While he was president the dollar fell 27 percent against the euro, and 25 percent against the British pound. Who was this president? It has to be Joe Biden, right? Figure that inflation has soared on his watch, or something like that. Back to Biden in a bit. There’s much to criticize.
For now, and since members of the Right loathe zones without spin, it’s important to address the presidency of George W. Bush. Time seems to heal all wounds, and monumental errors it seems. In Bush’s case, the dollar didn’t just fall during his presidency, it fell substantially. That was his Treasury Department’s policy. Bush’s initial Treasury secretary in Paul O’Neill questioned the worth of a “strong dollar,” and the men who followed him (John Snow, Henry Paulson) hardly improved on the matter. This was a departure not just from Republican orthodoxy (Ronald Reagan had run for president based on reviving a debased dollar), but also the policies of the Clinton administration that preceded Bush’s. While Clinton’s Treasury Secretary, Robert Rubin regularly communicated to the markets the importance of a sound currency.
Read Full Article »
