America Strongly Stands Up, Now It's Time To Move

The world is taking it all in, Barack Obama will be the 44th President of the United States. People from London to Tokyo cheered the results and today the dollar is up against the Euro and the markets are....well, the markets are the markets. The facts are that the Democratic majority in the House and the Senate grew tremendously because the nation demanded a change. As 2009 begins, the 111th Congress and the new President have great expectations thrown upon them. The critics in the media are already salivating over a repeat of Clinton's first term, where the Democrats ended up crumbling under the GOP's ability to trick Americans with wedge issues and fearmongering. Yet where Clinton's neo-liberal agenda failed, a progressive one under Obama will succeed.

From ThinkProgress:

As Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman explains, “In this election, Obama proudly stood up for progressive values and the superiority of progressive policies; John McCain, in return, denounced him as a socialist, a redistributor. And the American people rendered their verdict. Now the work begins.”

A mandate for progressive change exists. In a memo released today, the Center for American Progress Action Fund writes, “Obama ran on the most progressive platform of any presidential candidate in at least 15 years, including a promise of universal health care coverage, a dramatic transformation to a low-carbon economy, and a historic investment in education.” Read the full memo below:

Our nation today is only now realizing the extent of the resounding victory for progressive ideals registered on election day. Progressives triumphed in all regions of the country and won overwhelming support from individuals of all different backgrounds. President-elect Barack Obama defeated Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) decisively, winning the most votes in history and the largest share of the popular vote of any presidential candidate in two decades. Candidates running on progressive platforms helped Democrats expand their majorities in both houses of Congress. Democrats now have the most elected members of Congress any party has held since 1995.

Now comes the hard part. Our country faces enormous challenges, many the direct result of eight years of hapless conservative governance. The worst financial crisis since the Great Depression is only the latest blow delivered to the American people after years of stagnant wages and the worst job-creation record since Herbert Hoover. Our increasingly costly health care system leaves out more and more Americans every year.

Years of war in Iraq have left Americans less safe at home and abroad despite the incredible sacrifice of our brave fighting men and women there and in Afghanistan, where the Taliban and the Al Qaeda terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 are mounting a comeback. And our planet is now eight years closer to catastrophic climate change.

Sen. McCain and other conservatives supported these policies, and they ran this election year on ambitious conservative plans that would have gone even further. The American people rejected these stale ideas yesterday, understanding the dismal consequences of conservatism these past eight years. The urgency of our problems was central to the decisions of American voters, who were significantly more likely to say that the economy, taxes, heath care, and energy were “very important” compared to four years ago, according to the Pew Research Center.

That’s why candidates who embraced progressive solutions to these problems won. Obama ran on the most progressive platform of any presidential candidate in at least 15 years, including a promise of universal health care coverage, a dramatic transformation to a low-carbon economy, and a historic investment in education. Winning congressional candidates also embraced progressive policies. And polls showed that voters supported progressive solutions by wide margins.

In a few short months, leaders who support progressive ideals will take up the reins of government in Washington. We must rise to the occasion. We must move beyond the false choice of left versus center to embrace solutions as big as the challenges we face.

We need investments now to jumpstart our economy while laying the foundations for sustained economic growth. Restoring confidence in our economy will require a new direction for the economy, health care, clean energy, and education. And we must be willing to set priorities on government spending to restore budgetary responsibility in the coming years.

If we do these things, then we can translate yesterday's victory at the polls into a victory for health care, clean energy, national security, and a stronger and larger middle class. The American people are ready. Now it’s time to deliver.

Krugman is exactly right, this isn't 1992. America is hurting more than ever under the tutelage of conservative ideologues and now we must go a different way that puts people first ahead of corporate America. Obama said it in his victory speech last night, it is time for Main Street to come before Wall Street (I'm paraphrasing) and that we must rise and fall as a nation united. That means following the guidelines that Center for American Progress lays out as well as other progressive organizations. The old ideas didn't work, now lets get back to policies that have worked for us in prior trying times, and adapt them for our 21st century.

