ECO372 Principles of Macroeconomic Week 5 DQ

I always go to http://www.x-rates.com/ to get exchange rates when I am writing problems that require numbers.  I like to use realistic values in problems.  Does anyone else ever need to look up exchange rates?  I used to keep track of them in the Wall Street Journal every day, but that was before the internet was around (I am revealing my age now )!

A lot of people believe it is not right for countries to manipulate currencies in order to create a trade surplus and stimulate domestic industry. China has been accused of following this course of action for a long time, and the U.S. is one of the countries with huge imports coming from China.  However, at the same time, we are able to enjoy cheaper products because of this.  I guess how we feel about currency manipulation depends on which is more important to us, creating jobs or having low-priced consumer goods.  Thoughts?

Domestic goals are fairly straightforward and can be easily quantified.  We all agree that we want the unemployment rate to be under 6%, and under 5% is even better.  We also agree that 2 or 3% inflation is enough for us to handle, and growth is expected to be at least 3% because the U.S. has averaged about 3% since World War II.  When it comes to international goals, they are a bit ambiguous and depend on current trends and concerns.  It is not correct to say that our goal is a strong dollar, because sometimes we wish the dollar would weaken a little in order to make U.S. products more competitive in global markets.  Does anyone have specific ideas about our international goals?

I think one of the biggest problems with globalization is the increasing pressure to find cheaper labor.  Our society has to find ways to solve problems while placing the highest priority on children and their value and rights.  One of the terms we use in economics is consumer sovereignty.  This term indicates that consumers are ultimately in charge.  If consumers refuse to purchase products that were manufactured using slave labor or child labor or any kind of forced labor, then the companies manufacturing the products would have no choice but to stop the practices.  If the market mechanism actually works, it has to be able to stop inhumane practices.  Otherwise, we have to turn to governments to regulate and prohibit unacceptable methods of production.