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The US dollar is now worth 93 cents Canadian, lowest since the Civil War

canadianpress.google.com — The rising level has benefited Canadian consumers booking U.S. vacations to the sunny south and cross-border shoppers flocking to U.S. border cities looking for bargains on everything from auto parts to CDs, shoes and clothe

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  • postingbh, on 11/06/2007, -29/+156I bought a book the other day and the price was listed $9.99 US, $6.99 Canadian. Those were the days.
    • kinseyincanada, on 11/06/2007, -2/+53well up here it's still those days.
      • Le3f, on 11/04/2007, -3/+18Which makes no sense... but we put up with it anyways.
      • Jawsh91, on 11/04/2007, -1/+10I don't get it, we (Canada) always pay more for books, since when were they cheaper?
        • nogami, on 11/04/2007, -0/+9We don't now. Until booksellers adjust their prices, I'm buying from the US.

          The longer Canadian booksellers wait, the more profits they lose. Sucks to be them...
          • RogerStrong, on 11/04/2007, -2/+1C'mon, they made the announcement a couple days ago when the dollar was at 2%. They probably made the decision days before that, when the dollar was at 1%.

            The dollar has gone up that fast.

            And their expenses in Canada ARE greater than in the Excited States. A couple percent higher is justified.
    • griz, on 11/06/2007, -11/+5Where is it $9.99 US and $6.99 canadian? In Canada or US?
      • aduelley, on 11/03/2007, -6/+9does it matter where? the prices for both are listed
        • mlostracco, on 11/04/2007, -4/+24Yes, because books are usually ridiculously more expensive up here in Canada than south of the border.
          • nospinhere, on 11/04/2007, -20/+6That's because it's harder for Canadians to read.
          • Makaveli604, on 11/04/2007, -8/+7Why is "nospinhere" being dugg up. He's a ***** idiot.
            I hear American public schools are doing GREAT *****. [/sarcasm]
      • RogerStrong, on 11/04/2007, -1/+2Walmart announced that it's going to sell books in Canada at par. Other book stores are following.
        • Fracture98, on 11/04/2007, -1/+5At par. Wonderful. Hey, everyone rush to Walmart. They're advertising that they're only going to screw us over by 6%!
        • LeeSoong, on 11/04/2007, -0/+1"Look out below Peso, USD falling fast ! "

          The USD is set to go down to the Mexican Peso, this was all spelled out in NAFTA,
          The Dollar is going to lose about 80% of it's value in the next 13 years.

          The banks have to devalue the dollar gradually so the public wont panic,
          but the $5 a gallon fuel and doubled food costs will be hard to ignore.

          Why is this such a surprise to some people?
    • eean, on 11/06/2007, -1/+35the civil war days? or the now-days? I don't get it.
      • Nudar, on 11/04/2007, -0/+7Yes please read carefully what the OP typed. It doesn't make much sense.
    • abcdefghij, on 11/05/2007, -23/+6soon enough people from Canada will be crossing the border to get medicines in the U.S...
      oh wait, but even _then_ the medicines here will still be much more expensive!

      so I guess adios/au voir, cabron/mate! I think I'd better run south or north, right, ese/ehh?
      • garrettnb, on 11/04/2007, -8/+14dude, something like 8% of our population speaks french. Also they all live in quebec. So get your facts straight you gun wielding yank
        • abcdefghij, on 11/04/2007, -25/+4dude, something like 100% of population in your head don't get jokes. Maybe YOU live in Quebec. Get your head fixed you maple waving ham
        • silverwolf761, on 11/04/2007, -2/+1I'm not sure if you're trying to make yourself look bad, or you simply cannot help it. If you're trying, then job well done sir.
        • pieinthesky, on 11/04/2007, -1/+6a) Over 25% of canadians are of French descent.
          b) 85% of Francophones are in Québec, not all.
        • Light11, on 11/04/2007, -6/+1your stupid lmao
      • guestaccount, on 11/04/2007, -2/+3You're an idiot.
    • joegibes, on 11/06/2007, -0/+77I remember buying books that said $9.99 US, $12.99 CDN.
      • graemee, on 11/09/2007, -1/+9Well at least some retailers are now only charging the US price.
      • euphemizeme, on 11/04/2007, -26/+9Liar. You know Canadians can't read, so why would they even price books for sale up there?
        • euphemizeme, on 11/09/2007, -4/+24Liar. You know Americans can't read, so why would they even price books for sale down there?
          • Loonacy, on 11/04/2007, -4/+4Liar. You know no one from anywhere can read, so how do you know what the printed price is?
          • Archeologist, on 11/09/2007, -0/+8LIES!! ALL LIES!!!
        • richardiscool, on 11/09/2007, -0/+4What? Americans are the one with the illiterate stereotype.
      • brad3378, on 11/09/2007, -1/+11...... Yet I still can't get a Coke machine to accept a Canadian quarter
        • Azio, on 11/09/2007, -0/+16American quarters work in Canadian vending machines, so technically now you save money by feeding American quarters to a Canadian pop machine. This is so weird....
    • Zippo, on 11/05/2007, -0/+14Wal-Mart Canada is now selling books at the listed American price. Just so you know.
    • arizonagroove, on 11/04/2007, -3/+4Based on those prices the US$ is worth CAN$0.70. Rather a lot less than it is now. So as someone who, according to your profile, is from New York - what's your point?
    • themastersb, on 11/03/2007, -0/+1A lot of small businesses are having trouble now that people are buying things from the US online and stuff, while a lot of larger companies have reduced the prices on some items to match the rising dollar.
    • webpimp, on 11/04/2007, -2/+0i buy products from my canadian distro for the same price now. i don't need to use the conversion tool no more
    • phlebitis, on 11/04/2007, -1/+0Why is there so much discussion and comparison centered around books? There are many more important things that need to come down in price before I start to give two ***** about books.
    • bpilley, on 11/07/2007, -0/+1Many places will honour the US price if the item was made in the US. If the item is made in Canada, they will not, even if the listed US price is lower.
  • Richiedude, on 11/06/2007, -33/+543thank you mr. bush!
    • clinko, on 11/06/2007, -79/+29Is your neighbor's name is Bush, and he bought his house at more than he can afford? Then he Didn't pay his mortgage, defaulting on his loan to the bank. Then sticking the bank with the bill, thus reducing the stock market value of the bank. Thus lowering the entire market, causing interest rates to decrease so the other neighbor can pay his mortgage. Thus, causing the dollar to be perceived at a lesser value.

      For once, this one isn't "Bush's" fault.
      • novask, on 11/04/2007, -11/+26This has been happening since late 2000. The Canadian dollar was something like 1.75 compared to the USD back in 1999 and it's been dropping steadily ever since. I'm willing to blame the Afghan/Iraq war long before any housing bubble.
        • Xondar, on 11/04/2007, -5/+22Canada went to Afghanistan too.
          • CraigCarlyle, on 11/04/2007, -2/+13And is still there.
          • GliTCH82, on 11/04/2007, -5/+22Except they aren't spending a half a trillion dollars of money they don't have on defense.
          • Dumbledorito, on 11/04/2007, -2/+13And the US keeps accidentally shooting them.
          • Smills, on 11/05/2007, -0/+2@Dumbledorito
            Yes... "accidentally"
      • noahhoward, on 11/04/2007, -23/+18Not sure why clinko is being buried. The home lending market is dragging us down, not president *****.
        • Wartyboskfapped, on 11/04/2007, -6/+20International disappointment in America & its failed wars is certainly having something to do with the dollar's fall. There have been lending crises before, but this sort of thing didn't happen. Not even in the 80s when there was a recession.
          • beatbox32, on 11/04/2007, -10/+7*****. Pick yourself up an economics textbook and realize that sitting Presidents have jack ***** to do with economic performance, especially with the circumstances behind this one (junk mortgages).
          • Dumbledorito, on 11/05/2007, -5/+11@beatbox: To a degree, that's true, but if a president manages to start a war costing trillions and favors legislation that undermines the ability of the majority of your citizens to accumulate wealth, it's going to have an effect. Bush's thought processes might take place in a vacuum, but his actions don't.
        • kreneskyp, on 11/04/2007, -3/+19the sub-prime market failure is part of the problem but a small one. The major problem is that we are spending 100s of billions of dollars a year on a war with no end in sight. were also making making talk of a 3rd simultaneous war against iran. All of this on borrowed money. We are increasing debt faster than our economy and ignoring all the problems at home because we dont have the money to fix them. This gives us a very bleak financial outlook.

