The ever-declining dollar.(Insider Report)

"The first panacea for a mismanaged nation is inflation of the currency; the second is war," observed Ernest Hemingway. "Both bring a temporary prosperity; both bring a permanent ruin. But both are the refuge of political and economic opportunists." The Bush administration's agenda of perpetual war and unchecked spending is sowing the seeds of national ruin.

"Every day, foreign individuals, companies and governments plow $1.5 billion into U.S. stocks, Treasury bonds, factories, companies and real estate," noted the January 15 Wall Street Journal. "This money is the economic lifeblood of America. It helps the U.S. expand and modernize factories, secure mortgages, build highways--even fight the war in Iraq. Two decades ago, Americans sent more money abroad than foreigners invested here. But since then, the U.S. has essentially been living beyond its means, consuming more than it makes, investing more than it saves by borrowing from abroad."

"In the past few months," continued the Journal, "the dollar has been failing against the euro, the Japanese yen and the British pound. It's a symptom of waning demand for the U.S. currency, an indication that foreigners may be growing less enthusiastic about investing in the U.S. Were foreign investors to flee the U.S., it ...