Friday, April 11, 2008 - Currency Karma - Kent Ninomiya
Right now is arguably the worst time in memory for Americans to travel overseas. The dollar is at record lows against many currencies around the world. Gone are the days when you could travel to “cheap” countries where the mighty dollar pounded the “monopoly money” of an economically weaker nation. America’s bully currency is now itself being bullied. The humiliation is humbling. I recently had to change an airline ticket in Europe. Even though I originally purchased the ticket in dollars, the airline demanded I pay the change fee in a more stable currency… Polish zloty. Business in third world countries often takes place in “hard” currencies instead of the inflation prone local money. Until now the dollar was the gold standard of hard currency. No more. I spoke to a friend of mine in Africa the other day who says no one wants dollars anymore. I remember back in the early 1980’s when a dollar was worth ten francs and nearly equal to the British pound. Americans ran off to Italy then Greece then Turkey chasing cheaper and cheaper sunspots where they could lounge on the beach while their dollars stretched further and further. If you believe in karma then this is just America getting payback. The euro came and did away with the lire and drachma. Southern Europe was no longer cheap. Our economy is now in the toilet and the United States is suddenly the travel bargain for international tourists, not the other way around. Could the day be coming when we have droves of Europeans talking loudly in our restaurants demanding to know why we don’t speak French or Hungarian or Swedish? If you believe in karma, it would only be fair. *** Kent Ninomiya ***
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