The dollar is a yardstick we all use to measure something's worth. We rarely think about the fact that the measuring stick itself can shrink. If that happens, you are poorer, even with the same number of dollars. In the national sense, our imports -especially oil - costs more dollars per barrel.

Since taking power, the Bush Administration has been trying to devalue the dollar. In fact this has caused serious concern worldwide.

Tensions Rise between U.S., EU, Asia as Value of Dollar Sinks
The sagging dollar and America’s soaring trade and budget deficits were expected to be top discussion topics as U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow and Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan serve as hosts for a two-day meeting of America’s major economic allies at an exclusive Florida resort. French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said Thursday that the "moment has come’’ for Europe to call for a change in U.S. policy toward the dollar. Raffarin said the dollar’s current weakness against the euro was harming both Europe and the United States. "The moment has come for the strong voice of the euro group to express itself,’’ Raffarin told a public debate organized by Le Monde newspaper.
"There’s a very clear American economic strategy,’’ he said. But he added: "The instability of foreign exchange parities is not good for anyone, not even the United States.’’
more at : http://www.aiada.org/article.asp?id=889&cat=Economy

What do you measure a yardstick against? Another yardstick, here's a couple reports from Canada- the last as recent as yesterday.

It is curious that our media are so silent on the Bush plans to lower our dollar's value- by up to 40%...

What's behind the soaring Canadian dollar?
Dan Westell, CBC News Online | Jan. 8, 2004

Most of 2003's surge in the loonie's value against the U.S. currency "had nothing to do with Canada," said Avery Shenfeld, senior economist at CIBC World Markets. In fact, Washington holds the key to the value of the Canadian dollar. The huge jump, when the loonie moved up almost 14 cents to 77.4 cents US, a gain of 22 per cent, was mainly about the U.S. dollar and the U.S. economy, especially the American trade deficit.

While the Canadian dollar is constantly being measured against its U.S. counterpart because Canada and the U.S. are neighbours and the world's largest trading partnership, the loonie is just one of the national currencies that are valued in U.S. dollars, the closest thing to world money.

That's where the U.S. trade deficit comes in. In 2001 and 2002, the U.S. bought about $775 billion US more in foreign goods and services than it sold. By October of 2003, it was heading for another $500 billion US annual deficit.

To pay for those imports – including huge amounts of oil, gas, cars and car parts, lumber and numerous other products from Canada – U.S. consumers have to buy foreign currencies. To do that, they have to sell U.S. dollars in international money markets. As in any market, the unending supply has pushed the price of the greenback down, as measured in other currencies.

For several years, Americans' sales of U.S. dollars didn't have much effect on the price of the dollar, but that changed in 2003. The greenback fell 22 per cent against the loonie during the year – and fell almost exactly the same amount against the euro.
more at: http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/dollar_cdn/
Canadian Dollar Gains for 4th Week in Five; Tops 81 U.S. Cents
Oct. 23 (Bloomberg) --
Against the U.S. dollar, the Canadian currency rose 1.5 percent this week to 81.05 cents, the highest close since September 1992. One U.S. dollar buys C$1.2338. The currency is up 5.1 percent this year, making it the third-best performer among the 16 major currencies. Only the South African rand and the New Zealand dollar have fared better.
The Canadian dollar also strengthened as crude-oil futures reached a record $55.50 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange yesterday. Oil futures are up 92 percent this year. Canada is a net exporter of the commodity.
more at: http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=1...4U&refer=canada

We are in huge trouble if OPEC decides they want to peg the price of oil to the Euro.

Funny how the gas prices are rising if the value of oil is going down. We all know what Bush is doing.

TODAY A LOT OF PEOPLE DYING IN IRAQ WISH THAT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE HAD NOT PUT ISSUES THAT HAVE BEEN AROUND THOUSANDS OF YEARS BEFORE THE MISTAKE OF THE WAR IN IRAQ.

It is true that energy prices, adjusted for inflation, are not as high as they were during specific crises in the 1970s, but it is different today, as the gradual increase in price pressure over the last couple of years is clearly driven by permanent supply problems. Oil prices are probably a little bit artificially high right at the moment, but the longterm prospects for the effects of dependence on oil on our economy and future prosperity are clearly and unequivocally negative.

I believe the Bush administration has an entirely regressive and unhelpful policy towards energy independence. What is needed is a great deal of fundamental research, into every possible area of possible solutions, including the N-word, nuclear. The waste disposal problem in current technology fission reactors makes their use dubious at best, but we cannot afford to ignore the entire field of nuclear energy as a possible part of America's longterm energy solution.