Even The Weak Dollar Can't Save Us

Even the weak dollar can't overcome factors keeping foreign tourists away:

The number of foreign visitors to the United States has plummeted since the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington because foreigners don't feel welcome, tourism professionals said Thursday.

"Since September 11, 2001, the United States has experienced a 17 percent decline in overseas travel, costing America 94 billion dollars in lost visitor spending, nearly 200,000 jobs and 16 billion dollars in lost tax revenue," the Discover America advocacy campaign said in a statement.

Chairman Stevan Porter lamented the "extraordinary decline" in the number of overseas visitors to the United States, while the advocacy group's executive director, Geoff Freeman, blamed the slump on the shabby welcome many foreigners feel they get in the United States.

"It's clear what's keeping people away in the post-9/11 environment: it is the perception around the world that travelers aren't welcome," Freeman told AFP.

It's possible that there's more to the story than simply "the perception that travelers aren't welcome", but it is worrisome that this has occurred during a period of an ever-weakening dollar. As for the other side of the coin, I know I'm less inclined to go to Europe, cause it'll make me feel so poor.

Going back to the dollar for a second, does it seem to anyone else that the Fed's sole mission is to increase inflation? Between rate cuts and pumping another $41 billion into the economy, Bernanke & Co, seem hellbent on doing precisely the opposite of their stated raison d'etre. Then again, not real surprising the the Bernanke would assume the role of Inflator-in-Chief. After all, the thing to do for any established economy is to inflate its way out of debt, once the overall debt load gets too burdensome. Why should the US be unique?