The Dollar Bill and The US Economy
Monday, November 10th, 2008
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Loading ...Throughout history, the dollar bill has seen the best and worst of times, and the current economic state of
the country leaves very little to say about the positive impacts it once had in the international markets. The trillion dollar question that’s been running through the minds of so many today is: will the US dollar continue to decline in value or will it elusively begin to rise against all odds and obstacles, and make a come back again, more stronger and resilient than ever?
The value of the dollar bill declines when it loses its value in correlation to other foreign currencies. This results in diminished purchasing power on foreign trade, which will surely increase the price of imports, further causing inflation. When this happens, foreign investors will begin to sell of their US holdings, and the imminent crumbling of the financial market will ensue. It doesn’t help that the country’s current deficits amounting to trillions of dollars is owed to foreign countries through heavy lending, neither.
Due to this and much more, the dollar has lost almost half its value in the last decade alone, further fuelling speculation amongst creditor nations that the United States Government isn’t doing all it can in supporting the US dollar, partly because a weaker dollar would mean that the United States will not have to fork out as much money to pay back their creditors. The drawback to this is, these countries, realizing this, would revert their reserves to other more stable currencies like the Euro to minimize their loses. If this continue on the value of US investments will begin to erode, further invigorating inflation and the collapse of the US dollar.
The introduction of the Euro could also mean the probable replacement of the dollar as the preferred major international reserve currency, as is seen in the current oil trading markets which are proposing the use of the Euro instead of the dollar to aid trade. One of the largest investors of the US dollar is Japan, which means that in the case of an economic surge, the country, in its interest, could sells off its US holdings, increasing the national prime lending rate and strengthening the yen against the dollar.
Given all these, many financial experts say that the US dollar will not continue to collapse because it is backed by the US government, making it the world’s safest reserve currency. Thanks to the emerging of more and more sophisticated financial markets today, the US dollar has also become a universal medium of exchange, and a transition to another currency seems all too bleak. Another reason why the US dollar will probably remain its hold globally is because it is currently the only currency accepted in any oil contracts, a source of energy that the entire world is so dependable on.
In short, it is not in the best interest of the international communities to allow the US dollar to collapse, as so much has been vested in it, and for credible reasons. This alone would ensure the strength and prosperity of the dollar bill in the many years to come.
