The U.S. Economy Turning Into A Outlet for Foreign Shoppers

  I got bored this morning and thought that I'd browse a few online newspaper sites to see what they had up today. THIS article caught my eye in particular because of all of the bullshit that the Republicans tell us about how our economy is in great shape and only getting better.

   If that was the case then our dollar won't be going down in value against the Euro and others. Because of our declining value, it seems that many Europeans and other foreigners have decided that the United States is the place to come and do their holiday shopping. It's cheaper to get a plane ticket, even at the high cost, and fly to the U.S. to buy goods than it is to buy in their own countries.

    The Boston Globe

   ... America is one big discount bin, thanks to a weak dollar that slid this week to another record low against the euro. As a result, tourists are spending thousands to travel to the United States to snag blockbuster bargains on everything from iPods to designer clothes and handbags.

By 4 a.m. yesterday, Kinsella had rung up nearly $2,000 in Christmas presents and winter clothes, including a $79 black leather jacket at Guess that she estimated would cost more than $250 in Ireland.

"The bargains for us are so great," said Kinsella, who paid $1,000 for a flight and hotel but expects to save even more on purchases here.

But now American wares are even more of a bargain as the slowing US economy has weakened the dollar. Further, as the Federal Reserve has cut interest rates to boost the economy, the dollar has lost even more value, and global investors have realized they won't earn as much when they park their cash in greenbacks. As a result, the euro has shot up by 33 percent compared with the dollar since 2002, so Europeans who exchange 1,000 euros now get close to 1,500 US dollars. And the Canadian dollar is worth as much as the US dollar for the first time in three decades.

  So the foreign shoppers get great deals by shopping in the United States and the citizens of the U.S. are tightening their purse strings because of a lousy dollar, bad real estate market and other not so great reasons.

   Only in America can outsiders do better than we insiders can. But in case of emergency, we can always buy Chinese!

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