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For the past 30 years, the Canadian dollar has been worth less than the American dollar. As a Canadian doing business almost exclusively with US clients, this meant that I put about $1.25CDN in the bank for every US dollar I was paid.

Today, that’s changed. I now get $0.97CDN for every US dollar. This is the first time in my lifetime that the dollar amount that hits my bank account is LESS than what it says on the cheque.

I’m no economist, but I know this: for doing the same work, I’ve seen my income drop by almost 30% in less than six months. The leading reason for this? Currency investors are scared of the US dollar. Between the war in Iraq, the sub-prime mortgage fiasco, the growing US debt rate, and the sluggish state of the the US economy, the green back is losing its luster.

For us, that means we face a tough decision. Do we increase our rates? Or do we insist on being paid in Canadian dollars, to the significant inconvenience of our clients? It’s a lose/lose from where I’m sitting. I’m sure there’s an upside to this somewhere, but I’m not seeing it at the moment.

Posted by Peter F on September 28 2007.
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