          Our economy is a snowball rolling down the mountain, sure to bring an avalanche sooner or later
        • DooM, on 11/04/2007, -2/+5The problem is our out of control spending and the fact that we keep injecting billions and billions of made up money into the market to try to put off the collapse of our markets. We through another 40 billion into circulation just last week if I remember correctly. It's pretty simple - if there's one Mona Lisa it's worth a LOT; if there are two they are both worth a little less; and if you make trillions of them they start to be worth whatever the paper and ink cost to produce them.
        • gerran, on 11/04/2007, -1/+6Subprime mortgage problem has been estimated to be $60 billion at WORST. Iraq war will top $1 trillion dollars. Mortgage problem is a blip on the radar. Poor decision making in the whitehouse is where 100% of the blame goes.
        • biotch, on 11/04/2007, -1/+3the home lending market is screwed because the economy flatlined and everyone including the home lending market bet on an increasing economy..... that IS Bush's fault
      • onwardknave, on 11/04/2007, -7/+24Actually, looking the other way when corporations and banks use shady accounting (for rich friends of Bush, like Ken Lay, credit companies/banks), has precipitated this crisis. Allowing big business (read: "my rich friends") to run roughshod over hard working average Joes (record foreclosure rates, rising insurance premiums), while claiming to be "business friendly," and actually only being "large corporate business-which-donates-to-my-campaign friendly," can be placed squarely on Bush's shoulders.
      • azimir, on 11/04/2007, -2/+18When the executive of an organization has managed to maneuver it into having to borrow $2bn/day (remember the days of no deficit spending in 1999/2000?), the credit rating of that organization will drop. In a country's case, that means the currency devalues. We're printing money at an unprecedented rate for the US (barring the Confederacy during the Civil War), and that devalues the dollar.

        The combination of Bush's foreign conquests and Congress' inability to do the *right* thing and only pass on balanced spending is leading the US down the rat hole. I blame both of them, so "thank you Mr. Bush" isn't too far off, as long as you follow it with "thank you spineless Congress" as well.
      • Azurensis, on 11/03/2007, -4/+9Bush uncontrolled spending on the Iraq war and on pointless expansions of the federal government like the department of homeland security (funny sidenote: the KGB is the initials of the Russian translation of 'department of homeland security') are as much a cause of the devaluation of the dollar as the mortgage crisis.
      • misledinamerica, on 11/05/2007, -3/+21Wrong. Clinton had balanced the budget. Bush has been spending like a 16 year old kid with his first credit card. The Fed has to print more money to pay for this. When there is more money the value of each dollar is less. The housing bubble has had some effect, but that to is Bush's fault. He is the COMMANDER IN CHIEF. Ultimately all changes good and bad that can be attributed to some government decision are to his credit or fault.
        • Nossie, on 11/04/2007, -7/+3so what you are saying is...... a blowjob brought down America? hehe
          • bjornski, on 11/04/2007, -0/+3In a sense. It would be more accurate to say that a blowjob was the excuse used to bring down America.
        • SpeedSteamBoat, on 11/04/2007, -1/+3@Nossie: Go back to bed, Mr. President.
          • Nossie, on 11/04/2007, -0/+1hey at least I'm bright enough to reply to the proper post ;)
      • gyronic, on 11/03/2007, -0/+1bwhahahah clinko doesn't know his ass from his elbows.
        Its the presidents job to lead his country... he's led it down the toilet.
    • LRG1, on 11/06/2007, -9/+33Ah *****, I can't believe you've done this.
    • sarge96, on 11/04/2007, -57/+6How a country that's not really a country and a dollar called a "loony" has a better currency value than the U.S. I'll never know.
      • westway2world, on 11/04/2007, -0/+32It's called a "loonie" and that's only because there's a loon on the back of the $1 coin.
        • simoncoul, on 11/04/2007, -5/+32How is Canada not a country, are u ***** retarded? We have a two dollar coin called a toonie, u gonna make dumb jokes about that to u stupid hick?
          • cheney08, on 11/05/2007, -37/+2Please learn spelling before you try to type English. Go back to French you hick.

            Although I am scared of your Air Force. A guy in a crop duster with a 9mm is pretty scary after all.
          • elfjuice, on 11/04/2007, -2/+8The Toonie is the Queen with the Bear Behind ! ! The Moonie ! Ummm... How about "The Doubloon! ! !"
            And damn you Canadians for having all the good Comedians too! ! ! Gosh I miss the Kids in the Hall, not to mention Bob and Doug McKenzie.
            You also gave us the likes of Dan Aykroyd, John Candy and Jim Carrey. Heck who can forget the comedic geniuses of News Radio, Dave Foley and Phil Hartman.
            But please take back Howie Mandel. He hasn't done crap since that Bobby's World cartoon.
          • HaywoodGiablomi, on 11/04/2007, -3/+11[Comment aimed @ Cheney08. I'm just putting it here thanks to a glitch in Digg's page...]
            "Please learn spelling before you try to type English" -- How about working on your grammar there, schoolmarm? Maybe you mean "to type IN English"? And, while I'm at it, "Please learn spelling" is more correctly written as "Please learn to spell." As far as dude's spelling: using "U" to say "you" is pretty standard around the Internet. Or are you new to this? Also: "gonna" is fairly typical and I, at least, understood that he was just using a little slang/jargon. If I were you, I'd avoid trying to knock people down on their language skills...
          • aRgusChung, on 11/04/2007, -0/+1I think (s)he was referring to the use of "to" instead of "too". But yeah (s)he's a dickcheese anyhow.
      • DrTiki, on 11/04/2007, -1/+23Come on Troll, you can do better than that.
        • simoncoul, on 11/03/2007, -1/+2U tell him Doc!
        • Random23, on 11/04/2007, -1/+2It's a pretty lame Troll to be sure...

          Besides, as an American i can tell you that Fox News assures me that the economy has never been better, the war is difficult, yet we are making progress, and that providing poor childrens healthcare will pave the road to a Stalinist takeover of the old Red White and Blue.
          DoublePlusGood
          (See what i did there Mr. Troll... and I'm not even a troll, or had enough coffee... try again)


          9/11
      • maverex, on 11/04/2007, -1/+4Not really a country? ***** you
    • cheney08, on 11/06/2007, -54/+3How about "Thank you, Democratic Congress"? The dollar was rising against every currency in the world prior to the last congressional elections. Do some research and thank your communist selves for turning the mighty dollar into toilet paper.
      • tuxerware, on 11/04/2007, -2/+22Yeah, and there are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq right?
        • cheney08, on 11/04/2007, -31/+1They were there before they were moved out of country to Al Qaeda. Thanks for proving my point, moron.
          • smthop3, on 11/06/2007, -0/+17Al Qaeda isn't a place dumbass.
          • DooM, on 11/06/2007, -0/+11Ok, so it's your assertion that Al Qaeda has had WMDs for 5 years and that they're just saving them for a rainy day..? Any proof of this or is this just the lie you tell yourself to keep from having to admit that you and the people you support are completely incompentent..?
      • nnagflar, on 11/04/2007, -2/+8Do some research and learn what communism is.
      • robdazomba, on 11/04/2007, -0/+21What planet are you living on? The dollar has been in a steady downward trend since 2000. The real reason the economy sucks is the never-ending spending spree the Republicans have been on that Bush has done nothing to stop. We saw the same thing under Reagan. The economics of borrow and spend are disastrous, but for whatever reason, we persistently refuse to learn our lesson and keep electing these fiscally irresponsible Republicans who treat the U.S. economy sort of the way a teenage girl might treat her dad's credit card.
        • bjornski, on 11/04/2007, -0/+7And they have just as much intention of paying it back as that teenage girl would.
        • siszam, on 11/04/2007, -0/+5robdazomba you're right and when Republicans go on a spending spree it's always results in thousands and thousands of dead people. When Democrats spend it's to offer healthcare, housing and things that benefit the tax payer......that or pay down the debt the previous Republicans got us into.
      • HaywoodGiablomi, on 11/04/2007, -0/+10I can't believe I'm wasting my time with a Thirty-Percenter [The Bush fan boys], but here goes: To say that the dollar was on the rise before last November's elections, is quite a frickin' stretch. Have a look at the chart here: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=USDEUR=X&t=5y It's pretty obvious that the dollar has been in a long death spiral for a while. It's pretty much all Bush and has dick to do with Democrats. [After all, the Dem's in congress appear able to effect change on pretty much NOTHING. Speaking as one poor sap who voted for them.]
      • rarson, on 11/04/2007, -0/+4It's not true just because you say something is.
      • DooM, on 11/04/2007, -2/+6The Dollar was worth 1.50 CDN when Bush took office, 1.17 when the Dems moved into Congress and now it's below 1... soooooo, WHICH Congress and president did what in your mind..??
      • BossKey, on 11/04/2007, -0/+4If the right can get away with so many years of blaming the previous administration for everything that went wrong with this country, well, seven years into this administration it's probably time to start recalibrating who's to blame for the weak dollar and the economy. The Democratic Congress...yeah right.
      • biotch, on 11/04/2007, -0/+2How about Bush letting the Dems pass something then you can blame the dems. Untill then fault still lies with the republicans in congress for upholding Bush's vetos by not allowing the 2/3ds vote to override it.
    • Midvicious, on 11/06/2007, -3/+56Mission Accomplished!
    • robdazomba, on 11/06/2007, -8/+72Those of you trying to excuse Bush's role in this and/or lay it at the feet of the Democrats in Congress, consider this fact. **Every quantifiable measure of the economy of the U.S. has gotten steadily worse every year since Bush took office.** Every one of them. You cannot name a single economic measure that has improved since Bush took office. You may not like the democrats, but you're going to have a hard time pinning that one on them.

