The Amero, fact or fiction?

OK, so a friend of mine sent me this video (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1954933468700958565&hl=es) showing some dude ranting about the impending crash of the US dollar and how the US gov't has already put into motion plans to replace the dollar with the "Amero", a common North American currency. Personally, it just sounds like a lot of conspiracy theory bunk to me and he offers very little in the way of substantive proof (the "amero" coin he offers is laughable in terms of hard evidence). But this theory does have some high-profile and outspoken proponents (Lou Dobbs among them) and he does make some interesting, if totally unsubstantiated points.

I guess my question is twofold, what is the probability that the US government is indeed undertaking this "amero" experiment, is there any likelihood at all of this happening or is it just another conspiracy theory boogeyman? Secondly, what would be the advantages of the Amero to the US? It seems to me that the US and Canada stand to lose from an integrated economy, (the US economically and Canada in terms of sovereignty) only Mexico would seem to gain anything from it. I am not an economist however, and I know very little about this topic. Can anyone shed some light on this?

*edit:spelling

BTW, consider the source of the video, Hal Turner is a noted white supremacist and all-around nut-job.

 

If one is sufficiently paranoid, the last eight years could've been part of a sinister plan to lengthen governmental control over everything from the economy to how much and when they can listen to your phone without a warrant.

 

I don't pretend to know the theory involved here, but in a general sense the problem with most conspiracy theories is: people.

The conspiracy theory is often resorted to out of a deep psychological need by some to find some hidden order to disordered events -- "There has to be something behind it! Things do not just happen like this!" The reason it's so often debunked is because of people. Conspiracies necessarily require a number of people involved and intent on the same goal, and the problem is that people talk, or blurt things out all the time, even if they have potentially a lot to lose.

Watergate, for example: if the US government had been the watertight, murderously effective body that most people attribute to keeping the Roswell incident completely covered up for 50+ years, then how did a rinky-dink little burglary on the Democrats' headquarters manage to come out and eventually impeach a President?

Short answer: because of people -- either those with great moral courage or with very loose lips. The larger the conspiracy, the more unlikely it is to be true, simply because the probability of someone talking rises dramatically the more people you involve in it.

This is not to say that there can't be conspiracies as such -- for one I still regard JFK's death as inconclusively explained by anyone, conspiracist or debunker, and some of the "The US knew Pearl Harbor was going to happen and let it occur" provide very persuasive if circumstancial evidence -- but they're never as large or overt as conspiracists think. One academic I worked with who did a study into the effect suggested that the great Illuminati-style conspiracies do exist -- but not as conspiracies or organised plans per se, rather than groups of influence across boundaries of power who tend to think the same way. (The neo-cons, for example.) The effect of such groups on worldwide systems does appear as a conspiracy, but in reality it probably isn't; it's merely a consistent-looking approach to different problems because the decisionmakers are of a similar bent.

 

I think the bigger question is, who cares? Besides Lou Dobbs, Glen Beck, and the other nutjobs.

 

I care.

(Obvious Quotes TM).

 

Well, if it's true and we are moving towards a shared NA currency I would definitely care. It doesn't seem to have the same advantages as the euro did/does, at least not initially anyway. And it also seems to me that Canada would have a great deal to lose in such a union. Again, I only know what I've read on wikipedia and the like so I can't claim to be knowledgeable about it. Anyone know what would be some potential advantages/disadvantages of a shared NAFTA currency?

I agree that the whole conspiracy aspect of it is bogus, but that doesn't mean that high-level decision-makers aren't looking into this as an extension of NAFTA. I don't really see that a as conspiracy so much as a backroom agreement type thing.

 

Well, given Canada's export driven economy and that the US is our largest trading partner, Canada actually benefits somewhat from having our dollar trading as slightly below the American dollar. With our currencies linked, we lose a certain competitive advantage regarding our exports. That's the only thing I can think of immediately off-hand, but it's a huge one.

 

I'm surprised no one used the loss of national identity argument yet.

 

National Identity is overrated.

 

Well Raven, the export example is huge, but also we would lose the ability to set our own interest rates and control inflation (according to wikipedia anyway) which would pretty much represent a loss of economic decision-making. That combined with the hit on exports would be enough to make it a no go for me. Anyone know of any benefits or possible advantages to this?

