Getting At The Truth

JAMESBJOHNSON · Apr 27, 2015

I read the financial pages every day and have a tough time making sense of what I read. My struggle is mired in the reportorial bull shit half-wit experts publish.

Like today...the wizards express their angst about STRONG DOLLARS and how strong dollars will harm our economy. WTF do they mean? WEAK DOLLARS are just as bad (caused by inflation). During the Weimar Republic of Germany, money was so devalued it was worthless to Germans but wonderful for France, Britain, and the USA. Germans couldn't buy buns tho the French bought up mountains of German pastries for songs. So weak currency isn't good.

What about equality? If the pound and dollar have equal value customers opt for the best quality goods, which isn't good for places with strong unions or socialist economies. No one wants shit from Cuba or Venezuela. No one wanted shit from the old communist bloc.

Strong dollars cause price deflation. Consumers love it but not corporations.

So the bottom line is: ITS ALWAYS SOMETHING, JANE! The honest answer.

Lancecastor · Apr 27, 2015

Jane, you ignorant slut!

oggbashan · Apr 27, 2015

It is a matter of degree.

A strong dollar means difficulty for those exporting US products. It also impacts on the price of oil for non-dollar countries because oil is sold for dollars.

A weak dollar makes it easier for those exporting US products because they are cheaper for other countries to buy. The oil price in real terms might fall for everyone but the US.

But the difference between strong and weak is a matter of small percentage differences, not the hyperinflation suffered by Weimar Germany.

Really weak currencies such as some of the Communist states had meant that they needed strong currency such as the US dollar, the UK pound, the German Mark and the Swiss Franc. Their products were sold very cheaply to get currency to buy oil and other essentials they couldn't produce or didn't have.

I went to then-Communist Yugoslavia in 1962. The Yugoslav Dinar was then (officially) worth about 650 to a UK pound. That gave real buying power in Yugoslavia - but the officially tolerated back street currency traders would sell 2,500 Dinars for a UK pound. The purchasing power was almost ridiculous because 2,000 to 2,100 Dinars was the weekly wage for a local skilled car mechanic, and they were some of the best paid workers in Yugoslavia.

I bought a pair of hand made shoes, specially fitted to my large feet, for 1,500 Dinars. They lasted for years and were the most comfortable shoes I ever owned. One of my friends bought a tailored leather jacket for 1,800 Dinars.

We had some difficulty on arrival near our destination. We needed to catch a bus from the railway station to our hotel. There were 18 of us and the fare was two dinars each. The smallest note we had been able to get in the UK was 500 dinars and the bus conductor couldn't change it. One of us sold some English cigarettes to another passenger for forty dinars - problem solved.

JAMESBJOHNSON · Apr 27, 2015

oggbashan said:
It is a matter of degree.

A strong dollar means difficulty for those exporting US products. It also impacts on the price of oil for non-dollar countries because oil is sold for dollars.

A weak dollar makes it easier for those exporting US products because they are cheaper for other countries to buy. The oil price in real terms might fall for everyone but the US.

But the difference between strong and weak is a matter of small percentage differences, not the hyperinflation suffered by Weimar Germany.

Really weak currencies such as some of the Communist states had meant that they needed strong currency such as the US dollar, the UK pound, the German Mark and the Swiss Franc. Their products were sold very cheaply to get currency to buy oil and other essentials they couldn't produce or didn't have.

I went to then-Communist Yugoslavia in 1962. The Yugoslav Dinar was then (officially) worth about 650 to a UK pound. That gave real buying power in Yugoslavia - but the officially tolerated back street currency traders would sell 2,500 Dinars for a UK pound. The purchasing power was almost ridiculous because 2,000 to 2,100 Dinars was the weekly wage for a local skilled car mechanic, and they were some of the best paid workers in Yugoslavia.

I bought a pair of hand made shoes, specially fitted to my large feet, for 1,500 Dinars. They lasted for years and were the most comfortable shoes I ever owned. One of my friends bought a tailored leather jacket for 1,800 Dinars.

We had some difficulty on arrival near our destination. We needed to catch a bus from the railway station to our hotel. There were 18 of us and the fare was two dinars each. The smallest note we had been able to get in the UK was 500 dinars and the bus conductor couldn't change it. One of us sold some English cigarettes to another passenger for forty dinars - problem solved.

My point is, OGG, every dollar value is a problem for someone.

Getting At The Truth

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oggbashan

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