Tell me,anybody,where theforex gone

THE EDITOR: I am a simple person with simple questions.

Can anyone explain to me how the value of the dollar is decided?

Here in Trinidad we had petro dollars, pitch lake, sugar, cocoa and coffee, as well as a little tourism. Yet, somehow, other islands like Barbados and those in the Eastern Caribbean just had sugar and tourism, or nutmeg and tourism, for example, and their currencies have higher values than ours.

With this in mind, I am at a loss to understand how anyone can call for our dollar to be further devalued. Don't they understand how such a move would only serve to push up the cost of living?

Recently the Prime Minister spoke about the forex (foreign exchange) situation and blamed in part the use of credit cards. It is so easy for anyone to place the blame on others when they are too cowardly to accept the fact that they are the cause.

If someone wants to travel and is told that all they may get is US$200, how can they travel with that? It may not even pay for one night's stay at a hotel. Thus the need for a credit card.

As well, most people who use a credit card to transact a foreign purchase spend a few hundred dollars. On the other hand, when each minister purchases a new car every two years, and those are valued at between $500,000 and $1,000,000, I have to ask, "Where the money gone?"

RICHARD DEANE

Diego Martin