 

None, in addition, the Amero would be contradicting the immigration issue Americans are currently debating upon. For instance, immigration would then have be relaxed and Mexicans technically can cross to the US without many restrictions, resulting our current struggle on anti-immigration almost a waste of time or furthermore, as non-sense. After all, the Euro meant that countries had to support the UN and furthermore if the Amero is going to be instated, than Mexico and US will have to surrender most of its sovereignty on citizenship, economics and social situations in order to co-exist each other as a "state" to a overall "Union." So if we Americans are still hotly debating on immigration and stuff, the Amero will furthermore cause more problems than we have now. I doubt it will ever come true for the time ahead.

 

Is this some sort of joke? If this is something Lou Dobbs is worried about, you probably shouldn't be.

 

What you don't trust Lou Dobbs??? It isn't a joke BUT it won't happen at the same time.

 

How would you name a one wrld corency?
Globalo?
or just simply money.
I am not saying anything about this,i am vrealy bad in economics i dont know if its fact or fiction.

 

It's fake.

The people pushing this "North American Union / Amero" crap are the same people pushing "9/11 was an inside job," "The government's going to put us all in camps," "We never landed on the moon," and every other crackpot theory anyone's ever tried to sell books on.

Remember what the wise man said:

 

I've heard alot about the Amero.

Not that one should believe this whole hype just because Lou Dobbs reported on it, but it might be interesting to actually watch his report. According to CNN, a viable news source, George Bush signed the treaty already along with Felipe Calderon and Stephen Harper of Canada.

To me, I take the stance of sitting back and waiting for things to happen. I'm sure there are plenty of treaties and policies that could be signed into legality but are really just there to "hold open a door", so to speak. It's kind of like certain statutes in the Patriot Act: the explicit intention of phone tapping is ONLY to moniter terrorist activities, but the reason why people are upset is because it leaves a door open to the authorities abusing that power and spying on citizens.

Most people will say the Amero is fiction. I personally don't see how it would benefit anyone economically, but Obama did just assemble a new-fangled economic advisory board; experts in the field can put a spin on anything and make it sound great--hell, that's all American capitalism is based on anyways!

It wouldn't affect immigration; it would only affect trade and economics. We would remain three separate countries but be linked to one another economically, just like Europe's Euro. Sure, this could be a bunch of conspiracy theorist BS, and I'm willing to accept that. The most anyone can do is look at all sides and try to make an informed, educated, and well-rounded judgement about the claims.

Simply dismissing everything you hear like this because you know all so-called "conspiracy theorists" are lunatics might be just as unfair and simple-minded than for someone to accept every crazy claim he gets off the internet.

 

Steven Harper has a minority government. No way in the Western he'd sign that. Nor has it hit the papers, and believe me, we'd know.

 

There are lots of things that happen within the government that don't hit the papers. The only mainstream reporting I've ever seen on the subject is, again, Lou Dobbs on CNN. They were brief clips and he mentioned it maybe twice. You should YouTube the video. I'm fairly sure the prime minister of Canada signed it.

 

Okay, think of it this way; politically, it's a grenade. He won't touch it.

 

I'm fairly certain the Prime Minister of Canada wants to conduct the business of running the country from a secret base inside an active volcano. I'm completely certain he hasn't signed any Amero papers, and if you have any proof that he has, feel free to post it.

 

Isn't the Amero one of the facets of the so called 'North American Union'. Wasn't this meant to evolve out of the SPP agreement / treaty(?) between Canada / Mexico / USA?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security_and_Prosperity_Partnership_of_North_America
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_currency_union
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Union

 

In Waco, Texas on March 23, 2005, President Bush, Mexican President Fox, and Canadian Prime Minister Harper gathered at a meeting orchestrated by the ruinous Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), and issued a joint statement to announce the establishment of the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPPNA).

Here's the Official website

 

Raven posted:

"I'm fairly certain the Prime Minister of Canada wants to conduct the business of running the country from a secret base inside an active volcano. I'm completely certain he hasn't signed any Amero papers, and if you have any proof that he has, feel free to post it."

You forgot to say that Dr. Evil was his chief adviser...