Quote from Martinghoul:
Hmmmm, what about China?
From what I can see, their policy of weak yuan has sure been good for them...
Quote from Scataphagos:
Correctamundo! Anyone who supports the notion of a weakening currency is either a politician (profligate liar and thief, minimum), an exporter talking his book (at the expense of the rest of us) or someone naive enough to believe the bilge from one of the above. Any perceived "benefit" from a weak currency is short-lived and short-sighted.
We will have a weakening currency thanks to self-serving, lying, thieving politicians... but you won't like the consequences.
Not sure I'd agree with this...Quote from Tigerjaw:
Well a few ETers get it. - - 'Weakening' the currency comes from printing money like crazy and the consequences will be inflation and elevated interest rates. Big corps that do business overseas will benefit, but main street and the people back home are going to get shafted.
As for all the blame on China, - - - they peg their currency because they don't want to get screwed by people who continually print money in order to pay back less than they borrowed in real terms. Its somehow 'unfair manipulation' that the Chinese are smart enough not just to want to bend over and take it ? Well just check out how much the dollar has devalued since the creation of the Fed in 1913. (For those who don't understand all this, sometimes is a good idea to actually think & investigate, and not just parrot the crap you hear from the media.) - - -
Quote from Martinghoul:
Hmmmm, what about China?
From what I can see, their policy of weak yuan has sure been good for them...
Firstly, my argument is not whether the yuan has appreciated or not. I am simply saying that yuan has always, as a matter of POLICY, been weak vs the currencies of China's main trading partners. Would you disagree with this claim?Quote from Ghost of Cutten:
The Yuan has risen from 8.27 to 6.83 against the dollar since it floated - an appreciation of 17%. How is that a "weak yuan"?
You're also assuming causation from correlation, which is unjustifiable given the myriad of economic factors at play. How do you know the "weak yuan" (which has actually not been particularly weak) has been good for them? It's quite possible the Yuan level has had very little to do with the thriving export sector - potentially it's far more to do with cheap labour costs, significant internal regulatory reform towards freer markets, reduction of external trade barriers, accumulation of capital and knowledge starting from a low base etc. It's possible China has had export success *despite* the level of the Yuan. Even if the level of the Yuan has helped, there is simply nothing in your argument that demonstrates this.
Pointing out a correlation in a complex system with multiple input and output variables does not demonstrate causation. And even if it did, there are numerous - arguably a clear majority - of counterexamples on both sides (weak currencies of failed exporting nations; strong currencies of thriving exporters) so your own logic argues against your conclusion.
Quote from Ghost of Cutten:
The Yuan has risen from 8.27 to 6.83 against the dollar since it floated - an appreciation of 17%. How is that a "weak yuan"?
You're also assuming causation from correlation, which is unjustifiable given the myriad of economic factors at play. How do you know the "weak yuan" (which has actually not been particularly weak) has been good for them? It's quite possible the Yuan level has had very little to do with the thriving export sector - potentially it's far more to do with cheap labour costs, significant internal regulatory reform towards freer markets, reduction of external trade barriers, accumulation of capital and knowledge starting from a low base etc. It's possible China has had export success *despite* the level of the Yuan. Even if the level of the Yuan has helped, there is simply nothing in your argument that demonstrates this.
Pointing out a correlation in a complex system with multiple input and output variables does not demonstrate causation. And even if it did, there are numerous - arguably a clear majority - of counterexamples on both sides (weak currencies of failed exporting nations; strong currencies of thriving exporters) so your own logic argues against your conclusion.