      Also, under Bill Clinton, every quantifiable measure of the U.S. economy got steadily better every year. Every single year, the economy grew and improved under Clinton.

      It has a lot to do with the deficit and spending. Republicans love to kick around that old "tax and spend" thing, but they have been the worst spenders in the last decade or so and we're just starting to pay the bill now.

      Anyway, it amazes me that anyone will still defend Bush. But if you really think Bush and Republicans aren't to blame for this economic mess we're in, please contact me. I have some magic beans I'd like to sell you.
      • HaywoodGiablomi, on 11/04/2007, -4/+7Of course the Thirty-Percenter's answer will be their standard line. C'mon! You all know the words!: "The economy was strong under Clinton because of Reagan [& Bush The Smarter]. The economy is weak under Bush The Not-So-Bright because of Clinton." And they'll be repeating this crap for the next fifty years or more...
        • biotch, on 11/05/2007, -0/+3to that I say .... I fail to believe that 12 years of a poor economy which ended in a recession just before Clinton took office, finally finally culminated into economic strength 2 years after Clinton took office.
      • blaser, on 11/04/2007, -0/+7Well if your spending billions every week due to military action abroad what do you expect. oh and the price of oil will keep soaring too.
      • jonnyeuchre, on 11/06/2007, -0/+13There is a reason why Greenspan called Clinton the best republican president of our time. Because he understood that spending like a drunk sailor was bad for the dollar.

        Unlike Bush, who never met a spending bill he didn't like until a few months ago... Anyway, we released $50B to the banks yesterday, on top fo the fed cut. The dollar is more dilluted than beer at a strip club. $120 oil, here we come!
      • Pake, on 11/06/2007, -11/+3You know what the big difference between Clinton's era and Bush Jr's era? Clinton got lucky with the internet boom and Bush Jr. got unlucky with the internet boom's collapse. The economy dropped off heavily at the end of Clinton's time in office, which coincides exactly with when a ton of internet businesses closed up shop. The problem with the dollar's worth right now is sadly one instance where we can't blame Bush Jr.
        • Frequency, on 11/06/2007, -0/+9Are you sure? I think the key difference is that Clinton didn't burn half a trillion in Iraq whilst simultaneously removing billions from the budget by lowering taxes on the richest of the rich.
        • molecool, on 11/06/2007, -1/+5You SIR, are an idiot!
        • RogerStrong, on 11/06/2007, -0/+5Clinton spent responsibly and brought the yearly deficits under control. Bush ran up by far the largest deficit ever - and that was *before* 9/11. And he's been topping it ever since. THAT is why the U.S. dollar is in the toilet. "Bad luck" has nothing to do with it.

          It's like getting a huge loan, not paying it off, then getting another loan, not paying it off, and repeating this for years. Yeah, you have money to spend on toys, so it looks like you're doing well. But in a few years you go bankrupt.

          With a country you can at least pocket the money and pass the debt on to the next generation. The baby boomers are absolutely shafting the teens and young adults of today.
        • biotch, on 11/06/2007, -1/+4Do you think that if our country was being led by someone who concentrated more on technological advancement rather than blowing up other countries that maybe we'd have another technological boom?
        • inkswamp, on 11/06/2007, -0/+4> Clinton got lucky with the internet boom

          Clinton did get lucky with the timing of that but to write off his amazing economic leadership to that is ridiculous. I remember economists predicting that it would take over a decade for Clinton to dig us out of the mountain of debt that Reagan and Bush left behind and thanks to the Internet boom, it happened a lot faster. Do you really think Bush would have leveraged that kind of thing to do something good with it? I'm thankful we had someone like Clinton in office to receive that bit of luck and know how to put it to good use instead of squandering it. I can't imagine how much worse off we'd be if it had been a republican in there to continue screwing things up.
    • ShyGuy91284, on 11/04/2007, -12/+7What goes up must come down. Bush's policies might have hastened it, but this would have happened eventually anyways. We will not be on top forever. And if you read the article the Canadian dollar is gaining on other countries which I'm pretty sure Bush doesn't have much control over.
      • DooM, on 11/04/2007, -1/+6There's a lot of difference between cyclical market fluctuations and the pit our economy is going to fall into in a relatively short time.
        • RogerStrong, on 11/08/2007, -1/+2>> cyclical market fluctuations

          A asian guy walked into our bank this week to get some US dollars changed to Canadian. Because of the rising Canadian dollar, he didn't get as much as he expected.

          When he asked why, the teller said, "fluctuations". He got all angry and screamed, "FLUCK YOU ASIANS? FLUCK YOU CANADIANS!!!"
        • RogerStrong, on 11/04/2007, -2/+1>> cyclical market fluctuations

          A asian guy walked into our bank this week to get some US dollars changed to Canadian. Because of the rising Canadian dollar, he didn't get as much as he expected.

          When he asked why, the teller said, "fluctuations". He got all angry and screamed, "FLUCK YOU ASIANS? FLUCK YOU CANADIANS!!!"
      • RogerStrong, on 11/05/2007, -0/+3Canada has been paying down it's debt. Bush has been running it up at an all-time record rate. THAT is why the Canadian dollar is going up, and why IT IS Bush's fault that the U.S. dollar is doing the opposite.
      • zigspective, on 11/05/2007, -2/+1Please, this article is clearly biased, any gain the the Canadian dollar is making against the Euro is clearly marginal, any economist will clearly tell you that the Canadian dollar is being overvalued at the moment only because the US dollar is falling so quickly. When the Canadian dollar reached parity with the US dollar it was still falling against the Euro.
    • TridenTBoy, on 11/04/2007, -1/+13Bush, "I think I've made a huge mistake."
      • silverwolf761, on 11/04/2007, -0/+16He'd never admit that
      • Loonacy, on 11/04/2007, -0/+10I think he'd be thinking more along the lines of "Why do all these bad things keep happening? I'm doing everything perfectly just like Cheney tells me to!"
      • thesandreckoner, on 11/04/2007, -0/+5i think TridenT is refering to Arrested Development and the fact it was a political commentary.
        i miss arrested.
        • Jawsh91, on 11/04/2007, -0/+2He's right, it's from Arrested Development...who's digging him down?
      • arsheroica, on 11/03/2007, -0/+1"What would I ever have...made a mistake about?"
      • brad3378, on 11/04/2007, -0/+1Ron Paul, "I told you so"
    • TheScareScrow, on 11/04/2007, -15/+6Please take an economics class. This has nothing to do with Bush. The value of the dollar was inflated by European investors who were unsure about how the Euro would fair. Now that the European Union is going strong and the Euro is stable these investors are taking their finances and investments out of the dollar and putting it back into the European market. Couple this with the American market not being the only global force now- people are investing their money in a multitude of nations instead of just the US. Blame Bush for a lot of things- but this is one you need to STFU on.
    • tehxen3, on 11/04/2007, -10/+3In other news, innocent squirrells are dying on the roads across the country. Thank you mr. bush!
      • SpeedSteamBoat, on 11/04/2007, -1/+3You're right, this is a lot like that. Except Mr. Bush hired thousands of people and passed dozens of laws to put squirrels into busy streets on purpose, and the squirrels are the American economy and global reputation and constitution and soldiers, and the cars are the presidents friends who make billions of dollars off the whole enterprise.
    • Kanidia, on 11/04/2007, -2/+8The US dollar dropping is a good thing for the government, because then they pay back their debts at a lower price. What I think they do is, first they borrow a lot of money from other countries, in forms of bonds or such. Then, they use this money, to buy foreign currency, hence lowering the value of the USD, and raising the value of foreign currency. After the USD drops, they pay back their debts at a much lower price. During this time, people from other countries come to the US to spend money (for instance, Canadians might buy houses in the USD due to the dropping interest rates). Also, the US will start selling the foreign currency for USD. The USD will eventually come back up, and then this process is repeated. As a result, they aren't doing much work, but gaining money from other countries. Not exactly the most ethical thing to do, but if they ARE doing this, they are pretty clever.

