I have an economics question for you...

[YellowRubberDuckie]

How is our economy supposedly growing when the dollar is TANKING?!
Is my logic/common sense mistaken or is this complete crap?
Duckie

[deadmessengers]

1. Because the dollar's only tanking in relation to foreign currencies

The falling dollar actually makes our export markets stronger.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

2. Thank you for the answer.

That actually cleared up a lot.
Duckie

[Rydz777]

6. The falling dollar makes our exports cheaper but the falling

dollar makes our imports more expensive - and unfortunately, we import more than we export. In the month of May 2007 (most recent data) we imported $ 60 billion more than we exported, and this has been going on month after month and the dollar falls along with it.

Much of our consumption is based on debt - household debt, federal deficits, and international trade deficits - and this is a rickety basis for sustaining a "great economy."

[TreasonousBastard]

3. "Economic growth" is usually simply defined as...

growth in the GDP, regardless of what else is happening. This is admittedly a silly way to look at things, but if you are anything from a stockbroker to a White house flack who wants to claim things are rosy, it's what you do.

The dollar can fall for many reasons, and not all of them because we are in trouble. In this case, the paradox is that there are too many "dollars" outside the US paying for all out imports, and those imports are a large part of the GDP growth.

If this makes no sense to you, you're right-- it makes no sense at all, but it's what's happening anyway.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

4. Economy figures only measure how well the RICH are doing, not how the rest are doing. nt

[keep_it_real]

5. If This Is Such a Rich Country, Why Are We Getting Squeezed?

This may help:

http://www.alternet.org/workplace/57180/