Sinking dollar hurts Americans

To the editor:

The dollar is sinking fast. It has reached a nine-year low in international value, and there seems little hope of a reversal in the trend. Amazingly, during the Bush years the dollar has dropped 50 percent against the fledgling currency of Europe, the euro. Anyone trying to purchase an item from abroad knows what a falling exchange rate means. While it may be good for some exporters, it means imports cost us more. Even the prices at Wal-Mart and Kmart will rise. While foreigners may come to the United States to take advantage of the cheap dollar, if we take a trip overseas it will cost us more.

Foreign investors know that the Republican policy of tax cuts and spending ran up a $412 billion budget deficit and a $600 billion trade deficit in 2004 while the national debt has reached $3.6 trillion. Those foreign investors are dumping dollars. Like it or not, they have been propping us up. To stem the rush of investors out of the U.S., interest rates will need to rise. Home mortgages will thus become harder and more expensive to obtain, and the American dream of home-ownership will be stifled. With Republican tax policy shifting the tax burden from the wealthy to middle- and low-income Americans, we will be paying for this for generations. But as middle- and low-income Americans suffer desperately, wealthy Americans will be insulated against the consequences. Where are the family values in this?

MICHAEL PARKER, Cape Girardeau