      Or maybe they fail. But we won't know.
      • nnnet, on 11/04/2007, -1/+2it doesn't work that way...
      • daxsymbiont, on 11/04/2007, -0/+1that doesn't sound like a logical course of action for a simple reason, the risk is tremendous. only the phychological shock to the economy is enough of a risk, and there's no coordinated effort it seems to cool it down as a 'good thing'.

        however, it did seem that while it dropped 10%, european imports from the US increased by 15%. that's a gain there(for the US). though it may be just that europeans read more of the hype about it. other regions may not have even heard.
      • pgoetz, on 11/04/2007, -0/+1You're assuming other countries/foreign investors will continue to buy US bonds -- how many dumb ones could there possibly be left?
    • ButSeriouslyNow, on 11/04/2007, -4/+1The president did not cause the housing mortgage crisis which precipitated this economic downturn, if that's what you're saying. Nobody forced people to buy houses they couldn't afford.
      • yodaj007, on 11/04/2007, -0/+5They didn't force people. They just made it really really easy.
      • molecool, on 11/04/2007, -0/+2Every heard of 'government oversight & regulation of markets'? Right, neither has Mr. Bush.... he created a political/economic climate in which corporations pretty much get away with everything.
      • biotch, on 11/04/2007, -0/+1The mortgage crisis is just the economy getting back to where it should of been this entire time. This economy has been living on life support through credit debt. Now its time to pay the piper and the actual crappy economy is showing its ugly face.
    • Xill, on 11/04/2007, -0/+2Its not like the rest of the world didnt warn you! The only good thing in this is that it may wake more people up about why this is happening. Unless your completely brain dead and think this is just a random thing that is not intentional.
    • mark5hs, on 11/04/2007, -0/+1because we all know that bush is completely responsible for all of America's economy
    • phlebitis, on 11/04/2007, -0/+0It's like pre-war Germany. Their money wasn't worth as much as the paper it was printed on.
  • RCourtney, on 11/06/2007, -25/+310About 5 years ago I borrowed CAN$50 from my friend while I was up in Toronto. At the time it was worth approx US$25 and I figured I'd wait awhile to pay him back figuring in time I'd only owe him like US$15. Now I owe the bastard US$50 and I'm pissed!
    • crashflow, on 11/04/2007, -13/+4On the bright side, now you can sue him for usury.
      • awasson, on 11/04/2007, -1/+39Ya except he's in Canada where nuisance lawsuits are frowned upon... The judge would throw it out and the owed party could counter sue.
    • gta3mobster, on 11/04/2007, -2/+3Just buy something that says $50 CDN in an American store and sharpie out the American price. At least that way you'd minimize your losses.
    • RaGaGoneHome, on 11/06/2007, -1/+166Actually you owe him $53.50 US
    • mojoel, on 11/06/2007, -1/+84Give him 53.50 US quick before the US dollar drops some more!
    • sirhc7, on 11/04/2007, -1/+38Wow that was pretty stupid. You thought the Canadian dollar would drop to 0.30?
    • iwinyoulose, on 11/06/2007, -4/+295You borrow money from people and wait 5 years to pay them back? Douchebag.
    • TheSkinsFactory, on 11/05/2007, -6/+72I find it disgusting that you wait 5 years to pay back money you owe, especially 50 dollars. Lamer.
    • LordByr0n, on 11/04/2007, -2/+5CHAh-CHING eh
    • mark_in_bc, on 11/04/2007, -2/+3950 dollars US was never even close to 25 dollars CND. The CND dollar has never been under 65 cents US. So at the low end you still have had to cough up 32.50. If you factor in the coast of living increase in the last five years what 32.50 would have bought then will cost around $50.00 now. After 5 years you should add a little interest to that 50.00 bucks. I wounder what the compounding interest at a base rate of 8% over the five years would be based on monthly payments. Could be that you owe him hundreds of dollars.
      Pay up you cheap bastard.
      • TrevorBradley, on 11/07/2007, -0/+8Actually the dollar dipped below 62 cents US in 2002. We've been rising ever since.

        This CBC article from January, 2002 is a funny read... http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2002/01/17/looniedro ...

        And during the last separatist referendum, there were some of us who were worrying that the Canadian dollar would sink towards 0.30...
    • mishsquish, on 11/04/2007, -1/+1..And whose fault is that? :)
  • dupswapdrop, on 11/04/2007, -11/+27Oh well I bet Mr Bushes money is still good, maybe hes taking his kickbacks in Canadian bills now?
    • SiNN4R, on 11/03/2007, -4/+5I'm sure he's taking kickbacks when he's not slinging pot in the whitehouse back alley.
    • sporg, on 11/04/2007, -4/+7People like Bush are so rich that even if the dollar was worth 1cent they would still be filthy rich. So why should they give a carp about the economy?
      • rarson, on 11/04/2007, -2/+7No, people with his kind of money are smart enough not to hang onto paper. They invest it in things that hold their value MUCH better.

        Oh, and that's why they have so much money in the first place.
  • sophia269, on 11/06/2007, -6/+129The dollar is only going to fall further against the Canadian dollar and the Euro. The only way to stop it is to raise interest rates, which is something the Federal Reserve isn't interested in because they are too busy trying to please Wall St.
    • doctorfungi, on 11/04/2007, -1/+32And the Australian dollar... which currently buys US 94c, when it was only buying US 70c at the beginning of the year.
      • TrevorBradley, on 11/04/2007, -0/+13Good on ya Australia! We hope you reach parity soon, eh!

        Sincerely, Canada.
    • iamsamed, on 11/04/2007, -1/+23I think it's more that they're worried about slamming this country into stagflation like the one in the '70s. That one was also caused by a stupid war.
      I'm not much of a Bush hater, but this time, yes; it is the fault of Bush and the Republican Congress (at the time of starting the war). Now, I don't know what the Democratically controlled Congress can do about it. Or even what the next President can do about it.
      • TrevorBradley, on 11/04/2007, -1/+2That inflation is going to come... How else will Canada have price parity with the US?
      • rarson, on 11/04/2007, -0/+11Step 1: Take troops out of Iraq.

        That's a great ***** start and would benefit America immensely.
    • slothlovechunk, on 11/04/2007, -1/+10They're too busy trying to stop a recession.
      • Narrator, on 11/04/2007, -0/+1Yeah. Because a recession means that you have to make money by doing something productive instead of buying a house and refinancing every other year.
    • ArntorFTL, on 11/04/2007, -0/+14Having a record sized deficit doesn't help the value of the dollar either...
      • rarson, on 11/04/2007, -1/+4The deficit hurts the dollar since it's one of the reasons we keep creating more money from nothing, which directly drives the value of the dollar down.
    • Frnnkdlxx, on 11/04/2007, -0/+2Uh oh.. double post. I'll end this by spamming the movie: The Money masters - free on google.
    • Frnnkdlxx, on 11/04/2007, -5/+5Hey MORON! It's the Federal Reserve that's caused this! That privately owned corporation has been playing with our dollar since they were established and for you to say "Hey, the Fed could save us, but not only would it not be the wrong thing and the wrong time, they're too incompetent to figure out what couls save us!"

      THEIR CHAIRS AND FOREMAN ADMIT that they've been trying to establish it to cause booms and busts in the U.S so that they could buy up real wealth and resources on the cheap.

      So, in closing, Everyone should know that this economic decline we're facing is caused by the Fed. Constantly pumping trillions into our economy within the last two years and 300 and something billion just recently. They're devaluing the dollar and you guys keep pointing the finger at Bush and interest rates, rather than Fiat money and private bank owners who own America by the pockets.
      • Syric, on 11/04/2007, -2/+3Yeah, because everything worked great under Andrew Jackson before the Fed came along.
        /sarcasm
        • Frnnkdlxx, on 11/04/2007, -0/+1Yeah... It did. And the fed came successfully over 70 years after Andrew. You're one silly *****.

          I just accurately explain the trouble with banking and the economic system in american and i get dugg down? We deserve to fall.
    • molecool, on 11/04/2007, -0/+1EXACTLY - we are basically all paying for these Wall Street bastards - a deflated dollar means our purchasing power is being depleted. Not only make I less in salary today than I did in 2001, the value of the dollar has also diminished by 20%. Meanwhile Wall Street is reporting record earnings while the oil price is approaching $100 a barrel. I'm sorry but anyone defending this administration is a blundering idiot.
    • fixedcoma, on 11/05/2007, -1/+1Like i said before, You can't put perfume on a terd!!!!!
    • mustbepatient, on 11/04/2007, -0/+1Are you sure about that Sophia? How much have you studied monetary systems?
  • DrPaul2008, on 11/07/2007, -49/+13Use real money.
    http://www.libertydollar.org
    http://www.e-gold.com/
    • nycmac247, on 11/07/2007, -4/+25first you must convince people that it is real money
      • rarson, on 11/07/2007, -2/+6As long as there is actual gold and silver that backs it and it can be exchanged for it, it's more real than the paper the Fed prints, which is backed by absolutely nothing.
    • Seidoger, on 11/06/2007, -2/+16Sorry to pop your bubble, but the use of the world "Liberty" as an adjective now has a terrible Bush admin connotation
    • computergod, on 11/06/2007, -2/+3As much as I hate Paultards, I do love e-gold. It is one of the best ways to send money internationally when buying illegal things.
  • bertboerland, on 11/04/2007, -2/+11compare to the euro... http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=USDEUR=X&t=5y
  • dbalaski, on 11/06/2007, -5/+243Being 1/2 Canadian (my mom is from Quebec) - Cool for Canada!

