There was a statement said in city council by a member of congress when querying facebooks CEO Mark Zuckerbaerg about his companies impending release of the crypto currency refered to as the, "Libra." This member of congress was scrutinizing the idea of such crypto currency by facebook stating that this company has too much control over its users lives. This member of congress then proceded to state the facts as to what makes the dollar so great. He said, the dollar was designed for all people and all expiriences, and that this is the stregth of the dollar and that this currency does not limit itself to users of a particular platform. The, "dollar does not discriminate," he said, meaning that all people use it from those in the upper echleons of society to those at the base. It is the currency of freedom and liberation, but mostly trust. The use of the dollar is universal and this is what makes the dollar, the dollar. In foreign exchange it is the currency that is most used. The, "United States officially [adopted] the dollar sign in 1785. The symbol [evoloved] from the Spanish American figure for pesos" (US Currency Education Program 2021). Before that moment, collonial notes were used in transactions. Fast forward to 1944, the Bretton Woods system was implemented where 44 nations agreed to create the, "World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and, most importantly, [define the role of] the U.S. dollar [as the international reserve currency]" (Rosalsky 2019). This involved the US dollar being tied to gold. This ensured that the US dollar was backed by something tangible and this created trust in the financial system. By the 1960s, the USA started to accumulate deficit and the promises layed out durring the creation of the Bretton Woods system was no longer able to be fulfilled. Nixon then abolished this gold standard and thus the contemporary dollar was created. The value of this dollar is then based on various factors as, "political and economic forces, ranging from central bank decisions to the frenetic buying and selling of traders around the world" (Rosalsky 2019). Despite these changes from its creation to modern day, the dollar is still here and its still the reserve currency of the world. The USA needs to continue to balance its domestic policy and foreign policy to satisfy the needs of its nation and its partner states. The threats from foreign countries as China and Russia seek to reduce their dependence on the dollar. For example China is one of the top owners of US debt and this allows China to essentially have some control over the USA. If the dollar is to continue its legacy, the USA needs to negotiate with oposing countries rather than sanctioning them. Currently there are sanctions on states such as Iran and Russia. Iran because of nuclear development and Russia because of such events as the annex of Crimea and totalitarianisim. The sanctions against Iran have caused many European states to find loopholes to trade with it. If Europe is doing this, issnt there something the USA is missing? What has occored here is that in good faith, the USA has ascertained a special role in which it seeks to maintain its democratic western values creating a bipolar world and division amoungst states. However, has the USA deviated from what it intentionaly promoted causing some European states to find alternatives? Are these sanctions too harsh? Lets keep in mind that Europe is a place which America helped rebuild via the Marshal Plan after the World War. Certainly they could consider the USA's request of such sanctions? The sanctioning of the use of the dollar creates a reduction of universality of the dollar because some states are discriminated upon. If the US dollar is to continue its reserve status, the USA must find a way to both push its western values while having consideration for its oposition and pusuading them that the dollar has value and that it is worth it to continue to use the dollar. The US dollar is certainly comprehensive and portable. However recent history indicates that its maintenance is a challenge. Especially when factoring its reduced status since its inception. Is the US dollar going to remain or is the USA going to find another solution? Another issue with the dollar is the reduced price of petrol. This is going to cause negative effects to the US dollar in the not too distant future as states move towards meeting the mandates of the Paris Agreement. Only time will tell what is in store for the most trusted currency.
WORK CITED
US Currency Education Program. "The History of U.S. Currency." (2021). Retrieved from: https://www.uscurrency.gov/history
Rosalsky, G. " 75 Years Ago the US Dollar Became The Worlds Currency. Will Tha Last?" NPR (2019). Retrieved from: https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2019/07/30/746337868/75-years-ago-the-u-s-dollar-became-the-worlds-currency-will-that-last
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