U.N. says scrap dollar as main global reserve currency
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Here's another very troubling sign about where we are these days:
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The United Nations says it's time to scrap the dollar as the main global reserve currency. The U.S. dollar has for years been the currency of choice in troubled times - a safe haven when uncertainty arises.
But a new report by the U.N. suggests the dollar has become unreliable and needs to be replaced with a more stable system.
Many countries - especially in Asia - have been building up massive dollar reserves. But because the dollar has begun to fluctuate much more recently, these countries' currencies have become undervalued - which makes it harder for them to import goods.
The UN is backing a proposal which would replace the dollar with a basket of currencies. The report says a new reserve system should not be based on a single currency in order to create more stability in the global financial system.
Russia and China have already said they support creating a new reserve currency system... as does the International Monetary Fund.
But not everyone is so sure this is such a good idea. Some European officials suggest it should be the market, not politicians, which determines which currencies countries buy for reserves.
There's been increased debate about using the dollar for international trade ever since the U.S. economy slumped into a recession.
Unless and until something definitive is done about our $13 trillion dollar national debt and skyrocketing federal deficits, the future of the almighty greenback is very much in doubt.
Here’s my question to you: What does it mean if the U.N. says the dollar should be scrapped as the main global reserve currency?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Immigration reform possible without first sealing border?
A fence separates the cities of Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Sonora Mexico. (PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Don't expect too much when President Obama delivers a speech about immigration reform tomorrow.
Officials say he won't introduce any new policy initiatives and won't announce whether the federal government has decided to sue Arizona.
Instead expect more of the same, which is nothing. Homeland Security chief, Janet Napolitano, recently said "you're never going to totally seal the border with Mexico."
She said it's a big border with some of the "roughest, toughest geographical terrain in the world." And she insists the border is "as secure now as it has ever been."
The governors of Arizona and Texas are criticizing the Obama administration for not deploying enough National Guard troops to their states... Arizona is getting just 524. And Texas is getting 250 as part of a total increase of 1,200. Arizona governor Jan Brewer had asked for 3,000 troops just for Arizona.
Meanwhile the president has been quietly moving forward on immigration reform - meeting with grass-roots leaders this week, talking about the need for a bipartisan solution and saying true border security requires comprehensive immigration reform. Same old, same old.
But most Americans want their border secured before there is any talk of a pathway to citizenship, or amnesty. A new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll shows 60 percent of those polled say the focus of U.S. policy should be deporting illegal aliens and stopping more from coming into the country.
But these days what most Americans want doesn't seem to matter.
Here’s my question to you: Can immigration reform be done without first sealing the border?
Tune in to the Situation Room at 5pm to see if Jack reads your answer on air.
And, we love to know where you’re writing from, so please include your city and state with your comment.
@jackcafferty on Twitter
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