If that madman inside the White House hadn't caused me so much anxiety in the stockmarket, I'd gladly send him my copy of Barry Eichengreen's "Exorbitant Privilege" - although I doubt he would read it, and if he did, would understand the damage he caused.
You see, the phrase "exorbitant privilege" was coined in the 1960s by Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (then French minister of finance), to refer to the financial privileges the US has enjoyed in the post-World War II era, due to its currency being the international reserve currency.
It meant that the rest of the world had to buy US dollars to hold in reserve, the same US dollars it cost only a few cents for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to produce, but which other countries had to pony up actual goods and services in order to obtain them - or, in other words, what that genius inside the White House would call a "rip-off".
Well, kiss our collective asses, Donald, because the world is taking steps to use the renminbi and euro in their international transactions. We saw it last week when the world stopped treating the United States as a financial safe haven. You've just squandered your exorbitant privilege.