    But there is something bigger going on here....
    It isn't more that just the Canadian dollar is improving that greatly, its more of an issue that the US Dollar is weakening against all major currencies..I ran a comparison a couple of days ago -- all the below rates are the current as of 2007-10-31 12:00PM EST ... the historical rates are from 2002 (Oct 31) ....
    $1 USD = $0.95080 CAN (2002 -- 1USD = 1.56540 Canadian)
    $1 USD = $0.69225 EURO ( 2002 --1USD = 1.02320 Euro)
    $1 USD = $0.48262 British Pounds (2002 -- 1USD =0.64350 Pounds)
    $1 USD = $1.08324 Australian Dollars (2002 -- 1USD = 1.80510 AUSD)
    $1 USD = 24.6740 Russian Rubbles (2002 -- 1USD = 31.750 Rubbles)
    $1 USD = 39.3250 Indian Ruppies (2002 -- 1USD = 48.4820 INR)
    $1 USD = 114.6650 Japanese Yen (2002-- 1USD = 124.490 Japanese Yen)
    $1 USD = 7.4820 Chinese NY (2002 -- 1USD = 8.2870 CNY)

    All those currencies have made SIGNIFICANT gains against the US Dollar ...I believe there are multiple reasons for this
    1) US market & mortgage issues
    2) US off-shoring work
    3) Energy issues
    4) US foreign policy and our stance in the world community
    • joshuagor44, on 11/04/2007, -3/+29Bush is going down and taking the economy with him.
      • rarson, on 11/04/2007, -1/+5This is just another one of his businesses. All failures. All ran into the ground.

        Too bad America wasn't smart enough to learn from the past, or at least not vote for him a SECOND time.
      • frygar, on 11/09/2007, -2/+2At the risk of being That Guy, what good is it accomplishing us to blame Bush for the state of our economy? Yes, most Americans believe he's done a terrible job as president, but in this government, that is OF and FOR the People, do we not have only ourselves to blame, and ourselves to look to for our salvation? I'm not defending Bush, I'm just saying that attacking him on anonymous message boards ad-nauseum is much like blowing on a freshly severed thumb while screaming at a bloodied radial saw to make it better. We have work to do, people, we need to collectively get our ***** together and make our country great again.
        We the People. It's not just some cheesy catch phrase.
        • bjornski, on 11/04/2007, -0/+1But that might cost more. Or interrupt American Idol or the football game..
        • dbalaski, on 11/04/2007, -0/+2Remember, the president sets the tone for the administration...
          well several years ago , he [Bush] demoted the council of economic advisors. He also blatantly ignored some of their advice.

          So -- as the infamous saying goes "The Buck Stops here " (reference to Harry Truman) ...
        • rarson, on 11/04/2007, -0/+1That's like saying "let's not blame Giuliani for ***** things up even worse on 9/11."

          Yeah, I mean, we did vote for them. Why the ***** should they be held accountable to the American people? (sarcasm)
    • surf314, on 11/04/2007, -0/+17Don't forget the continual lowering of the fed funds rate.
      • eryximachus, on 11/04/2007, -0/+17This is the #1 reason. I'm really surprised the OP missed that. He is right though - the world is not getting more expensive. Oil costs haven't actually risen for most people on this planet. The US dollar has lost 20% of its value this year, and that is really bad news for us.
      • slothlovechunk, on 11/04/2007, -2/+2Really?
        Higher interest rates usually mean higher inflation.
        • bjornski, on 11/04/2007, -0/+1And cutting taxes brings in more revenue. Yeah, right.

          You REALLY don't understand inflation or economics, do you?
    • Bardak, on 11/05/2007, -3/+15well the US dollar is losing ground the Canadian dollar is making gain against other major currencies to

      CAD/EUR - http://finance.google.com/finance?q=CADEUR
      CAD/GBP - http://finance.google.com/finance?q=CADGBP
      • bjornski, on 11/05/2007, -0/+2They're trying to show us how a properly run economy works.
    • marksven, on 11/04/2007, -0/+19Look at the Dollar index, which measures its value against a basket of world currencies.
      http://quotes.ino.com/chart/?s=NYBOT_DX&v=d12

      As you can see, the dollar has lost 10% of its value in the last year. So your retirement account's stocks, which may be up 10% in the same time, have not actually changed in value due to the debasing of our currency. Having your money in Euros in an EU checking account would have outperformed the US stock market.

      Now what if Saudi Arabia decides to depeg their currency with the Dollar and start asking to be paid in Euros for oil? Our currency will lose even more value overnight. How about if China, who we have been exporting our inflation to, decides they don't want that anymore, and revalues their currency? We will be screwed.

      The Fed needs to raise interest rates immediately to prevent our currency from collapsing, but doing so will likely put us into recession now rather than later. But recession is a medicine we need to take now, however inconvenient the timing is for political candidates. Our childrens' future is at stake.
      • TrevorBradley, on 11/04/2007, -0/+7Hasn't China also loosely pegged the Yuan to the USD?

        When that bubble bursts... Whoo boy it's going to be a mess. And they're holding the pin.
      • rarson, on 11/04/2007, -0/+6When I point out to people that they aren't making money on stocks because the dollar is going down as stocks are going up, they don't believe me or they say "it doesn't matter because I buy things in USD and not CAN and the stock prices in USD are still going up." I don't know how to get through to these people. It pisses me off because these people are either making excuses or just not paying attention, and in the mean time, the dollar keeps dropping as the country is plunging towards depression and the price of everything is going up (but they don't notice that, because with food for example, those sneaky companies keep prices the same and just give you a few less ounces in the box). Why are people so ignorant?

        The Federal Reserve never should have tried to curb recessions in the first place. A healthy market has ups and downs, but no depressions. The depressions are what they should be worried about. Instead, the Fed overacts and keeps the dollar on a path of constant inflation and steals money from us by making our dollars less and less valuable. I just can't figure out why so many Americans have no problem with this.
    • loneraven, on 11/03/2007, -8/+2The Fed has been worthless ever since Greenspan left.
      • boiker, on 11/04/2007, -0/+13They were worthless with him. His policies allowed the housing bubble to manifest.
      • patch6, on 11/04/2007, -2/+2It's been worthless since its inception.
      • rarson, on 11/04/2007, -1/+3The Fed has been worthless since about 1913. It definitely didn't stop the depression, and some would agree that it actually contributed to it.

        Nevermind the fact that it's completely against the principles our country was founded upon.
    • Rooster99, on 11/03/2007, -0/+1To be fair about that Australian figure - Our dollar nose-dived like it has never done before in that year so thats not usual. For a few years up until the time of the crash , and after it recovered, you got around 60 US cents for every Aussie dollar.
    • Seidoger, on 11/04/2007, -4/+40Didn't Bin Laden said his goal was to bring down the US economically?
      • rarson, on 11/04/2007, -11/+5Yeah, but Bin Laden was also a CIA agent, which was headed up, at one point, by Bush Sr. So yeah, he said it, but he's just the messenger helping to carry out someone else's plans.
        • CanadaMan87, on 11/04/2007, -4/+8THE MOON LANDING NEVER HAPPENED!
      • SupaFurry, on 01/23/2008, -0/+2Not sure, but I bet 100 yuan it's China's goal...
      • ButSeriouslyNow, on 11/04/2007, -1/+4Just like al-Qaeda started the California fires, right?
      • phlebitis, on 11/04/2007, -0/+0And all he had to do was take a potshot, hide in a hole, and wait for Bush to send the army after him.
    • ihlemic10, on 11/04/2007, -3/+4Mom from Quebec? That makes you half French...;)
      • computergod, on 11/04/2007, -0/+4Speaking French != Being French

        Might as well call people from the US British.
        See:
        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qu%C3%A9b%C3%A9cois
      • Rikushix, on 11/04/2007, -0/+5It makes him half Quebecois, not half french. Not a big deal, I'm just being picky. It's kinda like saying people from the french districts of Louisiana are French. They speak french, maybe, but they're culture isn't similar to France's. Just go up to Quebec and buy some Poutine! Mhmmm....fries, gravy and cheese curds.
        • digitalpencil, on 11/04/2007, -0/+1Didn't know they ate chips+ gravy w/ cheese in Quebec.. a British staple
        • computergod, on 11/04/2007, -0/+1Way better analogy then mine.
    • JackNco, on 11/04/2007, -1/+3heh ur down to 0.48 not 0.64 compares to the GBP
    • slothlovechunk, on 11/04/2007, -0/+4Deficit spending. Let's not forget that.
    • dubbleenerd, on 11/04/2007, -2/+1i'm tired of outsourcing being blamed by people who don't understand economics in its complete sense. you say that outsourcing is profiting the US corporation (and its executives) - how is that money then not being 'returned to the US'? the price of a pair of jeans has not gone up much since the last 20 or so years (not linearly with inflation, at least) - I'm sorry for not quoting statistics here as I'm going by anecdotal evidence (not an American). The only way that the corporation can maximize profit without jeopardizing sales, is to look at different cheaper manufacturing techniques. Would you pay $45 for a basic pair of cotton jeans?

