Cheap dollar is good for Washington State

The value of the dollar is plunging. That’s going to reduce our quality of life in the longterm since it means we have to pay more to import all the goods we consume.But it represents an important boost to manufacturers in Washington state, which account for about a quarter of our economic activity.

The cheap dollar is particularly important now, in the early stage of an economic recovery. That’s because many of our manufacturers produce capital goods like machines that are used to produce other goods. Demand for such goods are beginning to rise as foreign economies like China recover.

Boeing ius also a big beneficiary of the cheap dollar, which enables the company to undercut Airbus on price. Look for manufacturers to see an upturn if the dollar remains low.