If you asked mainstream economists what dollarization means, they would immediately define it as a country officially adopting the currency of another for financial transactions. Often, of course, that currency has been the U.S. dollar, as was the case for Ecuador in January 2000. Recently, mainstream economists, such as John Cochrane, have been suggesting that Argentina today should follow the same policy in order to “insulate the private economy from government fiscal troubles.”
While that kind of dollarization comes up in the context of macroeconomic crises, generated by volatile capital flows and other economic shocks beyond the control of traditional monetary authorities, the dollarization I’m referring to here stems from a very different kind of crisis, one that is happening inside the United States.
According to a new report by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, the United States now has more dollar stores—including Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and Family Dollar—than Walmart and McDonalds locations combined.
Who knew that Walmart is now upscale?
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Dollarization in the United States
David F. Ruccio | Professor of Economics, University of Notre Dame
Dollarization in the United States
David F. Ruccio | Professor of Economics, University of Notre Dame
1 comment:
“The United States now has more dollar stores—including Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and Family Dollar—than Walmart and McDonalds locations combined.”
Likewise the United States probably has more “payday loan” places than all bank retail locations combined.
One intersection in my city has four different “payday loan” places on each of the four corners.
“Who knew that Walmart is now upscale?”
I remember when every city had shopping malls with stores like Macys, Sears, Dillards, J.C. Penny, etc. All gone now. No one has money to shop there.
But at least we don’t have ebil soshializm (although rich people and corporations do).
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The impoverishing of America is one reason why GM, for example, recently announced the closing of five U.S. plants, destroying another 14,000 jobs. (Another reason is executive greed.) The plants will be closed, not idled.
Earlier this year, Ford announced further cuts in its work force, and said it would stop making sedans for the North American market. Fiat Chrysler stopped making small and midsize cars in 2016.
In 2009 the U.S. government gave a $13.4 billion bailout to GM, plus $5.5 billion to Chrysler, plus $5 billion to GMAC.
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