      The outsourcing model is helping the foreign economy in question for sure, but only marginally as it is basically taking advantage of the disparity in exchange rates. It is not making the foreign economy much richer at the cost of the host economy, but in fact helping maintain a balance for the borderline poor in the host country. The percentage of children coming from low-income families in Lousiana alone is 86% - if that is not a wakeup call for remodeling the economy in the US, I don't know what is.
  • IDiggPaul, on 11/07/2007, -69/+20Ron Paul has understood this problem for years and his ideas would turn this around. Ron Paul deserves your support.
    • doctorfungi, on 11/06/2007, -9/+37Eliminating income tax is NOT going to solve this problem.
      • Godwhacker, on 11/04/2007, -1/+7No, stopping the Federal Reserve from all of their legal counterfeiting would.
      • rarson, on 11/04/2007, -1/+4doctorfungi, you really need to pay more attention when the man speaks. Do you remember at the debate when he was asked about eliminating the IRS, and he said "You can only do that if you change policy."

        You seem to think that the answer to our problems is eliminating income tax. No, that's just a really big bonus to what would happen if we stopped spending money hand over fist.
    • JonnyTrombone, on 11/06/2007, -5/+21Haven't we seen, historically, that laissez-faire economics is a bad idea when the economy isn't doing well? 1929 anyone?
      (Feel free to disagree, I know way more about political theory than economic theory :( )
      • zigspective, on 11/04/2007, -0/+1Don't apologize you know what you're talking about. Unfortunately many people do not and they think that Capitalism means some kind of free for all that will somehow regulate itself which is not what the ideas of Adam Smith were at all.
      • thirdoffive, on 11/04/2007, -0/+1Do you think printing more money increases it's value then? 1929 happened because the bankers took money out of circulation. That would have been impossible without a central bank.

        It seems like you're arguing for exactly what you say you dislike. I don't get it...
    • a3r0, on 11/06/2007, -7/+17As soon as I saw this story, I knew that there would be two predictable replies. One would say something like "Thanks a lot, Bush!" and the other would be about how Ron Paul would magically make it all better. Thanks to you and Richiedude, you have proven my theory correct.
      • rarson, on 11/04/2007, -2/+2You want a cookie?

        Why is it that people are jumping on Paul now? Spamming comments aside, Ron Paul has never said anything to the effect of "I'm going to fix this country immediately." He has said many times that his ideas will take time to implement... what is so "magical" about that?
    • RollFizzlebeef, on 11/06/2007, -15/+28I friggin' hate Ron Paul because of you idiots.
      • rarson, on 11/04/2007, -7/+6That's really dumb logic.
        • RollFizzlebeef, on 11/04/2007, -3/+5And that response is supposed to change my mind? Thanks for proving my point, *****.

          I dislike Paul's politics, but the way his jackass supporters make it 1000 times worse.
          • rarson, on 11/04/2007, -0/+1Actually, you're the *****. You're judging someone based on comments of some random internet users thousands of miles away that have absolutely no connection to this person.

            And you're jumping to baseless conclusions, as if I'm a Ron Paul supporter or my comment was meant to "change your mind." Nope, my comment was simply meant to point out how stupid you are. I don't know how you read so deeply into absolutely nothing, but keep it up...
      • SupaFurry, on 01/23/2008, -3/+4Agreed - I might have supported him but for two reasons: 1) The annoying-as-hell behavior of his SpamBot followers; and 2) Their highlighting of the nightmare scenario we would be in if Paul were ever elected president.
        • thirdoffive, on 11/04/2007, -0/+3Don't let idiots like "IDiggpaul" throw you off. I think a lot of people like him are pulling that ***** specifically to make Paul look bad.

          If you really do hate Paul's policy I guess that's another thing, though.
        • rarson, on 11/04/2007, -0/+1And again... these are really stupid, illogical reasons to support or not support any presidential candidate. America has the ***** politicians it does because of stupid people.
    • toxicshok, on 11/06/2007, -13/+10Don't be fooled, this guy just antagonizes people by posting nonsense ron paul comments. He is actually anti-rp
      • computergod, on 11/04/2007, -2/+1Yeah, I was thinking of doing that myself. It seems an effective way of getting back at the RPSers. Ironic that they get mad when people abuse the system.
    • ChayD, on 11/06/2007, -3/+1Wow! Is there anything than Ron Paul *can't* do?
      /sarcasm
      Sorry, but this guy seems to be painted as the ultimate panacea - when in truth, it's down to the people to make the difference, not just politicians.
  • KlayBorg, on 11/06/2007, -16/+41Oh how the mighty have fallen.
    • captric, on 11/04/2007, -12/+4Whos fallen? Are you chicken little? The sky is not falling - currencies go up and down. Canadians are still pooring across the border in a major brain drain to seek good paying jobs in the US. A high loonie does not serve poor Canadians very well. And also enjoy your rise in conumer intereste rates where it will now cost you more to buy a car or house.
      • Ontarian, on 11/03/2007, -0/+0That's a quote from the movie Grandmas Boy.
      • biotch, on 11/04/2007, -0/+2yeah man currencies go up and DOWN ... its no big deal... trade deficits go UP and down, job growth goes up and DOWN, health insurance costs go UP and down, oil prices go UP and down, military spending goes UP and down, poverty goes UP and down, inflation goes UP and down, GDP growth rate goes up and DOWN, the rich/poor gap goes UP and down, national debt goes UP and down. Things fluctuate thats all ...
        They just all happen to be fluctuating in the wrong direction captric
      • vade79, on 11/03/2007, -0/+1We have fallen, in more than one way.
      • zigspective, on 11/04/2007, -0/+1Well it really depends on how long this lasts, it the Canadian dollar is higher than the American dollar for the next 6 months and the prices have time to balance the Canadians will be laughing especially since the average Canadian family takes home about 65k a year and the average American family only gets about 45k.
    • KingGorilla, on 11/03/2007, -0/+2are falling
  • Grumps, on 11/06/2007, -8/+146Soon US dollar will be like Japanese yen. 10,000 to buy a bread.
    • BlackAle, on 11/04/2007, -12/+4$87 for a loaf, i think not.
    • Subvexer, on 11/04/2007, -4/+53Welcome your future, America. It has electrolytes!

      http://homepage.mac.com/dtrull/pix/idiotcash.jpg
    • 808kick, on 11/04/2007, -0/+15Using yen is like dealing only in cents they don't have a decimal based currency AFAIK
      • LeStratege, on 11/04/2007, -1/+2Well they used to have the "sen" as a division of the "yen". Old Japanese stamps still have some prices in sen, but it's been a loooooong time they don't use it anymore.
        They should do what the French did in the 60's with the french franc and introduce a NEW yen worth 100 old yen.
    • cgm1985, on 11/03/2007, -0/+1oops
    • cgm1985, on 11/04/2007, -3/+2Japanese people buy bread?
    • iChainsaw, on 11/04/2007, -4/+3correction: buy an bread
    • univerio, on 11/03/2007, -0/+110,000 yen is like $100... Need I say more?
      • bjornski, on 11/04/2007, -0/+3If these economic policies continue, they'll be on par soon enough.
    • L33tmaster, on 11/04/2007, -0/+1How hard is it to go to google and type in: 10,000 JPY TO USD?
    • Bonez, on 11/04/2007, -0/+1You must understand that the actual "figure" you have to pay for something doesn't matter. What matters is that your currency is stable (which the dollar clearly isn't). You can have a currency where a loaf of bread costs 100.000.000 but if it is stable then there is no problem , that's why for instance the yen is still an excepted currency around the world. Trust me i lived in a country where a loaf of bread cost around 2000 guilders and our biggest problem was not that the "figure" was that high but that some weeks it would be more convenient to buy bread then others because the actual "worth" kept fluctuating
  • dukeeeey, on 11/06/2007, -32/+28The destruction of the US dollar will destroy the US economy, and maybe even the world economy. You have been warned.
    • schuchwun, on 11/04/2007, -3/+28and thats where Canada will step in!
      • johnpaul191, on 11/04/2007, -7/+21and spread their communist ways... like universal health coverage? color me plaid and hand me some maple syrup!
        • Chaoticfist, on 11/04/2007, -4/+8Thats right!!!!!!Free Health Care for everyone!!!!!!No choice in the matter.
          • RogerStrong, on 11/04/2007, -0/+4Canadians have plenty of choice. I pay for plenty of private medical care - and it's cheaper in the States because of what our public health care sysem covers.

            We pay less taxes for our public health care than Americans do - including Americans who end up denied coverage anyway.
        • MrSteamTank, on 11/04/2007, -0/+7What? Canada communist? What are you talking about?

          Check this out
          http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fsb/fsb_archive/200 ...
          and
          http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indices_of_Economic_F ...

          Canada has one of the highest rankings of being pro competition and pro business in the world! Not only that but our conservative government just dropped taxes a hefty amount which will probably increase our ranking as a "pro capitalistic" environment even further.

