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Whats up with the baht?


vegasdave49

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The Canadian dollar is currently at its highest in almost 30 years against the American. This is mostly because of the rise in the price of oil. Canada is now the biggest single exporter of oil to the U.S, just above Saudi, Mexico and Venezuela.

 

This is not necessarily good news - our manufacturing sector is on the brink of recession because of our high dollar.

 

Currency ups and downs are more complicated than most people think, as are trade deficits. The U.S. for example had a trade deficit throughout WWII. With their current record trade deficit, they are at their highest level of prosperity in history.

 

We should ignore ludicrous conspiracy theorizing and CNN cartoon character pronouncements on economics and read a book or two on the subject.

 

Why isn't basic economics taught beginning in grade school? It would be hard to find a subject so important and yet 99% of voters haven't a clue and so are prey to opportunistic politicians, corporate welfare bums, unions, media fear-mongering and nuts.

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"...We should ignore ludicrous conspiracy theorizing and CNN cartoon character pronouncements on economics and read a book or two on the subject..."

 

Then explain why all the "experts" can't agree on the economy, and if it is bad, or good, and if it needs fixing and/or how to fix it...?reading a book will not really help anything, all depends on who wrote the book, and where their interests lie (pun intended)...

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Old Hippie said:

 

Then explain why all the "experts" can't agree on the economy, and if it is bad, or good, and if it needs fixing and/or how to fix it...?reading a book will not really help anything, all depends on who wrote the book, and where their interests lie (pun intended)...

 

You're thinking on the level of Keynesian theories and money supply and deficits and macro/microisms and predictions etc., OH, all of which are beyond me.

 

But economists all agree on many basic economic ideas such as - other things being equal - if you raise your prices you will lower your sales. That if you protect one sector with tarriffs (like the current U.S. Administration's steel tarriffs) to "save jobs" you will lose more jobs in the sectors (less noisy and powerful than Big Steel and its unions) that depend on the cheaper foreign steel. That a central bank's raising of the prime interest rate cools down an economy. That if you subsidize inefficient peanut farmers, you'll get more inefficient peanut farmers.

 

Or with rent control. Not even a Marxist economist would deny that under rent controls available housing diminishes drastically. Or that minimum wage laws increase unemployment. You can argue the "morality" of rent controls and minimum wage laws all you want, but you can't deny their effects.

 

My stated point was that voters know woefully little about basic economics, and that they are taken advantage of by special interest groups and the politicians they influence for that reason.

 

Speaking of protectionism, I had to laugh watching an interview with the left/liberal but candid Ontario finance minister just before the last U.S. elections. He was asked who he supported - Bush or Kerry. He mumbled something to the effect that of course as a social democrat and enlightened person generally (modest chap) he supported Kerry but that a K victory would murder Ontario and Canada because of his far more protectionist policies.

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Basic economics was taught when I was in high school, a few years back.

 

Problem is, the "wizards" doing the economic tweeks did not study the same books as I did, so their tweeks do not make sense to me.

 

Plus the fact that there are 889 other factors that enter the picture, all of which I have no control over, much less even know they exist.

 

Solution...just make me King of the World for a month or so and I will fix it all...right ::

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today's exchange rates (or as those change every second just now)

 

cash 50-100 dollars 37.53 (bank 37.70)

 

cash euro 47.85 (bank 48.14750)

 

Bangkok Bank

 

The economy in the euro zone isn't in a good shape either, so I expect it will be around 45 at the end of the year.

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