There are pros and cons to a weak dollar, but if it gives the Belgians an opportunity to elevate Budweiser from its current position as the King of Lye-flavored Urine Substitutes, then one might say that the good our attenuated currency has brought outweighs the misery it causes our intrepid tourists abroad.
That said, having grown up watching the purchasing value of my father’s salary in the currencies of our host countries swing with rate changes, I can say the debate about the dollar’s slide of recent years lacks historical perspective. This kind of analysis should be required reading for those who claim the world’s reserve currency is in its death throes.
That doesn’t mean that remedies of our current account deficit and national debt aren’t required. They may even be urgent in some cases, but we’re ill served by panic and Chicken Little punditry.
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