Obituary for an Icon

It is with great sadness that I must report the passing of an icon: the US Dollar. The dollar is best remembered for its long time domination of the global economy, spurring competition amongst its developed and developing peers. The US dollar created several ‘golden ages’ for Americans, most notably after World War II and in the mid to late 1990s. It is survived by a nation struggling with debt, and a need to maintain its competitive edge over developing countries with lower overhead costs.

While skimming the world headlines on Friday, the one that had the largest personal impact on me was the following: “US Dollar at Record Low Against Euro.” For most Americans, this probably had little tangible impact on their everyday life. However, for me and all other Americans living in Europe (and pulling their money from US bank accounts), this meant yet another financial blow over which you have no control. While the drop was relatively slight compared to the week before, the dollar has slipped regularly since this past October. To give you a sense of what this means: in October 2006, $1 would get you 78 cents Euro. Today, you’re lucky to get 72 cents Euro for one US dollar. It may not seem like much, but when you’re talking about hundreds of dollars, the difference adds up.

Austria is a country strangely against the use of credit cards, so you are forced to pay for most things in cash, including such basic necessities as groceries. Consequently, in order to minimize the frequency of my being charged $5 for every ‘outside of network ATM Use’ (thank YOU Wells Fargo!), I have to take out large amounts of cash each time I go to the bankomat (or ATM). To give you a sense of what the exchange rate looks like today, 250 Euros will cost you a whopping $340 – and that’s getting a good exchange rate.

Shortly after I arrived here I remember reading that the Dow Jones hit 12,000, a new milestone. I was so excited, because even though my basic economics education told me otherwise, I thought maybe-- just-maybe-- this will improve the exchange rate against the mighty Euro. It becomes hard to believe we are the economic powerhouse we claim to be when you realize that everything you buy here in fact costs 30% more in your ‘girly-man’ US dollars. Big, big sigh.

So while I work at my ivory UN tower, hoping in some way to make a difference in this world, I selfishly hope against hope that the US market can make a difference in MY financial world, so that I don’t have to say auf wiedersehn to even more of my hard-earned money in order to pursue a lifelong dream. That’s all the complaining you’ll get from me today. I promise the next post won’t be a whiny rant and will hopefully be a bit more on the lighter side. We love and miss you all, and please keep the comments and e-mails coming – they really make my day.