http://www.tradearabia.com/news/newsdetails.asp?Sn=ECO&artid=121120

All just further evidence of wisdom in the Church’s doctrines of getting our houses in order. Also all just further evidence for Connor’s argument that our fiddling with the Middle East is really only an effort to keep our dollar hegemony.

However, I have lived in 11 different countries over the last forty-five years, and have seen the dollar gain and lose value many, many times vs. other currencies. Those fluctuations are historically quite common. Sometimes I think we tend to remember when we travel and find things expensive elsewhere, and forget about all the “bargains” we purchased at other times. :)

Remember a few years ago when we were told by some that Japan was going to overtake us economically? Then came their serious financial problems. Now there are predictions that Japan will be in dire straits soon because their birth rate is below replacement level, and there will be fewer and fewer workers to support an increasingly aging popluation.

Europe will be facing similar problems, complicated by an increasing Muslim percentage in their population.
All is not well in the rest of the world, either. So the dollar may be able to keep pace with the Euro in the long term, after all.

The countries I now most see mentioned as real economic long term threats to the U.S. are China and India. There are so many variables to consider regarding those two countries that it’s hard to say how things will sort out in the next few years.

We bought some gold as a hedge against inflation many years ago. It has kept pace, but not done as well as most of the stocks we purchased. Diversification in stocks, bonds, and real estate still seems like good investing advice to me.

The Church has not abandoned these doctrines, though. You were wise to visit the Church’s website for more guidance. We each as Saints need to assess our own individual situation and see if we are living providently in accordance with the Church’s general principles of welfare.

In the latest information, recently updated on the Internet, about family preparedness, the advice is very simple: Have enough drinking water to last through a temporary disruption of delivery; build up a three-month supply of everyday food; “For longer-term needs, and where permitted, gradually build a supply of food that will last a long time and that you can use to stay alive, such as wheat, white rice, and beans;” and finally, “Establish a financial reserve by saving a little money each week and gradually increasing it to a reasonable amount.”

As befits a word-wide church, the financial advice is very generic, and thus is useful to everyone, no matter where they live, or how much income they have.

You may well be right about imminent demise of the dollar, Connor. I certainly believe that is is wise to have diversified assets. I guess I would worry more about the dire predictions now if I hadn’t been reading different versions of them for over forty years.

We are so insulated as Americans to the value of our dollar. We mistakenly go on living believing all is well, because we still can buy our stuff. But, I am more than a little concerned because I have seen my dollar grow more and more worthless since the “financially responsible” Republicans have taken over. In October of 2001, I travelled to Europe, and the Euro was just being introduced. My dollar bought me 1.15 Euros. Again in summer of 2004, I travelled again to Europe, and my same dollar only bought 0.85 Euros. Today, if you look at the exchange rates, my dollar would only buy me 0.748 Euros. So, within the space of about 6 years, my dollar is actually worth about 40% less! (As our dollar becomes more and more worthless, it costs us more dollars to buy our imported oil, gas, cars, IPods, etc.)

So, I am concerned that our economy is going to go belly-up, partially because I can read the scriptures. You ought to study the whole chapter of Revelation 18. After studying that chapter, I wonder if you will then be able to proclaim All is Well in Zion.

Indeed. This fact is often cited as an argument against any future economic collapse and dollar deflation. Like many other things, I feel that such an economic shift will come as a thief in the night. What really is an economic collapse will (and has for several decades) been ocurring slowly (but surely). Our dollar is at 4% of its original value, and inflation (with resultant price inflation) is astronomical. The national debt continues to soar, new currency is printed unabated, Americans are indebted as never before, and our enemies hold the flaxen cord of our foreign debt.

If and when there is economic turmoil, most will think that there is nothing wrong. Why? Because the government doesn’t want to collapse. They want to keep paying their bills. To do that, they simple print more fiat currency, creating it out of thin air. They flood the market with new dollars, which diminishes the purchasing power of all other money in circulation. This has been going on for decades, and it has destroyed the power of the dollar. There will come a point (and I think the time is not that far off) when the dollar will either be replaced (there are already talks of an “amero”), eliminated (in favor of digital currency, as has been suggested), or devalued to the point of oblivion.

At first most people will not notice economic trouble. Just as the government currently touts us having a strong economy, they will continue to parrot the idea that “all is well”. Banks will (wherever possible) continue to promote easy mortgages and home “ownership”, tying people into further debt. More money will be flooded into the economy to give a false impression that there is enough to go around, but as they do that your savings is depleted through inflation.

Now, if the Brethren speak up in General Conference this weekend, and advise us to invest in Euros, I am ready to revise my opinion immediately!

It is my belief that this will never happen. We’ve been counseled numerous times to get out of debt. Part of that strategy might very well be investing in sources not backed by the fiat dollar. The Prophet is not a financial counselor, just as he is not a political scientist. The same neutrality we see in the political realm by church leaders will be practiced to a large extent in the economic realm, I believe. We are counseled to save, store, and get out of debt. Those who have ears to hear, will, in opinion, distrust the dollar as a method of savings and future economic security.

I asked my son (40-ish now) about this continuing fear, and he replied,

“I used to buy into the whole ‘dollar is going to collapse’ thing, back when I was in college [in the 80's]. It’s a bunch of stuff that sounds neat in theory, but somehow the theory never makes predictions that come true. It’s focusing on one tiny thing and ignoring all the countervailing forces.

Even if the Euro does overtake the dollar as the currency in which oil is bought, it will not lead to the sudden collapse of the dollar. If, as [they say], it’s “all about the money,” [they're]forgetting about all those ‘foreign interests’ who have been buying up our treasury bonds and our stock and our land — all of which are demoninated in dollars. If the dollar collapses, all of that becomes almost worthless, and the shadowy powers that are running things behind the scenes wouldn’t allow that, would they?”

Now, if the Brethren speak up in General Conference this weekend, and advise us to invest in Euros, I am ready to revise my opinion immediately! :)