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A Dollar Is Not A Dollar: A Plea To Make Dollar Policy Great Again
Authored by John Tamny via RealClearMarkets,
Le Diplomate is one of the toughest tables in Washington, DC. When it opened in 2013 its wildly popular Burger Americain (with French fries) set diners back $14, according to the Washington Post. Thirteen years later, the same meal retails for $29. As Tim Carman and Federica Cocca report at the Post, "the wholesale price of ground beef has soared between 18 and 30 percent in the past few years."
Ok, so why the higher ground beef prices, and beef prices in general? As you read this barbecue restaurants in Texas are quite literally removing brisket from the menu so expensive has it become, while a basic "Little Cheeseburger" at Five Guys costs more than $10, without French fries. Costs are soaring for seemingly the simplest of meats.
Carman and Cocca point to "Drought conditions" as the "primary reason for the rise in prices," due to reduced domestic cattle herds. They add that "Domestic cattle shortages mean more beef is arriving from abroad - and it's more expensive, up from $4.96 per pound in June 2025 to $5.59 per pound in June 2026."
The factors Carman and Cocca point to are difficult to lean on as big drivers of soaring beef prices. That's because globalization, or the division of labor, is generally not a cost accelerant.
Moving to the Trump administration, Carman and Cocca report that inside the White House they're yelling at the proverbial scoreboard with antitrust threats lobbed at the major domestic producers of beef, alongside a reduction in tariffs. The first solution is silly, while the second one is a reminder of the illiteracy informing economic policy within the modern GOP. Which brings us to the purpose of this piece.
Not discussed enough is the dollar. Reporters, politicians, and pundits talk endlessly about the prices of market goods, but almost never about the currency in which those market goods are priced. Their blithe countenance about the dollar reveals a major blind spot in their analysis.
That's because per the title of this opinion piece, a dollar isn't a dollar. Instead, the dollar's valuation is a moving target. Very much so.
Consider the WSJ Dollar Index. Since Donald Trump's inauguration in January of 2025, the dollar has fallen 6.3 versus various foreign currencies on the Index.
What about gold? Known for its constancy, the yellow metal's per ounce price doesn't move as much as the currencies measured in terms of gold do. Notable here is that gold is up roughly 63% since Trump's inauguration, and up 205% since 2013 when Le Diplomate charged $14 for a cheeseburger. This is not nothing.
Again, the dollar isn't a dollar in the way that a foot is always 12 inches, the minute 60 seconds, and the pound 16 ounces. Floated in 1971, the dollar has moved up and down since then. Down substantially under Presidents Nixon and Carter, up substantially under Presidents Reagan and Clinton, and then down substantially under Presidents Bush (W.), Obama and Trump. Commodities are very sensitive to the dollar's movements, and reflect them.
Which explains this opinion piece's plea. It's not random that costs from ground beef, to brisket, to gasoline have soared in modern times, rather it's not insignificantly a reflection of a declining dollar.
Cheeseburgers, brisket sandwiches and gallons of gasoline aren't expensive as much as the modern dollar is cheap. President Trump thinks a weak dollar is "great." He's wrong. See Le Diplomate, see Texas barbecue, and see prices at the pump. How about making a stable dollar great again to reverse a price explosion?
John Tamny is editor of RealClearMarkets, President of the Parkview Institute, a senior fellow at the Market Institute, and a senior economic adviser to Applied Finance Advisors (www.appliedfinance.com). His latest book is The Deficit Delusion: Why Everything Left, Right and Supply Side Tell You About the National Debt Is Wrong.
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Nor'easter Hammers East Coast: 62 MPH Gusts Blast Nantucket, High Winds Hit Bethany Beach
Folks in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast are waking up this morning to a power nor'easter with damaging winds, coastal flooding, and heavy rain.
Coastal wind gusts reached 62 mph on Nantucket, 58 mph in Bethany Beach, Delaware, and 55 mph in Chatham, Massachusetts, according to local weather data. New York's JFK Airport recorded a 53 mph gust. Winds are expected to continue through Sunday.
"Powerful nor'easter bringing major coastal flooding & damaging winds to the East Coast," NWS Weather Prediction Center wrote on X around lunchtime in New York, adding, "Roads are underwater at the Jersey Shore & gusts hit 64 mph on Nantucket. More flooding likely at high tides tonight & Sun. Turn Around, Don't Drown."
Powerful #noreaster bringing major coastal flooding & damaging winds to the East Coast. Roads are underwater at the Jersey Shore & gusts hit 64 mph on Nantucket. More flooding likely at high tides tonight & Sun. Turn Around, Don't Drown. Reports so far: https://t.co/9LGn1JoXUA pic.twitter.com/L84ZYVj3Rh
— NWS Weather Prediction Center (@NWSWPC) September 26, 2026Private weather forecasting firm NY NJ PA Weather provided a detailed map of the impacts for the Northeast through the weekend:
A nor'easter will impact the region this morning through Monday evening. Rain has developed along the coast. Rainfall will become widespread by 2 PM this afternoon and begin pushing inland through the evening. Meanwhile, winds will increase from the Northeast to 15 to 30 mph.
The worst conditions will be tomorrow morning, with torrential downpours, wind gusts up to 70 mph on the immediate coast, and visibility below a mile, producing poor travel conditions, power outages, flash flooding, and coastal flooding. Conditions will gradually improve from tomorrow afternoon through Monday afternoon as the storm weakens while lifting towards southern New England.
ZONE 1: Rain 2" -4", Winds 15-30 mph with gusts over 50 mph, high coastal flooding threat.
ZONE 2: Rain 1" -2", Winds 15-30 mph with gusts over 40 mph, high urban/river flooding threat.
ZONE 3: Rain 0." - 1", Winds 15-30 mph with gusts over 30 mph
ZONE 4: Rain 0.10"-0.50", Winds 10-20 mph with gusts under 30 mph
According to the utility tracking website PowerOutage.us, more than 90,000 customers across New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania are without power.
Footage:
Flooding again north of Bethany Beach, Delaware on our YouTube Live feed https://t.co/JGDokZlRE0 pic.twitter.com/LjhRUzm2eT
— Jesse Ferrell (@WeatherMatrix) September 26, 2026Tough situation in Ocean City, Nj. pic.twitter.com/NK8X4VBDtg
— WeatherWatcher (@WeatherWatchin) September 26, 2026When the Ocean meets the bay in Atlantic City and high tide is still an hour away. When mother nature speaks we have no choice but to listen. 🌊🙌🇺🇸 #AtlanticCityNJ pic.twitter.com/3yoGmDO8BV
— TheMastiffMafia (@mafia_mastiff) September 26, 2026Crews have rescued several people by boat and high water trucks in Sea Bright, New Jersey. Ocean Avenue has been inundated by coastal flooding from the Shrewsbury River. #njwx #noreaster pic.twitter.com/T4BvqAxQYD
— Bill Wadell (@BillWadell) September 26, 2026The good news is that no hurricanes have formed in the Atlantic so far this year, with a strengthening El Niño helping suppress hurricane development by increasing wind shear, which makes it harder for storms to organize and intensify.
Tyler Durden Sat, 09/26/2026 - 12:25