Courtesy of the Economist
From the Economist (highlight mine), ``HYPERINFLATION requires a good head for figures and a sturdy wallet to hold wads of low-value paper money. Governments have attempted to keep pace with hyperinflation by issuing ever-higher denomination banknotes to replace worthless notes that might as well serve as wallpaper. Last week Zimbabwe's central bank unveiled a 100 billion dollar banknote to cope with inflation running at 2.2m%. On Sunday July 27th the bank changed tack and announced it would be lopping off a string of zeroes on replacement notes, in what passes for economic reform in stricken Zimbabwe. But Robert Mugabe has some way to go before he can claim for his country the accolade of printing the highest-denomination banknote. A note issued in post-war Hungary came with a mind-boggling 19 digits.”
Courtesy of Associated Press
Because Zimbabwe’s inflation is 2,000,000 % a month, the Zimbabwe central bank plans to reform the currency by removing “zeroes”.
This from the AP, ‘Zimbabwe's bank chief plans new currency reforms — removing "more zeros" from the plummeting Zimbabwe dollar and raising the limit on cash withdrawals — to tackle the country's runaway inflation and cash shortages, state media reported Sunday.
“Previous currency reforms have failed to tame Zimbabwe's inflation — officially pegged at 2.2 million percent a year but estimated by independent analysts to be closer to 12.5 million percent. It also has become virtually impossible to get access to cash as the country's economic collapse worsens.
“Authorities last week released a new 100 billion dollar bank note. By Sunday it was not enough even to buy a scarce loaf of bread in what has become one of the world's most expensive — and impoverished — countries.”
How much that this money buy? According to the CNN
``It said a 4-pound (2-kilogram) bag of sugar cost about 20 billion Zimbabwe dollars ($1) at the government's fixed price, and 90 billion on the black market ($1 at the black market exchange or $4.50 at the bank exchange rate.)”. 20 billion dollars for a bag of sugar! Amazing. Yes, you have a billion alright but it buys practically nothing.
As the Economist have noted we’ve got a history of countries literally printing money in order to politically survive its corrupt and incompetent leaders.
Chart from Cato Institute/Steve Hanke
If the idea is simply to throw money to our socio-economic problems as a political solution, as many have suggested, then we should keep in mind the experiences of Zimbabwe, Yugoslavia, Hungary and Weimar Germany.
There is no free lunch.
No comments:
Post a Comment