          I know your exaggerating but I find it funny considering Canada is only a smidgen less capitalistic than the US makes it a socialist country when it's hardly the case. 8P

      • sadler121, on 11/04/2007, -5/+2more likely that is when the amero kicks in
        • TrevorBradley, on 11/04/2007, -1/+9No thanks. You can tie your currency to the Peso to try to stabilize it. Forced to make the choice I think Canada would rather tie to the Euro than to the USD.
        • kpeatt, on 11/04/2007, -0/+4When I was in Paris, I was bunking with a guy from Oregon. He asked me if we used the Euro in Canada. Sigh.
    • Andysan, on 11/04/2007, -1/+8How is it that people who couldn't run a paper route feel they know enough to run the U.S. and world economies. The scary part is that they actually believe they know something and intend to ram it down everyone's throat.
    • donkeySays, on 11/04/2007, -0/+8I have already taught myself to live on trees and survive on wild berries and roots. Right now I am reading a tutorial on how to make clothes outta animal skin and leaves.
      • desu43fnoc, on 11/03/2007, -0/+7Yeah, but if everyone lives like that the berries and roots will soon run out, and the animals to skin for clothes will also.

        This is an issue of overpopulation than anything else.
    • Kanidia, on 11/04/2007, -0/+2and that's when China will step in!

      *ducks*
    • TechCF, on 11/04/2007, -0/+3The world economy has switched to euro!
  • NGliam, on 11/04/2007, -1/+15I had noticed USD was cheaper for us brits.. there was a big deal a few months ago about £1 = ~$2 for the first time in ages, now it's 2.08921 (according to xe.com)
    • thailand1972, on 11/04/2007, -0/+15Yes, but it sucks to be a Google Adsense publisher in the UK now - paid in US dollars, converted to GBP :(
  • TritonX, on 11/06/2007, -7/+160America please do something it's not funny anymore.
    • crashflow, on 11/04/2007, -8/+23the rest of the world is laughing...well, behind your back.
      • DirtyBurger, on 11/04/2007, -5/+23I'm laughing...in your faces. HA! suck on that, chumps. Who's money is funny now?
        • NichowA, on 11/04/2007, -18/+3Yeah, you're retarded. If America crashes, everyone crashes. Learn economics.
          • DirtyBurger, on 11/04/2007, -0/+5Hmm, well I suppose Canada would be in a hole...but not nearly as big of a hole the U.S.A. would be in. Not to mention you already are in a hole. I believe the sum of around a trillion dollars? But the E.U. on the other hand would be laughing at all of North America, to which I will be cashing in on my dual citizenship and bailing out.
        • lime148, on 11/04/2007, -2/+1Yours. You can't hide the history.
      • kero552, on 11/04/2007, -2/+11Not really. Strong Euro is not good for our exporters.
        • judgeFire, on 11/04/2007, -1/+4That's true, but Europe has a very large internal market. As imported components, for example, are cheap, the cheaper products will reach an even larger crowd of buyers. Good news for the free EU market zone.
        • geekee, on 11/04/2007, -0/+4Yeah all those BMW drivers in CA may need to look elsewhere (or borrow even more money)
        • nitehawk, on 11/04/2007, -1/+1It's not that bad as all other major currencies are also gaining compared to the US$. Look at Germany: exports to the US account for less than 10% according to Wikipedia. Sure, it's a big market, but nowhere as big as exports to other European countries or to Asia...
        • Dauntless, on 11/04/2007, -1/+1But it's good for importing oil and raw materials, so the products will get cheaper + EU has a huge economy inside where it can sell.
    • NichowA, on 11/06/2007, -2/+17It should've never been funny to anyone. America's economy being hurt hurts EVERYONE. The less money we have, the less we buy from everyone else (i.e. the less people in other countries earn), and the less we give away to people who need it (humanitarian efforts). There will be a magnified ripple effect across the globe the more that the US economy falters.
      • mark_in_bc, on 11/04/2007, -1/+8On the bright side I'm buying my two boys a mac book each for Christmas. The selling price is 200 dollars less in the states and our dollar is worth more so I'll be buying them in the US. With the lower dollar your going to see more foreign currency flowing in and your exports going out. Canada survived just fine with a lower dollar for years in fact we prospered. Now our exports are dropping and people are losing jobs. A low dollar is not the worst thing that can happen to the US economy in fact a low dollar will probably help avoid a recession.
        • computergod, on 11/03/2007, -0/+1I dunno, this kind of a change and instability in the economy can't be good for either side. The effected industry now have to consider the prospect of switching sides or dieing.
      • LeStratege, on 11/04/2007, -3/+0Well maybe the environment will be better off a little....
    • Nudar, on 11/09/2007, -3/+7Abolish the federal reserve. Stop printing money like it's spam.
    • smellydog, on 11/04/2007, -3/+1Yes it is.
    • GregR, on 11/04/2007, -0/+1Unless I'm missing something, this article is out-to-lunch or the headline is.
      In the late 50's early 60's the Canadian dollar was worth $1.25 US, so how is it the "lowest since the Civil War"?
  • kenvsryu, on 11/06/2007, -5/+127Luckily I've stocked up on maple syrup and canoes.
    • chronichyjinx, on 11/04/2007, -11/+3Why?
      • swabfalling, on 11/04/2007, -3/+11Because that's the Canadian currency. Read the news dude.
    • REMuse, on 11/03/2007, -1/+5don't forget beavers
    • ShinRaTDR, on 11/03/2007, -1/+2What about energy? 100% of our energy/electricity exports are to the US.
      • pygmalion, on 11/04/2007, -1/+2Wow, I thought we exported at LEAST 20% of our electricity to China...
    • Nudar, on 11/04/2007, -2/+3You may need a manual on how to build an igloo.
      • bjornski, on 11/04/2007, -0/+2Not if the current weather trends continue.
    • MadHarvey, on 11/04/2007, -0/+5How many canoes could one person need? Or are you planning on selling... ohhhh. You clever bastard.
    • TechCF, on 11/04/2007, -0/+1Ive stocked up on euros
    • captric, on 11/04/2007, -1/+0Ya - well -this isnt a hockey game you stupid canuck!
    • doggo, on 11/07/2007, -0/+1Mmmm, map-le syr-up and beaver... inna canoe...
  • h4mx0r, on 11/09/2007, -11/+21If the Yen ever beats the American dollar... we are doomed.
    • WillGabriel, on 11/09/2007, -1/+11You're looking at it the wrong way. The Japan Yen doesn't compete against the US dollar; it competes against the US cent. That would mean, for the Japan Yen to be considered "trading above" the American Dollar, 100 Yen would have to be worth more than 1 US Dollar.
  • PhrosTT, on 11/08/2007, -4/+27maybe if we're lucky we can pull a russia.
    • krnldmp, on 11/04/2007, -1/+12We're right on track.
    • vertinox, on 11/04/2007, -1/+35Install a dictatorship and make all news outlets state run?
      • Wartyboskfapped, on 11/04/2007, -1/+48Mission accomplished!
      • thomashauk, on 11/04/2007, -1/+10But you did it backwards! You made the state run by news outlets
        • macman2k, on 11/04/2007, -1/+3In soviet america, the news outlets run the state!
    • KlayBorg, on 11/04/2007, -2/+15Already Done and Done, vertinox.
    • ch33sehead, on 11/09/2007, -3/+23In Soviet Russia, money inflates YOU!
    • NightVortez, on 11/08/2007, -0/+2Give it a couple more years and perhaps even we can have a Putin.
      • rexbron, on 11/04/2007, -1/+2Colbert was considering him as a running mate...
  • mediaspree, on 11/06/2007, -3/+147This is just loonie
  • hangtown2004, on 11/06/2007, -19/+52Thank-You Bush you Pig!!
    http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/
    • chronichyjinx, on 11/04/2007, -3/+9Great Film!
    • corduroyblack, on 11/04/2007, -9/+3In other news, Bush is also to blame for Pearl Harbor, Veronica Mars getting canceled, every Catholic priest who molests a kid, and Jesus being crucified. And 9/11.
    • Aytrydex, on 11/04/2007, -0/+2Good film, apart from the glaring inaccuracies and absolute ***** that makes up most of it, notably the first third of the movie, is all based on the authors own so called science of 'astrotheology'.
  • zennode, on 11/04/2007, -2/+69Yeah, the dollar is tanking. Its easy when the US produces nothing and consumes everything. We are no longer the richest country, we are the biggest debtor nation!
    • kero552, on 11/04/2007, -6/+3Do you really think so? Have ever looked at debt of EU? Not that it pleases me, but Italy has public debt 106.5% of GDP. Most countries have about 60% of GDP. Mine (Czech Republic) has about 26%.
      • Smight, on 11/08/2007, -1/+9Yeah as bad as the US debt is it's still only around 70%. The dollar isn't anking because of what's happening now, it's tanking because every single candidate says they cannot end a war that's only been going on for three years in another four years. And now we're looking to attack iran which will just increase the debt even faster. The US is a bad investment as long as we have a militant president.
        • galeninjapan, on 11/08/2007, -3/+3One candidate says he will end the war.
        • ChromaVita, on 11/08/2007, -0/+8More than one candidate says he will end the war, you just have such a huge hard on for one president that you don't listen to any other candidates opinions.
        • geekee, on 11/04/2007, -1/+4The war is a drop in the bucket. I'd be more worried about baby boomers retiring.
    • TctclMvPhase, on 11/08/2007, -2/+4Switzerland and Luxembourg are the richest nations in the world. When was the last time you bought something made in Switzerland?
      • 808kick, on 11/04/2007, -1/+3I bought an Omega this morning
      • merwin, on 11/04/2007, -1/+10Luxembourg is also the size of a ***** postage stamp.
      • Smight, on 11/04/2007, -0/+3Luxembourg is only top ranked when listed per capita because their population is so low.
    • NichowA, on 11/04/2007, -4/+9The US GDP is actually about 3x higher than the next closest country. For debt, the US has the highest nominal debt, but debt as a function of % of GDP is a relatively healthy amount. Germany, France, Japan and Italy all have higher debt as a % of GDP.

