The economic stimulus deal has convinced me that there is no hope for United States politics. Let's collectively borrow $146,000,000,000 and have ourselves a great little shopping spree! That'll fix everything! It's like looting the safe while the ship is sinking: you're going to miss the lifeboats.

I don't think I'm going to vote in the upcoming election. I just don't see the point. It doesn't matter who wins, the Democrats and Republicans pull the same crap and the only difference is the spin they put on it. The system in the United States is broken, it's only a matter of time until it implodes.

From the The Universal Household Assistant or What Every One Should Know (1884):

Health — secrets for. — First, keep warm. Second, eat regularly and slowly. Third, maintain regular bodily habits. Fourth, take early and very light suppers, or, better still, none at all. Fifth, keep a clear skin. Sixth, get plenty of sleep at night. Seventh, keep a cheerful and respectable company. Eight, keep out of debt. Ninth, don't set your mind on things you don't need. Tenth, mind your own business. Eleventh, don't set up to be a sharp of any kind. Twelfth, subdue curiosity.

I love the last one: Trust us, you really don't want to know.

For years now, the Canadian dollar has been growing stronger while the U.S. dollar has been growing weaker, with the U.S. Dollar dollar falling as low as C$1.0555 yesterday. Long gone are the days when traveling from the United States to Canada felt like winning the lottery in the currency exchange.

With the slump in stock prices and the now overtly worried fed things don't look to well for the United States. Add in the Chinese using threats of liquidating their U.S. debt holdings to ward off trade sanctions, I see no reason to believe that this trend will not continue. The Chinese threat, even if never acted on, demonstrates effectively the direness of the financial situation in the United States after almost 7 years of Bush's borrow and spend policies.

My prediction: Within the next 6 months, the Canadian dollar will surpass the U.S. dollar.