It's simply un-American to giggle, like a child at Christmas time, each time the mighty dollar falls against major currencies on financial markets. But I just can't help it.
For one, I'm not an American.
The other reason is simple. Student loans, credit card debt, outstanding miscellaneous bills now seem cheaper when one's salary arrives in euros. When dollar had crossed the psychological barrier of $1.50 per euro recently, I uncorked a bottle of champaign, remembering when one euro was worth about 92 cents. Today, euros stretch farther in the U.S. That is good news for me.
Apparently, I'm not the only one. It's also good for the American travel industry.
For Americans it's more expensive to travel to Europe nowadays. Hotel rooms and food will be significantly more expensive than last year. Recently, I paid (27 euros) an equivalent of 40 dollars for chicken and wine for one person at a restaurant in Ireland. A prepared 7-Eleven-style sandwich and a soft drink at the Copenhagen airport cost me an equivalent of 15 dollars. Prices bite a chunk out of one's American wallet.
But for Europeans, it's becoming cheaper to travel to the US, and stock up on your digital entertainment. Weak dollar makes hotel prices cheaper, not to mention prices at your local mall. The low dollar is boon for American travel industry.
Recently, Fort Lauderdale launched a sandbox on wheels promoting warm beaches and suntans, called Beachmobile. It usually goes to New York in winter to lure business for south Florida.
This year, it's going to London.
The US has run a $17.8 billion travel surplus in 2007, more than double the 2006 figure, according to the US Commerce Department. Trade surplus in services has been widening, which makes up 30 per cent of all exports. Travel and tourism now exceed the auto business and account for 8 per cent of all exports.
Rather than contemplating a trip to London, or Paris, Americans end up vacationing near home, which offers another boost for tourism industry. At the time, when the American economy appears on the verge of recession, the tourism industry will offer a nice counterbalance.
A weak dollar is good for America. It's good for me. Nothing can be wrong with that.
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5 comments:
That's... one way to look at it, I suppose.
Another way to look at it is seeing unemployment at an all-time high, seeing tens of thousands of jobs leaving the U.S. all the time, seeing people's retirements obliterated by healthcare costs and inflation. On the other hand. It might be a good time to invest in Euro currency...
Perhaps, it's the case of the chicken and the egg.
Is the dollar low because tens of thousands of jobs leaving the US? Or are those jobs leaving because of a weaker dollar?
Michigan is a depressed state, with the highest unemployment in the country, for example. Its automotive industry is unable to compete with Japanese automakers for whatever reasons. Artificially prop up the automotive industry without changing the way it does its business (including government taxes, etc.) isn't going to help in the long-term.
Competition is a good thing for all, including national currencies and economies. How to make the American economy and Michigan, in particular, more competitive in the world economy is up to your government and not necessarily a stronger dollar.
I know. It used to be fun for us to go to canada or mexico and use our money like it was worth something. It just kind of sucks being in this position right now. The auto industry is killing everything around here. With auto jobs leaving that means service industry supporting those clients is down as well. Pretty soon most of Metro Detroit will resemble Flint.
It kind of sad, when you think about it. But the silver lining though is that in an economy based solely on car manufacturing, it's to be expected. "Diversification" is a new fashionable word in economic circles. Good things will come, I'm sure. Dollar will rise; euro will fall. It has happened before. I only hope I'll catch up on my bills by then.
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