The Pelosi

The Wall Street Journal’s editorial in respect of the weakening dollar yesterday — “The dollar’s fate is very much in our own hands,” was its point — reminded us of an encounter we had some years ago with Senator Moynihan. It occurred when the senator stopped by to visit with the editors of the Forward. The senator, who was then chairman of the Finance Committee, was asked about the responsibility of the Congress, under Article I of the Constitution, to fix the value of the dollar (and the other weights and measures). We were startled to hear Moynihan declare that controlling the dollar was, because of the great size of the private capital markets by that stage in history, beyond the power of the Congress to control. It was such a stunning, incorrect assertion that, though we loved Moynihan, we went out that November and cast our vote for Bernadette Castro.