The Peso Index

Not all politics stories have to be bitter or brutal, here's one that is whimsically funny, if you aren't a Mexican national. Bloomberg Politics headlines their story:

Want to know how Trump's doing? Just look at Mexico's peso

As you might guess, when Trump's doing well, the peso is down. When he is hurting, the peso is up. Here's why:

In addition to ending Nafta, Trump has said he’ll make Mexico pay for the wall -- a proposal that the government has repeatedly said is a non-starter -- by holding remittances from immigrants in the U.S., which play an important role in bolstering the peso.

I don't think Bloomberg is entirely accurate in writing "holding." Trump has spoken about a tax on remittances sent south by Mexicans working in the U.S.

Trump's idea is attractive if the tax rate is modest. A high tax rate is likely to result in various criminal subterfuges which will become a new profit center for the drug cartels.