludicrous. You can't fix inflation by encouraging people to earn more money. The problem is the government. They need to stop printing money and back it with precious metals. Inflation is theft, it is an invisible tax that robs you of your wealth, and more than 80% of Americans have no clue as to how it works.

Americans have to earn more money precisely because of inflation. When your paper currency is being devalued, you have to earn more to pay for the basic necessities of life, but that isn't easy when your currency has lost 90% of its value since 1913.

Think about this Mia. In the 1960s, you could rent an apartment in the U.S. with $80 bucks per month. Today, the average apartment price in the U.S. is $968. The average American makes about $33,000. This means, at $968 per month, they are paying $11,616 per year for rent, which is more than 30% of their annual income has to go towards their rent! This doesn't include power, food, clothing, and transportation. No wonder so many Americans are in debt!

Can't you see that inflation has risen faster than our income? Your simplified solution of "encouraging" Americans to spend more is insane. Our jobs have been outsourced, and we are turning into a service economy. You keep believing that corporate/government "everything is fine propaganda" if you want to.

You know what your problem is Mia? I bet you grew up Middle Class or better, right? Or I bet your parents make $100,000 per year, or you make that right now. You see, I grew up poor as dirt. I understand poverty better than a lot of people, I remember days when we didn't have food in the fridge when I was a kid.

Yeah, my parents made stupid decisions, and that was part of it, but lets not act like our government and corporations aren't responsible, because the mathematics shows that they are. When you are raised in a wealthy family, or you make lots of money, it is easy for you to be blind to the problems that are harming your society since they don't effect you directly.

And you don't see something wrong with this? That a car that cost $3,000 in 1974 now costs $30,000? Umm, the average Americans makes little more than $30,000 per year, so this means they have to go in debt to buy a Mustang if they want one, which makes them a slave to the car dealer and bank.

The problem you don't recognize is that inflation is not keeping pace with the earnings of the Average American. We live in a debt based society, also known as an economic slave society, because when you borrow money, you're a slave.......period.

Yeah, most people in this thread know that prices rise over time.............but the problem in America is that income is not rising with it. The average brand new car now costs well in excess of $10,000, a large percentage of what the Average brings in per year. When you look at this with other expenses, it becomes easy to see why so many Americans are broke.

A very wealthy guy I know put it simply: The average American is four flat tires away from a bankruptcy, and I believe it........and it is hard to call our society rich when things are this bad.

I understand personal responsibility, but the government and law enforcement agencies are supposed to protect people against predatory lending. The government commonly goes after people who are involved in scams and fraud, and this mortgage debacle is the biggest scam in history!

The banks knew damn well that these low income families couldn't afford the mortgage, but they tricked them into it anyway. Yeah, I know the low income families were dumb, but fraud is fraud, and the people who are responsible should go to jail. The banking/mortgage industry is way out of control, and they are basically predatory lenders.

The biggest problem with the biggest banks in this country is that there is no one to check their hand, because these guys basically own Wall Street, and control the government through lobbying.

All of you guys who keep insisting that our economy is okay are just a bunch of rich yuppies who think everything is fine just because you make a nice annual salary. The poor people in this country are already being eaten alive by the recession and economic depression we're gradually heading into.........

I tell you this much, you yuppies who are making hundreds of thousands per year better buy gold and silver, because all your dollars doesn't mean squat if it ends up with the value of toilet paper.......

This is one of the best quotes I've heard, and I will take it to heart. The Elites run this society, and they have for a long time. There is nothing big that doesn't go down without their knowledge, and I know for a fact that they had their hands in this mortgage crisis.

These guys are going to destroy the dollar and offer Americans the Amero as a replacement, the Amero is a real currency being planned, not some hair brained conspiracy theory:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amero

You guys had better buy gold and silver..............if you value the money you have....and your economic future......

 

Some points from the URL that is not some hair brained conspiracy theory:

1) The North American currency union is a hypothetical situation

2) The hypothetical currency for both of these ideas is sometimes referred to as the amero.

3) In August 2007, rumors and conspiracy theories began circulating across the Internet regarding alleged United States Treasury issued "amero" coins. On August 31, 2007, conspiracy theorist and Internet broadcaster Hal Turner claimed to have arranged for a United States Government minted "amero" to be smuggled out of the Treasury Department by an employee of that organization. To date, no information has come to light substantiating Turner's claims. Overwhelming evidence appears to contradict his story.

I can't explain why these particular things would make someone believe in such a conspiracy.

 

I've posted this before, and these guys at CFR are well represented in government, as most people here likely know.

http://www.cfr.org/content/publications/attachments/NorthAmerica_TF_final.pdf

 

Article 1 Section 8

 

The Federal Reserve may lower interest rates triggering more devaluation.

 

the cfr espouses a wide variety of viewpoints from across the spectrum.

 

How about calling the new currency the dollarito?