Should the US and Candadian dollars be fixed to each other?

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

The Canadian dollar is currently worth $0.9992 American dollars.


http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=CADUSD=X

[2952-0-0]

The Canadian dollar is currently worth $0.9992 American dollars.


http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=CADUSD=X

With the way that everyone seems to be running away from the USD like rats, it's the worst possible idea right now. It didn't work for us while Bretton Woods existed, and it sure as hell won't work now.

[David S]

Is your poll locked? Radio buttons are missing.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Is your poll locked? Radio buttons are missing.

Fixed

[Ban my account ffs!]

I don't know enough about currency exchange to make a good decision.  I think it would be a good idea for the U.S. and Canada to have open borders and liberal trade policies.  There's really no reason not to.

[David S]

I voted no. I think we should be in control of our own currency, unless the world adopts a precious metal standard which would be self regulating.

[DanielX]

No, because neither the United States nor Canada issues very many genuine dollars anymore.

A true dollar is a coin massing roughly 20-30 grams, and is made primarily of silver - or its equivalent value in another material, such as gold, or a certificate guaranteeing exactly that amount of silver. Early examples include the "Spanish dollar" (actually 8 Reales - the famed "Pieces of Eight" - later known as a Peso), Thalers produced by various German states, and the Dutch Daalder. The United States, between the 1790s and 1930s, also produced Dollars - I have one, and I'm sure some of you have one or a few. Canada also produced them, although mostly they didn't go above 50-cent coins until the age of fiat currency.

Now, the US and Canada issue mostly so-called "dollar" coins - the Canadian "loonie" is made of nickel plated with copper-tin bronze, the US dollar coin is copper alloyed to manganese, nickel, and zinc - and the coins are considerably smaller than in a true dollar. And while it is perfectly alright to issue paper reserve notes, which the US does for dollars, they're fiat money - which means that any government instability can render them worthless.

Only their commemoratives fit the definition of genuine dollars - and given the ridiculous amount of inflation over the years, there is the amusing fact that a dollar's worth of silver is now about $15 US.

Another thing: the Dollar is roughly equivalent to the original Peso, Thaler, Daalder (that's Dutch - 1.5 true Guilders), or British Crown (5 shillings, 1/4 of a Sovereign - the true Pound) or about 5 Francs.

[Friz]

I used to love going to Toronto, to get great deals, but with the US dollar at an all-time low in Canada, it's insanely expensive to do any visiting there.

[Verily]

Amero. Economic nationalism is 20th-century.

[DanielX]

Amero. Economic nationalism is 20th-century.

1 Amero = 1/100th oz. of gold, perhaps?

[Nym90]

Yes, I think that creating a North American dollar would be a good idea. The Euro seems to have worked well for Europe.

[NDN]

Amero. Economic nationalism is 20th-century.

I'd have no real objections to a joint US-Canadian currency in theory. The problem is, US deficit spending is so out of control any new currency would succumb to inflation in no time. Not to mention the issue of existing debt as a result of said spending (which is reaching critical levels)...

Needless to say, I'll probably be investing the money I'm inheriting in some other currency.

[Colin]

Amero. Economic nationalism is 20th-century.

I'd have no real objections to a joint US-Canadian currency in theory. The problem is, US deficit spending is so out of control any new currency would succumb to inflation in no time. Not to mention the issue of existing debt as a result of said spending (which is reaching critical levels)...

Not really, several European nations, ahem France ahem, have deficits above the level proscribed by the European Comission but the Euro has yet to collapse in an orgy of inflation and declining purchasing power. Nor has this ever happened in the US, we've never had a major spiral of inflation we've had massive deflation, as occured during the start of the Great Depression, but never any massive inflation even during the stagflation years of 1970s.

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Well I wouldn't go that far. The Dollar and the Euro will still remain the top two reserve currencies in the world at large for at least the next half century so I don't think you have to be worried about American currency devaluing substantially and, if it does, you probably have some other more pressing concerns to deal with, such as a global great depression, a massive war, or a complete destruction of the western world. Although I suspect the Euro to become more sluggish in the near term, as America slips into a second recession in this decade Europe will probably, inevitably, be bitten by the bug of economic downturn. What we are seeing now is that the American economy is heading towards recession, most likely, while the effects of this recession haven't fully caught up with the rest of the world yet.

If you are truely worried about this, though, I would suggest a Swiss bank account with your account held in a common reserve so that you can transfer the money from American dollars, to British Pounds, Euros, or Swiss Francs, or between any of those currencies, at a whim, and on the back of market forces too to earn a good amount. Also I believe some also allow you to convert your assets into gold if you are truely concerned with currency devaluation.

[Verily]

Amero. Economic nationalism is 20th-century.

1 Amero = 1/100th oz. of gold, perhaps?

If you want to be buying things in hundredths of Amero-pennies, sure. There's not enough gold to sustain a gold-based currency in the long term.

[DanielX]

Amero. Economic nationalism is 20th-century.

1 Amero = 1/100th oz. of gold, perhaps?

If you want to be buying things in hundredths of Amero-pennies, sure. There's not enough gold to sustain a gold-based currency in the long term.

Gold is, at present, about $700 per ounce. Consider that, until the early 1930s, the Mint issued 1-ounce Double Eagles, 90% gold coins worth $20 (traditionally US coins, except the penny and nickel, were either 90% silver/10% copper or 90% gold/10% copper). While the value of gold has gone up since then - gold's value has more than doubled in comparison to silver, for example - the value of the US dollar has plummeted to less than a tenth of its former value. Things are even worse with other currencies - a century ago, a British pound was at about $4, and a farthing (1/960th of a pre-decimal pound) of the era was worth more than a decimal penny is now.

a century ago, no coin smaller than the 1-cent/penny existed in the US. The dime, quarter, half dollar, and dollar were silver (the dollar was still a genuine dollar coin); there were gold $2.50, $5, $10, and $20 pieces (the quarter eagle, half eagle, eagle, and double eagle). A hot dog from Nathans, when it first opened in 1912, was a nickel. A bare-bones Model T Ford, in the 1920s, could be had for as little as $290 new.

