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Financial crisis in the us essay
The main problems facing the contemporary world economy and the countermeasures
Financial crisis in the us essay
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For more than sixty years the United States dollar has been the central reserve currency for the world. A reserve currency, also referred to as an anchor currency, is a currency that is held in significant quantities by governments and institutions as part of their foreign exchange reserves (Carbaugh, 2011). As the world’s reserve currency, the U.S. dollar is used throughout the world as a medium of exchange and is used as the global currency for products traded within the global market. In recent years the status of the U.S. dollar has been contested by a select few around the world. Leaders are unconvinced about the future of the United States economy as their deficits are exceeding record highs. The following analysis will discuss the history of the world reserve currency, how the U.S. dollar became the controlling currency and the benefits the U.S. has experienced as a result of having the controlling currency. Presenting analysis will also discuss the cause of mounting concerns over the future of the United States as well as the effects if the dollar was to lose its status as the world’s reserve currency. Finally, alternatives for the dollar will be evaluated as well as what the United States can do to maintain the standing of the dollar.
History of World Reserve Currency
During the 1800’s and the first half of the 1900’s the British Pound served as the foremost world reserve currency. Due to WWII Great Britain accrued a high amount of debt and lost its status as the world reserve currency. As the British Pound was decreasing in value, the U.S. economy became stronger after the war due to a considerable inflow of Gold into the states and rapid economic development.
After WWII the international finance system ...
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...ronted with an increasing deficit that should not be continued for an indefinite period. The deficit carried by the United States has been scrutinized by global leaders who are pushing for the dollar to be replaced as the world reserve currency. No matter what policy changes are made, any change will have a negative impact on the United States economy. The United States has no lived within its means for several decades, which is the direct cause of the large deficit. Instead of continuing to ignore the deficit it is time the United States takes responsibility for their actions and faces the consequences. The first step would be for the United States to stop using stimulus packages and bailouts to intervene with economic cycles. The citizens of the United States do not want to experience another Great Depression, but this may be the best option at this time.
This deficit has to do with having responsible leader who are willing to increase awareness and make beneficial changes in the nation. In my opinion, the federal debt is a serious threat to the US that must be politically address whenever possible. I believe that the candidates of the 2016 presidential election should make this issue one of the top priorities to discuss and to dictate a considerable amount of work to fix it. That is because the worse the federal debt is, the worse the future would be to the nation. Also, voters must be well educated about this issue in order to shape their decision in voting for the candidate that seems most powerful and confident about this problem. Solving this problem may be difficult and would take time and so much effort. Therefore, the changes and solution must be on both a national and individual levels as
As the new century approached, a national crisis began to develop in the United States. The nation faced a severe depression, nationwide labor unrest and violence, and the government’s inability to fix any of the occurring problems. The Panic of 1893 ravaged the nation and became the worse economic crisis of its time. The depression’s ruthlessness contributed to social unrest and weakened the monetary system’s strength, leading to a debate over what would be the foundation of the national currency. As the era ended, the US sought to increase its power and strength.
In 1913, the Federal Reserve system was created. The majority of Americans banks were small but, individual institutions that had to rely on their own resources. When there was a panic, depositors rushed to take their money out of their banks. The Reserve System wasn’t capable of giving the money because there wasn’t enough on the reserve. On account of this, world trade fame to a halt. Germany had to fork out 33 billion dollars in reparations pay without borrowing money from American banks. In addition to
Conversion to modern worth: Lawrence H. Officer and Samuel H. Williamson. « Purchasing Power of Money in the United States from 1774 to 2010 » MeasuringWorth. 2011.
Strong or Weak Dollar is Better? Strong is good. Weak is a bad thing. These generalizations sound simple enough, but they can be very confusing when it comes to money.
The US has been in and out of debt countless times throughout history, going as far back as the Civil War. However, debt did not become a truly relevant problem until much later, in the 1980s (Budget Deficits). Up to that point, large budget deficits were generally only allowed during wartime, but this pattern ended after the Great Depression. Roosevelt’s New Deal meant that the government spent much more than it previously did, even after the economy improved (Budget De...
