A Most Sincere Apology

Last Thursday, the day after the Fed's QE2 announcement, I woke up to a feeling of angst and shame.

I had never witnessed so many green arrows in financial markets from Asia to Europe to South and North America, and all throughout the commodity, futures, and forex markets around the world.

All because the Fed announced its latest change in monetary policy. Everything was going up, just like it wanted.

I felt anger and shame because of the utter arrogance of this institution and the US government. I was embarrassed to be an American.

In 1965, French President Charles De Gaulle famously called the dollar "America's exorbitant privilege."

Under the Bretton Woods Agreement of 1946, the United States gained the exclusive privilege to print the world's reserve currency, and have everyone else accept it in payment of debt.

Instead of being responsible stewards of the world's reserve currency, the United States took advantage of its privilege. It hurts to say it, but it's that simple.

I am deeply humbled when I see the list of countries in addition to my own that you, the reader, come from. In order of readership, you are from Canada, Russia, South Korea, Australia, Indonesia, Turkey, Denmark, Portugal, United Kingdom, France, Singapore, Germany, and Brazil.

I am honored. Thank you for being here.

The Fed's deliberate attempts to debase the dollar and cause prices to rise affects us all.

And so, this weekend while the Fed is at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel on Jekyll Island, Georgia, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the drafting of the legislation that made its exorbitant privilege a possibility, I feel compelled to apologize to you.

I'm sorry.