It seems a certain pizza chain in the American Southwest currently accepts Mexican pesos as well as dollars for their pies. This business practice resembles that not only of international airports all over the world (except possibly for airports in the US), but also the practices of at least some establishments, I should think, along the Canadian border of the US (Canadian dollars, of course, rather than pesos). A bar in Nome, Alaska accepted Soviet rubles for a while in the late Eighties, and took a beating on them when the Soviet state crumbled.
It seems some Americans (probably the first to offer dollars in payment overseas, if they ever travelled abroad) take umbrage at this practice of Padron Pizza. They threaten to exercise their freedom to buy their pizza elsewhere because Padron exercises its freedom to accept whatever they want for their products.
As long as we’re all free . . .
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It’s Pizza Patrón, not “Padron Pizza.”
My wife and I went out there last week to try them out and show our support. Didn’t have time to go acquire pesos, though.
Good, but greasy. Lots of plusses for having hot and ready wings, ready to go. They are basically competing with the Little Caesar’s “Hot ‘n Ready” concept.
Great, more things ILLEGALS can look forward to.
I can remember travellimg in southern Texas in the early ’50s. From San Antonio south to the Mexican border (and the following was truer the closer to the border one got), both American and Mexican currency were used and accepted routinely at many places of business. Most business people are of a practical sort: if what’s being offered will get them what they want for what they’re selling, they’re cool with it.
American: Most good things benefit illegals (of one stripe or another) AT LEAST as much as they benefit legals. Maybe we should shut down the roads and electric system because illegals use THEM, too. It’s always been this way.
Speaking of how it’s always been, the US dollar is founded on a SPANISH silver piece that was the dominant form of money that was widely used throughout the colonies before, during, and after the War of American Independence.
Things were better then, monetarily speaking. The state-eviscerated US dollar is but the palest of shadows of the original Spanish dollar.
Things were better then if you used the Spanish Dollar. It was one of the few pieces of currency that wasn’t being constantly debauched, even in those days. This is why it was so widely accepted in any part of the World where the authorities didn’t get in the way.
As far as accepting either Pesos or Dollars, the choice is yours. The Mexican authorities have historically debauched the Peso at a much greater rate than the Dollar was debauched by the Fed, however. Nor does the Peso enjoy the status of the World’s reserve currency. The Dollar is unquestionably the lesser of two evils here.
Then again, if that’s all one has to exchange… well more power to him if someone’s willing to accept it.
Americans accepting pesos instead of dollars is simply a sign that the bozos at the Fed are lowering the value of a dollar at a rate comparable to the Mexicans lowering the value peso.
Good, our economy will be as sound as that of Mexico. Ole!
Kill the Fed while there is still time.
In Bonners Ferry, ID most businesses accept Canadian Dollars.
Tracy
Is this the time when folks should start to trade in their U.S. dollars for gold and silver?
No, there is still time as long as you buy gold before the stock market melts down.
Sam, anyone who can afford to buy gold and silver now, but isn’t, is passing up one of the greatest bargains in human history, especially when you can do so with such ease, security, and liquidity:
http://goldmoney.com
It’s the future, so do yourself a favor and buy into it on the cheap.
Banker,
I do hold great respect for your opinions, but I do not figure why the stock market will melt down (interpreting this as a total collapse).
As I see it, the problem is a monetary one. So, when the system crumbles, the currency will have no value, that will leave gold as one of the few holders of value. Besides, I suspect that this won´t happen overnight, probably opening the chance of some kind of gradual adjustment.
Regarding stocks, being as they are “pieces” of the company, they should rise in currency price as long as money is debased, ceteris paribus. The problem will arise for companies which had malinvested, sells to governments, has large monetary assets, for example. On the contrary a company with huge indebtments in currency, will have its debt wiped out.
Of course, it will be a hard time for all companies, consumption will suffer, but people will still work, produce and consume. So, I imagine that a percentage of all companies will close, but the majority will still operate, thus its stock will have value, measured in ¿gold?. And that value will depend on each company.
regards,
Eduardo
Here along the US-Canada border in the two Niagara Falls, currencies are easily interchanged. In fact, local newspapers and news broadcasts often quote the daily exchange rate.
My own business, on the Canadian side, happily accepts us currency and posting a daily US rate is common. When the exchange rates do not offer any excessive premiums – which is the situation now ($1 USD = ~ $1.17 CAD) for marketing purposes many restaurants, venues etc. on the US side of the border are effectively erasing the premium to be paid for Canadians by offering the acceptance of Canadian money at par. (It’s been many decades since the Canadian dollar had the exchange advantage over the US dollar.)
There are also many “Grenzgangers”, people who live on one side of the border and earn local currency, yet live on the other side of the border.
One major difference here is that although there is a severe brain drain from Canada to the US, particularly for professionals, there isn’t a flow of illegal immigrants into the US from Canada. (There is, but they are often not Canadians, but use Canada as a transit country. Many of the immigrants caught at the local border are from countries south of the Rio Grande or from Asia). So, the mixing of currencies in the border economy doesn’t conjure up passions and resentment, and is treated matter-of-factly. People simply play the exchange game, travelling to the country that will give them the best product at the lowest price for the lowest-cost effort. Now customs, taxes, duties…well, that is another topic entirely………
90% of the “money” in circulation is electronic transfer. Credit card companies automatically make the conversion.
I suggest skipping the middle steps and the USofA using the EURO as our national “money.”
I appreciate your comment Eduardo.
Bloomberg report from not to long ago:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=afYGFBA.L8PQ&refer=home
Marc Faber, who predicted the 87 stock market crash, is predicting another “major” correction this year. If you look at the real estate markets around the country versus Manhattan and recent Wall Street bonuses it has all the halmarks of the top of a credit cycle. If you look at the declining price of oil plus consumer debt levels, this also points to the top of a credit expansion. If you look at what companies are performing extraordinarily well, they are banks, financial companies. Ford and GM made more money loaning money than selling cars.
Stay away from capital intensive industries like real estate, airplanes, construction, and of course finance companies. I am a bit worried about commodities as all the demand was front loaded from the ridiculously low interest rates of the past few years. Also, China and the US are tied at the hip and will probably go into recession at the same time.
As for equity markets, the base component when evaluating stocks is the base, “risk free” interest rate (ie the price of waiting). So when the central banks have to slow down money supply growth (as is happening now) then all stocks will have to correct. So, who knows what will happen, but I don’t think it will be pretty.
Isn’t most of the money growth caused by consumer credit card use?
Someone please explain how the central banks can control credit card use.
billwald:
Credit cards are just a single facet of the total credit available for use. Monetary expansion is directly tied to credit expansion. All that created fiat money is extra money to lend. The more the central bank inflates, the more total credit there will be. If the central bank moderates its inflation, credit expansion will likewise moderate.
If we were under a 100% reserve banking, commodity money system, the whole credit picture would look very different. The only money that would be available to lend would be that money that was deposited in timed deposits at banks. I.e. all lending would be as the result of savings and would be controlled by the savings rate. Credit cards would be few and far between. Most people would simply not have access to unsecured credit, which is actually a very good thing. Most of the credit that would be available would be in the form of secured credit, i.e. mortages, car loans, etc. For the most part, people would have to save to obtain the things they want.
But to reiterate the answer to your question, money growth is caused by central bank inflationary policies.
Viva la Mexico:
http://vdare.com/walker/070117_top_ten.htm
Some very interesting discussion on China and India’s development in the World Economy.
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