How Times Quickly Change
11 May 2007
The Editor, Harper's
Dear Editor:
Alleging that the dollar is "overvalued," Dean Baker describes this situation as a "calamity" ("The Economy," June). Some calamity.
The higher the dollar's value on foreign-exchange markets, the more it buys - meaning higher real wages for American workers. But if Mr. Baker truly feels burdened by possessing currency with high purchasing power, I'll be delighted to rescue him from his calamitous wealth: he can give me all of his dollars and, in exchange, I will give him the same nominal amount of monopoly money.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
The Editor, Harper's
Dear Editor:
Alleging that the dollar is "overvalued," Dean Baker describes this situation as a "calamity" ("The Economy," June). Some calamity.
The higher the dollar's value on foreign-exchange markets, the more it buys - meaning higher real wages for American workers. But if Mr. Baker truly feels burdened by possessing currency with high purchasing power, I'll be delighted to rescue him from his calamitous wealth: he can give me all of his dollars and, in exchange, I will give him the same nominal amount of monopoly money.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Posted by Don Boudreaux on
Thursday January 3, 2008 at 12:04pm