Why a Strong US Dollar Stinks

I thought I would address the ups and downs of the strength of the US Dollar as the US Dollar has achieved more ups than downs recently. A strong US Dollar is generally thought to be a good thing but it depends on who has livelihood at stake. The primary reason for the increase in the value of the US Dollar is the increased demand for the dollar. Trading, on a huge scale, happens every day throughout the world. Basically, investors (I use this term loosely to describe consumers and firms) would currently rather hold US currency than other currencies because of its relative stability.

The US dollar has, for quite some time, been the defacto world currency reserve. However, recently, the explosive events happening in Europe have offset the dubious attitude surrounding the huge national budget deficits of the US as well as the Chinese takeover of US debt.

The problem lies within exporting. Quite simply, when the dollar is strong it makes exporting more expensive for US companies. Why? Foreign countries have to pay a higher amount in US dollars to import US goods. This means lower demand for US products. What is the flip side? You guessed it; cheaper foreign products for Americans and less demand in the US for more expensive domestic goods. The US is almost never the cheaper producer of goods, which hurts our GDP when the dollar is strong.

The opposite argument has its own, similarly weighted facts and conclusions, but I wanted to get the less-known argument out there. Those of you in agricultural and fossil fuel states might be interested.

Let's Make Duck the New Chicken

When was the last time you had duck? When was the last time you had chicken? Why is chicken so much more prevalent than duck? I'm pretty sure it's because chickens are easy to raise. Chickens are poor fliers while ducks can swim and fly. Duck is far tastier than chicken. It is savory and oily and does not require anything extra to make it taste good. Chicken is somewhat bland and is best when fried or accompanied by a sauce.

I propose we band together to create a new breed of duck which doesn't fly and can't swim. Who is with me?

Power Play

A couple of weeks ago I was walking my dog from the River Seine back to our apartment down a road called, "Rue Royale". Rue Royale starts at the Place de la Concorde at the bank of the Seine, passes some grandiose public buildings and then collects itself into a Haussman-style avenue of designer shops. The road eventually ends at a famous church called, "La Madeleine".

Majerle rarely poops when I walk him. He usually saves that for his walks with my wife (I think it has something to do with comfort). The incident happened around 9:00 am so the street was busy with people going to work and carrying on with their business. It was the type of foot traffic that required some foresight and footwork. Somewhere between a Louis Vitton store and an artisan patisserie Majerle stopped and went into position. If you have a dog you know that there is no way to make this kind of thing look discrete. He looked like a tiny, NFL fullback before the snap.

The dog weighs about 38 pounds but he has developed a voracious appetite since we have moved to Paris. He had been making some deposits on our street that probably led our neighbors to think that a zebra was inhabiting the area. He couldn't have picked a worse spot than Rue Royale. Its a pretty ritzy neighborhood. I was getting some disturbed looks from the people sidestepping us so I finally cut him off mid-shiver but the damage was done. While I felt great shame as I squatted to pick up my dog's crap off the street, I believe Majerle had something quite different on his mind.

This was nothing short of a power play for him. He was making a statement. It's kind of like taking off your shirt to show you ink during your first day in prison. He had reason to be confident. He has strong German heritage (Rottweiler/German Shepherd) which sent a not-so-subtle message. The occupation of Paris by Germans is still fresh in people's minds. You see dogs are territorial by nature. My dog was new in town and was simply claiming that small square as his own. The rest of the walk home I felt like he was walking me.