Canadain $$$ is on par with US $$$

[BigWarpGuy]

With every group seemingly having their own version of either master card or visa, one day money (paper and coins) might be a thing of the past. There are creating ways to pay for things using ones cell phones. Some places have a system where one just moves ones credit cards over a certain location on the counter to pay for things (does not require proof that one is actually the owner of the card ) One charge things without having a signature (also one does not need to show proof that one needs proof that one owns the card ). Technology does have its downside.

[SaberX]

WOW i'm just about to buy a laptop on e-bay.
The listing price is $179.99 USD.Then it shows the CDN price of $179.25.
This if the first time in my 35 years that i seen the cdn $$$ more than the usd $$$.
For us Canadain guys we got to love it.

[qviri]

Not to worry, Paypal will take its share of the exchange rate.

[mattbiernat]

the Euro is $1.40 now; when I left Poland in 2002, it was $0.85.
thanks, George

no good for me. my school loan is in U.S. dollars and Im stuck in Poland for the next 4 years. Hopefully we won't switch to Euros any time soon.

[qviri]

Hopefully we won't switch to Euros any time soon.

Highly unlikely in four years, however that doesn't help you that much. I remember USD being around 3,80-4,00 zł in 2001, now it's down to 2,60 zł. You'd better hope it levels off soon.

[dsvochak]

"Money" is just a convenience, something readily acceptable in exchange for goods and services. It never really was backed by gold or anything else. It was, and continues to be, backed by the general acceptance of the idea that, if you take "money" in exchange for goods or services, you can easily give the "money" to someone else for other goods and services.

Assuming that gold, silver, diamonds or whatever have some intrinsic value and would be useful things to have if something happens and we're living in a "Mad Max" or "Soylent Green" world is a questionable assumption. If the "something" happens, would anyone in their right mind trade food for gold?

As for the value of the US dollar against that of the Euro and Canadian dollar, when the lender of last resort, which has been the US essentially since the end of WW II, gets this far in debt, one can understand how financial markets might be somewhat uneasy.

As a rule, you never want to be the guy who's got all the "money" when people decide they're going to quit taking it.

[mattbiernat]

It never really was backed by gold or anything else.

didn't Roman Empire back their money by gold?

[dsvochak]

I agree that a significant portion of the money in the Roman Empire and other states was not only "backed" by gold or silver, it was made of gold or silver. As Robbyrobot pointed out, "backing" by precious metals continued in the US until silver certificate paper money was withdrawn from circulation.

The "idea" of "money", however, is not, and perhaps never was, tied to it's physical makeup.

The important thing about "money" has always been, and likely always will be, the confidence the person you give the "money" to has that he/she will be able to give it to someone else and get goods or services in return. If that confidence is destroyed, nobody takes "money" in exchange for goods.

The decline in value of the US dollar against the Euro and Canadien dollar is, in part, a function of the confidence level of financial markets about whether people will continue taking US dollars in exchange for goods.
If you're 100% sure you can trade "money" for goods, you'll take it in exchange for anything. If you're less than 100% sure you can trade it, you might take it in exchange for goods but you probably want more "money". If it's a "Mad Max" world, as I said, nobody in their right mind takes "money" for food.

Gold, while nice to look at, easily workable and relatively uncommon, has no intrinsic value. Like anything else, gold is only worth what someone will trade for it. Currently, that worth is measured in units of "money" per ounce of gold.

If it's a "Mad Max" world, how many ounces of gold will it take to get a bushel of wheat? In that world, I wouldn't trade a bushel of wheat for all the gold in existence. I'd have a 0% confidence level that I could trade the gold for something I needed.

The decline in value of the US dollar against the Euro and Canadien dollar is, in part, a function of the confidence level of financial markets about whether people will continue taking US dollars in exchange for goods.