does anyone here lose sleep over the falling dollar? The dollar is in a very precarious situation and I personally think it will get much worse. The dollar is down 40% over the euro in 2 years. I follow the dollar vs the Australian dollar because I do business with AU and just in the last few months, it has been shocking to see the fall.

I can go into details of why and what's next, but this is what's important. Think about what $5/gallon gas means for you. Think about everything else rising 30%-50% while wages stay flat. if you wake up one morning and China has unloaded the dollar, we will immediately have to suspend all imports. Its scary stuff.

Most here have no concept of the 70's. I think we are headed there fast. Ask your elders about it.

Wow, I didn't really ever think about that. It is kind of scary, thanks for the infor on that.

I wonder if any of the presidential candidates have any solid ideas on how to fix this? I've watched some of the debates so far but haven't seen this issue come up yet.

I've been worried about this myself a bit lately. I also don't think that a North American continental currency (i.e. the Euro concept) will work here. I've seen that option tossed out as well.

I am reading an interesting article. Its somewhat of an alarmist piece, but its from a reliable source. Some quotes:

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Xu Jian, a Chinese central bank vice director, told a conference in Beijing, "The dollar is "losing its status as the world currency." Meanwhile, at the same meeting, Cheng Siwei, vice chairman of China's National People's Congress, said, "We will favor stronger currencies over weaker ones, and will readjust accordingly."
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Alarmed by today's economic news, he dispatched a note to brokers with a warning of ominous potential consequences if China and other trading partners abandon the dollar.

"If that were to happen, all bets are off, and we will be in a depression that makes 1929 look like child's play," he said, "or we will experience Weimar Republic inflation as the dollar makes extreme moves toward devaluations."
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China has $1.43 trillion of foreign exchange reserves. During the five months up to August, Chinese investors reduced their holdings of U.S. Treasuries by 5 percent to $400 billion.
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The Federal Reserve faces a dilemma, he explained. If it raises interest rates to prop up the dollar, the housing market and the stock markets will be slammed, causing a recession. A lowering of interest rates to stimulate the economy would erode the dollar further and spark massive inflation.
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A small part of me actually wants to see this country crumble. Maybe then, people will realize we need change.

The only change that would happen if the country crumbled would be a rise in anarchy and terrorism (both from within and outside). The few who support that have obviously not thought out the consequences. For example, would you be willing to be a casualty during the "crumbling process"? Last I checked crumbling didn't ensure safety.

that doesn't even make sense. Let's do some substitution:
A small part of me actually wants //to be unemployed with no chance of getting a job and no assistance from the government, to have our military shut down and the entire middle east controlled by Russia and China, to see people starve to death on the streets//. Maybe then, people will realize we need //legalized drugs (or insert your favorite liberal policy here).

dude, if you believe there is even a 2% chance our dollar could collapse, you should be preparing the best you can. You have no clue what 'might' be coming.

Very nicely put Spence. That's more along the lines of what I was trying to say.

You obviously don't know me very well.

again,
I don't know what that means.

I didn't posts that as a slam on you. Mr. Warren Buffet who is as American as Apple Pie has been against the dollar for a long time and just recently reinstated his view. When Warren Buffet and the IMF says the dollar is overvalued, we need to be concerned. We need to think about what it really means and where we are going to take this nation in the future. Most importantly, what are you going to do? What am I going to do? I am currently shedding as much debt as I possibly can.

I honestly believe the only thing that can save us from a dollar collapse is energy independence. Thankfully, we have the resources and ingenuity to achieve that in a short amount of time. But, things may need to get worse before we even think about doing that as a nation.