By Tom Bradley

Here are a few quotes from the comments posted on the Globe and Mail's website following my column on the U.S. dollar:

“... with a spendthrift administration and Helicopter Ben clearly willing to throw as much increasingly worthless paper as is necessary to (attempt to) mask the fetid, rotting mass that is the US economy, the greenback is going nowhere but down in the long run.” -Pikey 11

“The US is BANKRUPT bankrupt and close to being insolvent. All that's missing is market awareness....which of course can continue to ignore fundamentals for a very long time.” - sam enpadi

“Lets look at the two countries: we have oil gas coal wood gold silver copper platinum zinc uranium most of the fresh water in the world. they have crooked bankers huge debt and a big army with political gridlock for the next two years. whose dollar should be worth more??? ours of course 1.20 here we come and get used to it.” - oldcynic

“My my...look at the thread count of the Emperor's wonderful suit? It's SO FINE!” - sam enpadi

“Too many cops, too many tanks, too many lying politicians and not enough respect for liberty.” - respectfulcomment

There were lots of other comments that weren’t as visceral – they agreed with or poked holes in my argument – but clearly the consensus is very negative towards the U.S. and might I say, emotionally charged.

Currencies are complicated. They detach from economic fundamentals, sometimes trending in one direction for an extended period. And they are influenced by a myriad of factors including productivity, debt levels, purchasing power (measured by the much-maligned PPP), inflation and capital flows. It’s too bad it’s so complex, because if the dollar’s direction was based strictly on investor sentiment, the U.S. dollar would be a screaming buy. The fact that none of us have a good word to say about the U.S. tells me that the issues are well known.