Has logic flown the Coop?

The author comments on the views of economist Sherry Cooper. She is BMO's economic guru--whose big claim to fame is a PR stint as a hate-mail manager for Paul Volcker, Alan Greenspan's predecessor--is a self-marketing machine. The Bay Street "doctor" introduces herself as the most-quoted economist this side of the border. She also appears on TV hundreds of times per year while writing books, a newspaper column and giving speeches "all over the world." Now, I'm not suggesting Cooper should spend more time studying events. In 2001, Cooper made headlines warning Canada to adopt the U.S. dollar. Cooper insisted nobody on the planet would ever prefer the Canuck buck over Uncle Sam's reserve-quality paper, which is why she said Canada had. to give Washington control of monetary policy before we hit 50¢US. The loonie is now over 80¢US, so Cooper is obviously no Kreskin. Nevertheless, she recently made the papers again by renewing the call for dollarization. Our soaring currency, she argues, simply means Canadians would get a better deal. Maybe. But adopting the greenback (which would have significant political, economic and social startup costs) is still nuts.