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I have yet to understand why people are upset about the concept of China devaluing their currency and manipulation of it, and don’t have an issue with the US do

by tibbon 7y ago

I have yet to understand why people are upset about the concept of China devaluing their currency and manipulation of it, and don’t have an issue with the US doing it.

paulpauper 7y ago
if it is, it's not doing a good job at it. the us dollar is the highest it has been in years against many currencies
- ineedasername 7y ago
  At least part of that is because some other currencies have weakened, not simply because the dollar has strengthened. The British pound as an example, especially for something previous considered a stable and relatively "hard" currency, has lost an astonishing amount of value since the Summer of 2016.
mytailorisrich 7y ago
Europeans don't like either China or the US doing it. Obviously people "like" what is in their interest, and "don't like" what isn't... Simple self-interest.
nabla9 7y ago
You are confusing two different things together. 1. Increasing/decreasing money supply. Usually buying or selling debt denominated in the nation's own currency. 2. Currency manipulation aka foreign exchange market intervention. Buying or selling foreign currency to in exchange for domestic currency. Countries can try currency manipulation to adjust balance of payments or to gain unfair competitive advantage in international trade. Chinese central bank is free to manage their money supply without criticism. I hope this clarified things for you.
gok 7y ago
You don’t understand the difference between: A. Actively controlling an exchange rate through foreign debt purchasing and capital controls to sidestep rules on tariffs, and B: Having someone float an idea to work around a bizarre loophole in the federal budget law? Ignoring the fact that this didn’t even happen, it also has really nothing to do with adjusting currency values.
- fortran77 7y ago
  I'm not sure I understand this guy's point. That America is evil or hypocritical? Does that add to this discussion about a proposed and rejected solution to the debt ceiling?
  - marsrover 7y ago
    Whether or not this person hates America is debatable. Regardless, if we just ignored everyone we disagreed with I don’t think we’d make much progress in general. In fact, ignoring people who disagree with you seems to be a huge problem in the country right now. Edit: the post I originally replied to said “this person hates America. Ignore.” Just to give some context on my comment.
- hn_throwaway_99 7y ago
  But I believe it's more bizarre that Congress has the power to appropriate funds, but then also has the power to deliberately deny payment. The fact that the debt ceiling exists at all is the bizarre part. There were many parts of this Wikipedia page, the parts talking about how it would be technically legal but counter to our traditions of checks and balances, that honestly seem quaint in a post-Trump era. I don't say this to be explicitly political, but Trump has made it 100% clear he won't be constrained by any "traditions". I mean with defense money being rerouted to pay for the wall despite not being allocated for this, the president directing members of the executive branch to just break the law and build the wall and then say he'll pardon them if they are prosecuted.
  - maxlybbert 7y ago
    The term “checks and balances” is almost always used wrongly, as in this article. Checks and balances are the ways the different branches of government check each other. The trillion dollar coin was a goofy proposal for the president to save Congress from itself. As you said, Congress passed the debt ceiling, then approved spending above that limit without approving ways to pay for it. And it refused to raise the debt ceiling. That’s not really part of the system of checks and balances; that’s Congress getting itself into a bind by passing legislation that can’t actually be satisfied.

by tibbon 7y ago

I have yet to understand why people are upset about the concept of China devaluing their currency and manipulation of it, and don’t have an issue with the US doing it.

paulpauper 7y ago

if it is, it's not doing a good job at it. the us dollar is the highest it has been in years against many currencies

ineedasername 7y ago
At least part of that is because some other currencies have weakened, not simply because the dollar has strengthened. The British pound as an example, especially for something previous considered a stable and relatively "hard" currency, has lost an astonishing amount of value since the Summer of 2016.

mytailorisrich 7y ago

Europeans don't like either China or the US doing it. Obviously people "like" what is in their interest, and "don't like" what isn't... Simple self-interest.

nabla9 7y ago

You are confusing two different things together. 1. Increasing/decreasing money supply. Usually buying or selling debt denominated in the nation's own currency. 2. Currency manipulation aka foreign exchange market intervention. Buying or selling foreign currency to in exchange for domestic currency. Countries can try currency manipulation to adjust balance of payments or to gain unfair competitive advantage in international trade. Chinese central bank is free to manage their money supply without criticism. I hope this clarified things for you.

gok 7y ago

You don’t understand the difference between: A. Actively controlling an exchange rate through foreign debt purchasing and capital controls to sidestep rules on tariffs, and B: Having someone float an idea to work around a bizarre loophole in the federal budget law? Ignoring the fact that this didn’t even happen, it also has really nothing to do with adjusting currency values.

fortran77 7y ago
I'm not sure I understand this guy's point. That America is evil or hypocritical? Does that add to this discussion about a proposed and rejected solution to the debt ceiling?
- marsrover 7y ago
  Whether or not this person hates America is debatable. Regardless, if we just ignored everyone we disagreed with I don’t think we’d make much progress in general. In fact, ignoring people who disagree with you seems to be a huge problem in the country right now. Edit: the post I originally replied to said “this person hates America. Ignore.” Just to give some context on my comment.
hn_throwaway_99 7y ago
But I believe it's more bizarre that Congress has the power to appropriate funds, but then also has the power to deliberately deny payment. The fact that the debt ceiling exists at all is the bizarre part. There were many parts of this Wikipedia page, the parts talking about how it would be technically legal but counter to our traditions of checks and balances, that honestly seem quaint in a post-Trump era. I don't say this to be explicitly political, but Trump has made it 100% clear he won't be constrained by any "traditions". I mean with defense money being rerouted to pay for the wall despite not being allocated for this, the president directing members of the executive branch to just break the law and build the wall and then say he'll pardon them if they are prosecuted.
- maxlybbert 7y ago
  The term “checks and balances” is almost always used wrongly, as in this article. Checks and balances are the ways the different branches of government check each other. The trillion dollar coin was a goofy proposal for the president to save Congress from itself. As you said, Congress passed the debt ceiling, then approved spending above that limit without approving ways to pay for it. And it refused to raise the debt ceiling. That’s not really part of the system of checks and balances; that’s Congress getting itself into a bind by passing legislation that can’t actually be satisfied.