Who’s afraid for the dollar? Part I

We hear many prognosticators talk negatively about the dollar (I call them “dollar bears”). Some predict the dollar will get so weak it will crush the economy, cease to be the world’s reserve currency, and drive interest rates to double-digits. Some even talk about Zimbabwe or Weimar Republic style hyperinflation due to the all the money the Federal Reserve is “printing”.  These fears are overblown and unrealistic in my opinion and I’d like to take a moment to explain why this is not something we should fear. Since this is an extensive topic, I will break it into several parts.