] ] I think the reason that our currency is falling is for two
] ] very important reasons, and THEY'RE the reasons to get
] ] concerned and worried about. One is our national debt, which
]
] ] is skyrocketing faster than anyone can fathom. That is
] putting
] ] pressure on currency because it's a direct effect of loading
]
] ] up on too much debt. Dollars are losing value because they
] ] will be less liquid in the future. Two is obviously our
] ] foreign policy.

The national debt is certainly a major driver, but foreign policy is much less of a factor. The primary driver, and the reason the dollar began to fall in the first place, is low interest rates. As you know, the Fed lowered interest rates to stimulate a weakening economy. The paradox is that this action also weakens the dollar as well. If interest rates remain low and the economy doesn’t respond, then I believe we will begin to see signs of stagflation as early as 6 months from now.

In terms of OPEC moving to the Euro, this would indeed be disastrous for the US economy. The fact that such a move would be so disastrous is the very reason why the US would not allow that to occur IMHO.

Someone mentioned earlier that the reason for going into Iraq was based on keeping them using dollars rather than Euros. I actually read a really good report on this that made a pretty strong case for this hypothesis. You can find it here http://www.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/RRiraqWar.html

RE: Yahoo! News - Dollar Hits New Low, Gold at 16-Yr High