Artificially suppressing a country's currency exchange rate in order to boost exports and local employment has been the game of mercantilists for many years. However, the currency markets are now experiencing unexpected twists and turns. Fallacious Intuition Foodies are excited that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP – aka food stamps) is about to add $100 million in subsidies that will double the amount of "local" produce beneficiaries can purchase from farmers' markets. Intuitively, it is a good plan – the poor eat more healthful fruits and vegetables because they are demonstrably less expensive. However, it can also be viewed as another tribal approach (e.g. buy America) that skews the market and may not result in the...