Political Blogs, News & Views

Bush Made the Dollar Stronger

With all of the problems facing the economy, there’s a small piece of good news. The dollar is becoming stronger as compared to the Euro, Pound, and the Yen. With our currency worth more, it may mean that we exit the Great Recession before other parts of the world.

So where does the credit lie? For President Obama, who has been appointed “savior” of the United States? Well, no. What about Tim Geithner, who has taken time out of not paying taxes in order to rescue us all? Well, not him either.

It was George W. Bush.

While some of his policies initially weakened the dollar, some of his last policies in office helped the dollar rally and may be able to make our economy stronger in a couple of years.
How did he do it?

1. By helping to inflate the banking industry, we got a jump on other countries. And while this spending may have been too much, it was able to keep the dollar from collapsing.

“The U.S. was one of the first nations to respond to the weakness with aggressive monetary policy measures. So it could be one of the first countries out while Japan and Europe might be the last ones out,” said Kathy Lien, director of currency research at GFT, a foreign exchange and futures brokerage firm.

2. By pushing forth pro-drilling and pro-alternative energy policies, he made it clear that the United States would try and solve its own energy needs. This helped bring down oil prices, which helped strengthen the dollar.

Unfortunately, today we are spending well beyond our means. If we continue this, inflation will rear its head again and we will face a declining dollar.

Originally posted at Jumping in Pools.

Popular Writings

• My God is better than your God
• Wasteful Washington Spending
• Hey Joe, where you going with that petition in your hand?
• Illegal Immigration