Friedman, Milton and Jacobson Schwartz, Anna. A Monetary History of the United States, 1867-1960. Princeton, 1963
However, in the long-term there is a huge risk of deficit spending hindering economic growth. Economics is a balancing act, I think that if deficit spending is applied in specific areas that are of the greatest need for a very limited period then it is beneficial. I think currently the best reason to increase deficit spending it would be in infrastructure. We hear all the time that our bridges are crumbling, and are far past their life expectancy. We also could use some significant upgrades to our power grid, as well as our internet networks, although those are both controlled solely by private firms. I think in the long-term there needs to be some control to how much deficit is
The federal budget is known as the notorious economic tank from which money is distributed to various programs. The money used every fiscal year, which begins October 1st and ends September 30th the next year, belongs to the people. The government raises this money through taxes and they spend it on national defense, Medicare, and social security. The federal budget is an exercise in making choices, and those options will certainly affect individuals living in the U.S. These choices cause debt to pile up on the government, who is struggling to make it disappear. The deficit and debt of a government gauges how well it is being run and how well it has been run in the past. According to The Economist the national debt is the total outstanding borrowing of a country’s government; it is an accumulation of deficits that has yet to be paid off (Economist, A-Z). The current U.S. federal deficit, as of the 2013 fiscal year, is a monumental $680 billion dollars, adding to an even higher debt. Any attempt to diminish this debt has the consumer footing the bill, but there has to be a different way. There have been requests to increase taxes, to raise revenues for transportation infrastructure, to restrategize the military force or to make defense more affordable (“15 Ways to Rethink the Federal Budget”, Brookings).
Roosevelt cut the dollar’s ties with gold in order to allow the government to pump money into the economy and lower interest rates. This was ultimately to help get the U.S. get out of the Great Depression and deter people from cashing deposits and depleting the gold supply. In 1946 a majority of the world’s central bankers met to create a new global monetary system that would facilitate international trade, known as the Bretton Woods System. This allowed governments to sell their gold to the U.S. treasury, which at the time controlled two thirds of the worlds gold, at a set price of $35/ounce. There was a transition from gold being the base reserve currency as the U.S. dollar gained momentum and became the international reserve currency being linked to the price of gold. The U.S. dollar was chosen since the U.S. economy was the global leader in manufacturing and held the majority of the world’s gold and was the only currency still backed by gold. Being the reserve currency meant that other countries would maintain a healthy supply of dollars creating a stronger demand and helping support its
These early efforts were steered by her first President George Washington. During his tenure between 1789 and 1797, Washington established a National Bank for Americans, Introduced a common monetary system, improved the country’s financial status and began plans to clear the US’s public debt. Gerald Linderman argues that “In the late 18th century and beginning of 19th century, United States’ economic development was lagging far much behind European countries like Britain.” (Linderman). US had just began to industrialize.
The value of the US dollar relevant to other currencies is a major consideration for the Federal Reserve. If they prevent large changes in the value of the dollar, firms and individuals can comfortably plan ahead to purchase or sell goods abroad.
In November of 2004, the United States ran a fifty-four billion dollar trade deficit, translating to over 600 billion for the entire year. This deficit is a result of the disparity between the amount of goods that the US imports and the amount it exports. To equalize this deficit in its current account, the American government sells assets from its capital account, often to foreign investors. This phenomenon is seen as a serious threat to the success and continued growth of the nation’s economy, tied in with popular concerns that the United States is losing its competitive and dominant edge in global economics. The traditional economic theory employed to solve this problem calls for a return to mercantile protectionism, through use of tariffs and subsidies to drive up the price of imports and lower the price of exports. Running contrary to this is a second option: increasing domestic savings and lowering government spending. These theories both aim to decrease American dependence upon foreign imports and investment, and ultimately equalize the enormous trade deficit that currently exists.
Paper money is more complex. From 1900 through 1971 (with the exception of during World War I), the US dollar was backed by gold, meaning its value was legally defined by a certain weight of the metal. That ended in 1971, when Richard Nixon shocked the world by breaking the link to gold and allowing the dollar’s value to be determined by trading in the foreign exchange markets. The dollar is valuable not because it’s as good as gold, but because you can buy goods and services produced in the United States with it—and, crucially, it’s the only form the US government will accept for tax payments. Among the Federal Reserve’s many functions is allowing the issuance of just the right quantity of dollars—enough to keep the wheels of commerce well greased without slipping into a hyperinflationary crisis.
Brian Domitrovic, PhD, Chairman of the Department of History at Sam Houston State University, stated in his article The Gold Standard: The Foundation of Our Economy’s Greatness that, “From the first full year that the constitution’s outline of the gold standard took effect, 1790, until 1913, the year the Federal Reserve came into existence and the serial dismantling of the gold standard began, the United States economy increased in size, in real terms, by just about 150-fold” (Should The United States Return To The Gold Standard?, 2013). This record of growth was so large that the United States’ economy was over twice as large as Germany’s, our closest rival. Domitrovic also appreciated the stability the gold standard provided if managed correctly, because it limited inflation and slowed rises in consumer prices. In addition, it limited the government’s ability to create money as the government could only print money if there was enough gold to back