1/100th of an ounce of gold is roughly $7 US. Its unlikely that you'll need any coin smaller than a mill (that's a tenth of a cent) anytime soon; heck the smallest coin will probably be a half-cent. 

An alternative is 1/5th of an ounce of silver (1 oz silver is at roughly $15, so that's about $3), but silver prices are much more volatile than gold prices. Its possible that a mixed-specie standard might be best - but that gets complicated.

[Verily]

Amero. Economic nationalism is 20th-century.

1 Amero = 1/100th oz. of gold, perhaps?

If you want to be buying things in hundredths of Amero-pennies, sure. There's not enough gold to sustain a gold-based currency in the long term.

Gold is, at present, about $700 per ounce. Consider that, until the early 1930s, the Mint issued 1-ounce Double Eagles, 90% gold coins worth $20 (traditionally US coins, except the penny and nickel, were either 90% silver/10% copper or 90% gold/10% copper). While the value of gold has gone up since then - gold's value has more than doubled in comparison to silver, for example - the value of the US dollar has plummeted to less than a tenth of its former value. Things are even worse with other currencies - a century ago, a British pound was at about $4, and a farthing (1/960th of a pre-decimal pound) of the era was worth more than a decimal penny is now.

a century ago, no coin smaller than the 1-cent/penny existed in the US. The dime, quarter, half dollar, and dollar were silver (the dollar was still a genuine dollar coin); there were gold $2.50, $5, $10, and $20 pieces (the quarter eagle, half eagle, eagle, and double eagle). A hot dog from Nathans, when it first opened in 1912, was a nickel. A bare-bones Model T Ford, in the 1920s, could be had for as little as $290 new.

1/100th of an ounce of gold is roughly $7 US. Its unlikely that you'll need any coin smaller than a mill (that's a tenth of a cent) anytime soon; heck the smallest coin will probably be a half-cent. 

An alternative is 1/5th of an ounce of silver (1 oz silver is at roughly $15, so that's about $3), but silver prices are much more volatile than gold prices. Its possible that a mixed-specie standard might be best - but that gets complicated.

The difficulty comes in printing currency. All currency printed must be backed by gold, which means that the amount of currency the US could print would be determined by how much gold we have stockpiled. We have a lot of gold stockpiled, to be certain, but not nearly enough to maintain anywhere close to as much money in circulation as there is now. A small supply of currency coupled with high demand means the value of currency (and gold) would rise uncontrollably, and within a few years we'd be paying for things in hundredths or thousandths of ameros (or dollars, if you like).

[DanielX]

Amero. Economic nationalism is 20th-century.

1 Amero = 1/100th oz. of gold, perhaps?

If you want to be buying things in hundredths of Amero-pennies, sure. There's not enough gold to sustain a gold-based currency in the long term.

Gold is, at present, about $700 per ounce. Consider that, until the early 1930s, the Mint issued 1-ounce Double Eagles, 90% gold coins worth $20 (traditionally US coins, except the penny and nickel, were either 90% silver/10% copper or 90% gold/10% copper). While the value of gold has gone up since then - gold's value has more than doubled in comparison to silver, for example - the value of the US dollar has plummeted to less than a tenth of its former value. Things are even worse with other currencies - a century ago, a British pound was at about $4, and a farthing (1/960th of a pre-decimal pound) of the era was worth more than a decimal penny is now.

a century ago, no coin smaller than the 1-cent/penny existed in the US. The dime, quarter, half dollar, and dollar were silver (the dollar was still a genuine dollar coin); there were gold $2.50, $5, $10, and $20 pieces (the quarter eagle, half eagle, eagle, and double eagle). A hot dog from Nathans, when it first opened in 1912, was a nickel. A bare-bones Model T Ford, in the 1920s, could be had for as little as $290 new.

1/100th of an ounce of gold is roughly $7 US. Its unlikely that you'll need any coin smaller than a mill (that's a tenth of a cent) anytime soon; heck the smallest coin will probably be a half-cent. 

An alternative is 1/5th of an ounce of silver (1 oz silver is at roughly $15, so that's about $3), but silver prices are much more volatile than gold prices. Its possible that a mixed-specie standard might be best - but that gets complicated.

The difficulty comes in printing currency. All currency printed must be backed by gold, which means that the amount of currency the US could print would be determined by how much gold we have stockpiled. We have a lot of gold stockpiled, to be certain, but not nearly enough to maintain anywhere close to as much money in circulation as there is now. A small supply of currency coupled with high demand means the value of currency (and gold) would rise uncontrollably, and within a few years we'd be paying for things in hundredths or thousandths of ameros (or dollars, if you like).

This is why I am considering a basket currency. Keeping silver and platinum in addition to gold should allow greater stability in currency value. Of course, it would be difficult to do this and have pretty gold/silver coins, which would have differing values...

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

It seems adorably quaint to peg a currency to something that has little inhernent value aside from the fact that it's "pretty."

[Hatman 🍁]

I voted no. Let the loonie soar, like it's never soared before! While, the US Dollar continues to be flushed down the proverbial toilet. Ahh, how the tables have turned? Soon, it will be your dollar that's worth 62 cents!