Dollar daze

Remember all the laments about a weak American dollar a few short years ago? Boy, did everybody want that dollar stronger. Now the dollar has become so strong that everybody, including the United States, is trying to make it weaker.

There are good, bankers' reasons for making the dollar cheaper against other currencies.

It is supposed to be so overvalued that it hurts the US; American companies can't compete with those in countries that can produce and sell goods more cheaply.

It is supposed to hurt other countries as well; they lose money for investment as it flows to the US in pursuit of the dollar.

OK, OK. Let the dollar slide. End all those cheap vacations in Mexico for US wage-earners. There are larger purposes to be served.

People just have to realize that ''sound as a dollar'' means something else these days. Not too strong. Not too weak. Somewhere in between to satisfy those who complained before and those who complain now.