Bush's Christmas legacy: the declining U.S. dollar


n the long run of history, the worst thing George W. Bush has done as president may turn out to be, not the divisive war against the wrong target he inflicted on the world, but his debasement of the American dollar. He is not the sole culprit, but his ideological insistence on further tax cuts primarily benefiting the rich accentuated the slide. Mr. Bush reflected the hoary delusion that when you further enrich the already rich you benefit the economy, and that government spending is reduced by reducing its revenues.

Then came the deluge. What had been a balanced budget with the deficit under control in Bill Clinton’s last years in office was overwhelmed by the demand to "support our boys," whatever the cost. But rather than raise taxes, which would have brought a sense of shared sacrifice in addition to raising needed revenues, Mr. Bush never made the connection between taxes and spending. As war costs ballooned, he did nothing to offset them.

Instead, he financed the war through increased borrowing, very largely through the imbalance of trade with China, and with Chinese backing of the American dollar. International confidence in the dollar has dropped steadily. Five years ago one dollar was worth more than one euro; now, as Americans who have traveled abroad recently know only too well, a euro costs about $1.50.

The fact that China is in a position to pull the financial rug out from under the dollar does not necessarily mean that this will happen. Yet it is an important factor in United States economic security as the Chinese talk of the possibility of switching to another reserve currency. Bush’s successor, of whichever party, is going to have to face the unpleasant need to increase taxes.


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When news reports indicated that the American delegation at the Bali conference on climate change had been persuaded to endorse the final denatured summary document, I thought again of Adlai Stevenson’s comment in the 1952 presidential campaign that the Republican party had been "dragged kicking and screaming into the 20th century." Well, at a time when most world scientific opinion is agreed that steps must be taken urgently to curb greenhouse gas emissions, a problem of the 21st century, the Bush White House seems to be stuck in 20th-century attitudes.

Why the U.S. has to be the bad guy in resisting all goals for reduced emissions I shall never understand. Everyone knows of the possibility that not all the goals will be met. But what is viewed as our selfish reluctance to join in setting targets suggests that we somehow live in a different world from that of our fellow inhabitants of the planet.


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In all the fuss over immigration rules, comparatively little is said about the need to make employers responsible for participating in the law enforcement process. Amy Chua, a professor at the Yale Law School and herself the daughter of legal Chinese immigrants, makes this point emphatically in an article in The Washington Post. It takes two to tango. "The worst of all worlds," she says, "is to allow U.S. employers who hire illegal aliens — thus keeping the flow of illegal workers coming — to break the law while demonizing the aliens as lawbreakers." Immigrants who reject American values don’t deserve to be here, she adds, but "those of us who turn our backs on immigrants misunderstand the secret of America’s success and what it means to be American."


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Not so fast about reading Connecticut U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman out of the Democratic party because he has endorsed Sen. John McCain for the Republican presidential nomination. Mr. Lieberman is being consistent with his often stated views about the war in Iraq. Notwithstanding this, he caucuses with the Senate Democrats and his vote is essential during the next year to maintain their 51-49 vote majority.


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The ecological treasure encompassed by the Riga plateau of the Taconic Range in northwest Connecticut and western Massachusetts has been further protected by two landowners in the town of Mount Washington who have placed an additional 141 acres of woodland under conservation restrictions monitored by the Nature Conservancy. The Conservancy’s Berkshire-Taconic Landscape program now embraces some 16,000 acres of contiguous forest primarily of oaks and conifers protected from subdivision — one of the largest such entities in southern New England.

Because of the unique geological features of old mountains above a marble valley, there are more rare plants and species in the towns of Salisbury, Conn., and Mount Washington, Mass., than in all the rest of both states combined. The Berkshire-Taconic program helps immeasurably to protect these and thus contributes significantly to maintaining the integrity of a unique area.


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In a season of musical treats that has included a joyous church Christmas concert and a Victorian musicale sponsored by the Salisbury Association, it is almost superfluous to comment on yet another musical feast, yet I must. We were thrilled to attend the simulcast televised performance of the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Gounod’s "Romeo and Juliet" last Saturday afternoon at the Mahaiwe Theatre in Great Barrington. The opera was telecast simultaneously to some 600 audiences around the world.

The performance itself was delightful. Conducted by the incomparable Placido Domingo, it featured the young Russian soprano Anna Netrebko and the Mexican tenor Rolando Villazón. The wide screen made us feel as if we were in the Met auditorium itself, with the additional feature of backstage chats with the principal singers and with Placido Domingo conducted by Renée Fleming – all at a small fraction of the New York price. A wonderful highlight for the season of good will.

In that spirit let me wish readers enjoyable and fulfilling holidays. Until next year. . .

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