      That said, the US has been declining relative to other nations in GDP (growing slower), and debt has been rising. But it still isn't as bad as people make it out to be.
      • brad3378, on 11/04/2007, -0/+3Not as bad as people make it out to be?
        Isn't $30,000 per man, woman, and child bad enough? (source: http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/ )
        How can you be serious? This is a financial crisis! Just how bad does this have to be before you become concerned? Will you start to worry when the baby boomers retire and pass the burden to younger generations still in the taxpaying workforce?
    • potifar, on 11/03/2007, -0/+1Debtonation in 3... 2... 1...
    • ButSeriouslyNow, on 11/03/2007, -0/+1"Biggest debtor nation..." next time check the facts. Most of the EU countries have far greater debts than we do, especially Italy which owes more than 100% of its GDP to other nations.
    • RedViper1999, on 11/04/2007, -1/+1 The US still produces the greatest amount of technology and biotech in the world. It's our manufacturing that has suffered.
      • doctor49152, on 11/04/2007, -0/+0Have you seen Japan?? Or India? US does not produce the greatest amount of technology in the world. Biotech maybe.

        America has outsourced itself to death. Move to Dubai now.
  • GeoP, on 11/06/2007, -1/+44Its really bad for my family because my dad works in the states and we live in canada. So now where losing money :(
    • Governator88, on 11/04/2007, -1/+3Yea, my clients are from the states... same boat. :(
    • phlebitis, on 11/04/2007, -0/+0Should have stayed home. The air is cleaner up here.
  • JayoxD, on 11/06/2007, -3/+18i still remember when i was 5 and visited Canada they would give me change when i gave them the exact amount

    now i would get a dirty look and someone asking for more money WTF?
    • chronichyjinx, on 11/04/2007, -2/+14I don't think we'd give a dirty look, maybe chuckle a bit, but no dirty look...
    • moghua, on 11/06/2007, -0/+13Actually, this strength in the Canadian dollar is bad for Canadian tourism so some places (most notably Whistler BC) take the US dollar at par even though it costs them 7%.
      • heystoopid, on 11/04/2007, -0/+2The way US treats any tourist trying to visit the country as if they are all terrorists unless you are a member of the Saudi Extended Royal Family means they are losing billions in revenue and jobs within the US Travel industry are in rapid decline as the tourists go else where for far less pain in the sun !
    • phlebitis, on 11/04/2007, -0/+0Grand Portage Lodge and Casino used to have "Canadian at Par" days, which would bring all the retirees south for the weekend. They won't be advertising those days anymore.
  • jonnymj, on 11/04/2007, -10/+3well the US dollar is worth even more than Japanese and Chinese currency than it used to be? Hmmm shouldnt that be all that matters since that is where we import everything from? kidding aside it is downright depressing that the Canadian dollar is worth more now... I cant make fun of my canadian friend that I can buy a car in canada for the price of an ipod anymore... makes me sad =(
  • Subvexer, on 11/06/2007, -4/+23Hah, beaten by a bunch of Loonies.
  • hangtown2004, on 11/06/2007, -1/+13You know I was thinking of taking a job in Quebec recently and I was going to ask for my salary base on US. Guess thats not a good idea anymore. Thanks Bush
    • mclumber1, on 11/04/2007, -10/+0Wages are lower in Canada even after the currency correction. Plus the taxes are higher.
    • Mesmorize, on 11/04/2007, -2/+1It's not going to last long, its just currency fluctuation. If you're going to be in that job more than a couple years I would take your salary USD.
  • mattcoady, on 11/06/2007, -4/+169I feel bad for the guy coming in after bush. He's got a lot of ***** to deal with.
    • obixx, on 11/04/2007, -4/+18You mean Rudy Giuliani? He will continue right where Bush left off!
    • roystgnr, on 11/05/2007, -5/+21The guy coming in after Bush will be Hillary Clinton or Rudy Giuliani. Why feel bad for whichever one of them has to deal with some of the effects of the policies they helped cheerlead?
    • robdazomba, on 11/04/2007, -4/+5Look at it this way. If Hillary wins, we'll get Bill Clinton in there at her side to help out and he knows how to do this. He already got us out of a Republican economic hole dug by Reagan/Bush's insane borrowing. Of course, reversing the whole "trickle down" thing will get cast by Republicans as "taxing the rich" but at this point, I don't really care. Something has to be done about this. Hopefully if Hillary wins, he can work with her to do it again. That's my one little glimmer of hope in all this insanity right now.
      • Azriel7, on 11/05/2007, -1/+8Do not fall for that trap. Hillary will run things HER way. In other words, wherever the corporate money is coming from. Sadly, Bill will not be involved with any of the actual presidency. I am also tired of the bush,Clinton,bush,Clinton dynasties we are making.
        • wawilli, on 11/04/2007, -0/+2The Roosevelt "dynasty" wasn't such a bad thing, you know.
    • JackNco, on 11/05/2007, -2/+14I love how you guys actually think hes going to leave.
      • geddon, on 11/04/2007, -0/+1While I gave your comment a thumbs up, I believe the problem is larger than Bush. Simply looking at the "Contras" Bush has put in place shows the issue extends back at LEAST twenty years.
  • crapmatic, on 11/04/2007, -4/+8"The rising level has benefited Canadian consumers .... looking for bargains on everything from auto parts to CDs, shoes and clothes"

    What? Doesn't Canada get their cheap stuff from China, same as the U.S.?
    • evil-doer, on 11/04/2007, -0/+8cheap stuff from china, via the us. for some reason its cheaper to buy many products from the states rather than straight from china, japan, wherever
    • tmo72, on 11/03/2007, -0/+0Yeah, it does. But the yuan is pegged to a bunch of currencies, and the CAD has risen compared to most of them.
    • TrevorBradley, on 11/04/2007, -1/+3America *is* our new China.
      (without the lead paint)
      • octophobic, on 11/03/2007, -0/+1That's what you think! There's plenty of lead paint down here! :P
    • joklem, on 11/03/2007, -0/+1Most stores still have items priced higher than a same item in a US store. Since the sales tax is lower and our dollar is worth more, great bargains can be had.
    • DP84, on 11/04/2007, -0/+1We actually pay a retarded markup compared to the states. I recently saw a book listed at USD 9.99, CDN 29.99 and that was when our dollar was at 98c american.

      I recently bought a laptop in the states and i paid about $800 less than i would have paid from a Canadian store.
    • FongoBongo, on 11/06/2007, -0/+2you obviously have non perception of pricing, let alone economics. Just because something is manufactured in the same place doesn't mean its priced the same wherever its sold.
  • bigstinky, on 11/04/2007, -1/+15This is a shock to me. Not only that our dollar is weakening so, but being a Detroiter and having Canada just a stones throw from me, I've always known that 50 or so cent differential. This speaks miles of where our economy is heading. We used to go to Windsor, Canada to save loot. (And underage drink). The legal age is 19 over there.


    I wonder if they're going to start paying hockey playes in Canadian funds?
    • graemee, on 11/03/2007, -0/+2OMG think of all the poor hockey players and the money they're losing. LOL
      • shikkaba, on 11/03/2007, -0/+1Yes. Poor, poor hockey players. Are they going to strike over this now, too?
  • ducksauce001, on 11/06/2007, -50/+3It's not like I will be going to Canada anytime soon...so it doesn't affect me.
    • HotSauce750, on 11/06/2007, -0/+24Phew... Because we all know this has nothing to do with the U.S. economy and even if it did, how could that possibly affect you?
    • vertinox, on 11/06/2007, -1/+19Do you drive a car? Does that car us gasoline? Do you pay for that gas? If you answered yes to all three questions then this affects you. Mostly because the US imports a great deal of oil from Canada.
      • NathanielJ, on 11/06/2007, -0/+13Considering ducksauce001 is probably 12, I'm wagering he answered no to all three of those questions.
      • fnkydonuts, on 11/03/2007, -0/+1I love the irony in that considering gas in Canada as of August was aprox. 95 Cents Per The Liter, which comes to over 4 dollars for a gallon. I'm scared at what it will be now or in a few years
        • LowROI, on 11/03/2007, -0/+1it's about 1.06/liter right now actually.
        • k3ano, on 11/04/2007, -0/+1You guys have it easy, it costs about £1 ($2) per liter here in the UK
    • loconet, on 11/04/2007, -0/+9You are the perfect example of why this is happening.
    • maliath, on 11/04/2007, -1/+7Drink Brawndo much?<