A New Low For The Dollar

The reason for my odd posting time and few if that in the last couple days is because on vacation and have only a moment here and there to write. I'm blessed to be sitting on a 2nd story balcony looking at a castle down the street from me that happens to sit on the Bay of Napoli. We're here till tomorrow and then up to Rome for three days. So I can say with certainty that the U.S. dollar completely sucks against the Euro. The exchange rate may be $1.60 (remember when it was 82 cents?) but with fees it comes out to roughly three Euros for every five dollars. I'm lucky to be able to spend a few of them here and there, but it is definitely noticeable for this American.

From RawStory:

The euro rose as high as $1.6018, more than a penny above the $1.5916 it bought late Monday. The 15-nation currency, which was introduced in 1999, has traded as low as 82 cents. It has surged recently, rising 20 cents against the dollar in just five months and 10 cents in just two months.

The euro hit its last record of $1.5982 Thursday. It dropped back Friday after a Wall Street rally generated optimism that the worst of the U.S. credit crunch may be over, but the euro rose again Monday when Bank of America's first-quarter earnings fell short of expectations.

The dollar's slump is a boon for U.S. companies that rely heavily on exports, but it's the bane of travelers as worldwide inflation rises, air fares climb and prices rise in dollar terms for everything from beer in Munich to fine wine in Paris to gondola rides in Venice.

And in between the price of a pizza, a Smart Car rental and the price of train tickets are also up, as I can tell you from personal experience. Thankfully though, the pack of gum I bought was only 70 cents euro so that was about market rate and the wireless connection at the hotel is free, so I guess not everything is bad.

I'm just waiting to get rid of George Bush and we can finally start setting our economy straight, and get these damn currencies straightened out.

In The Pound/Euro I Trust

In case you listen to George Bush about the strength of the U.S. economy, this might be a bit of a surprise. Ladies and Gentlemen, our fiscal solvency is in the shitter and that might be better if I was saying that literally. Figuratively speaking, the dollar is taking a beating today and the last few months and years might just be the beginning of it. A long time ago (1970s approx.) the British Pound was worth the same as one of our greenbacks. Now it is trading one to $2.10 and the Euro is now valued at $1.47. A few years ago you could get a Euro for eighty cents. Why is this happening to us? Well.....

From The Guardian:

Analysts said today's falls had been sparked by comments made by Cheng Siwei, vice chairman of China's National People's Congress. He told a Beijing conference on Tuesday that China would "favour stronger currencies over weaker ones, and readjust accordingly".

A vice director of China's central bank, Xu Jian, was also quoted as telling the conference that the dollar was "losing its status as the world currency".

Thanks to China's booming exports, the country now holds the largest reserves of foreign currency in the world. The People's Bank of China reported last month that at the end of September, China's foreign reserves were worth $1.434 trillion.

Adam Cole of RBC Capital Markets said this morning that the comments from the two Chinese officials had "clearly been the catalyst" for the latest dollar weakness.

This isn't China's fault however, at least not entirely. The status of the dollar has been weakening and the American trade deficits definitely figure prominently into the mix. Chinese statements might have been the catalyst for today's decline, but that isn't the only country that can spell disaster for the dollar.

From Currency Trading:

Countries are growing weary of losing money on the falling dollar. Many of them want to protect their financial interests, and a number of them want to end the US oversight that comes with using the dollar. Although it’s not clear how many of these countries will actually follow through on an abandonment of the dollar, it is clear that its status as a world currency is in trouble.

Obviously, an abandonment of the dollar is bad news for the currency. Simply put, as demand lessens, its value drops. Additionally, the revenue generated from the use of the dollar will be sorely missed if it’s lost. The dollar’s status as a cheaply-produced US export is a vital part of our economy. Losing this status could rock the financial lives of both Americans and the worldwide economy.

Most Americans aren't too aware of this potential and very likely economic catastrophe. China has taken care of the dollar despite it's weakness so that they could continue to flood the U.S. market with cheap goods and spike their manufacturing output. Yet that track can only be a downward spiral in the eyes of economists that can think long-term, eventually this is going to catch up to us.....and the future isn't as far off as it seems.