U.N. Says Dump The Dollar, Replace It With Something Global

For decades now, the world financial system has relied on the strength of the U.S. dollar to trade a wide variety of commodities. Everything from pork bellies to oil futures rested on the American currency. Now after nearly forty years of economic decline on the world stage, the U.N. is finally giving a hard look at moving towards a world currency that could provide more stability than the dollar.

From RawStory:

"The dollar has proved not to be a stable store of value, which is a requisite for a stable reserve currency," the U.N. World Economic and Social Survey 2010 said.

The report says that developing countries have been hit by the U.S. dollar's loss of value in recent years.

"Motivated in part by needs for self-insurance against volatility in commodity markets and capital flows, many developing countries accumulated vast amounts of such (U.S. dollar) reserves during the 2000s," it said.

Now this development is not being taken lightly. Opposition quickly formed to say that markets will decide whether or not a reserve currency should replace the dollar's dominant position. However leading economic gurus such as Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz are advocating for a new way, as many developing countries have suffered from the current situation.

Whether or not this news will lead to substantive change, it is indicative of a growing consensus that the dollar is not working on a macro level. Gulf states have already begun looking at alternatives and the developing world could very much turn if the I.M.F. were to utilize a reserve unit of currency.

Only time will tell, but the way the U.S. is holding itself economically (both domestically and internationally) a new way may not be too far off.

Ekonomiks Iz Hard Fer Jeff Flake

Ladies and gentlemen, this is a United States Congressman:



Uh, no that isn't how it works Mr. Flake, tax cuts go by and large to rich people and your argument, as Josh Marshall notes, is nonsensical.

An NYC Silver Lining To The Weak Dollar

If you follow any kind of financial news, you've noticed that gold and oil are off the charts, the Taj Mahal is no longer accepting our dollar and Bush continues to say things are just peachy. Well, there may be some truth in that, for New York City. For every action there is some sort of reaction in economics, and for the sake of the dollar and it plunging against other countries, that is good news for the Big Apple.

From WCBS-TV:

NEW YORK (CBS/AP) ― With a falling dollar sweetening the deal, a rising number of international travelers chose the city as their destination in 2007, spurring a record-setting year that saw visitors spend an estimated $28 billion in the metropolis, tourism officials said.

With a final count still pending, the city's tourism office said Sunday that an estimated 46 million people had visited the city in 2007 -- up 5 percent from the year before. The jump was largely due to visitors from other countries, who numbered an estimated 8.5 million -- a growth of 17 percent.

George Fertitta, chief executive of city tourism office NYC & Company, said the visitors were drawn by more than a favorable exchange rate and the city's international marketing efforts.

Sure, marketing efforts are nice, but it really comes down to the deals to be had for foreign tourists that flock to the city. Prices in London are more than double for much of the same stuff that you find in stores here. Basically just scratch out the dollar sign and replace it with the sign for the pound on the tags.

So Americans are getting screwed nationwide and their money is increasingly worth less and less and George keeps telling us how great things are, despite the recession that is beginning to hit us. At least New York gets a little extra revenue, though in the end $28 billion is a drop in the national bucket.

Krugman Talks To Cenk About The Economy

Krugman went on Air America this morning to talk about his new book and the American economy, from FDR to now. It is a lengthy interview, but a great way to hear about the truth of economy concerning welfare, corporations, what made America great and movement Conservatism that has brought us down so much over the last few decades:



And be sure to check out his latest Op-Ed on fearing fear itself.

Ron Paul Schools CNBC "Experts" On Defense And The Economy

I have many qualms with the libertarian candidate, but he sounds a lot more like a Republican than the current brand of wackos that put the letter "R" after their name.