Source: CounterPunch
by Dean Baker
“The dollar has fallen by more than 10 percent against the euro since Trump took office. This is despite the economics textbook prediction that tariffs should increase the value of the dollar. Also, the spread between the interest rate on 30-year Treasury bonds and 10-year Treasury bonds has increased from around 20 basis points last year to more than 60 basis points at present. That additional 40 basis points, which directly affects mortgage interest rates, can be seen as the Trump crazy premium to date. As the craziness deepens — for example, if Trump puts himself in charge of the statistical agencies or decides to do a few more Intel shakedowns — the Trump crazy premium will rise. … the country will be seeing much higher interest rates than if we had a sane person in the White House.” (09/01/25)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/09/01/being-a-reserve-currency-is-not-a-zero-one-proposition/