http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21576665-grubby-greenbacks-dear-credit-full-shops-and-empty-factories-dollars-they
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Upon reading the article and learning about the effects that hyperinflation has taken on Zimbabwe, it is clear as to why this issue is so very relevant and significant. Having inflation rise an alarming 231 million percent is absolutely astonishing, and a feat that would have been perceived as impossible until its actual occurrence. The fact that the depleted economy of the country allowed t\he inflation rate to rise to such astronomical proportions is shocking, and the thought of the effects this had on the nation's citizens also raises concern. To put just how little the money was worth during this hyperinflation epidemic, it is safe to say that if a person went to go buy some groceries at a local market, they would need millions, perhaps billions of their dollars just to buy some food to get buy for their family to meet ends meet.
Although Zimbabwe is a developing country, and is not by any means towards the top of the world in terms of events having international implications, this story still remains relevant within the economic standards of the world. It shows another example of how a country that "just prints more money" will not raise its nation's monetary values, and will in fact, set the country on a path towards inevitable inflation and potential economic collapse. Now, the country will need to completely rebuild its monetary system, its banking processes, and construct guidelines that will prevent hyperinflation from infiltrating into the country any more.
Hearing something like this is just really hard for someone in the U.S. to understand. It shocks me that a country could allow their inflation crisis to become this bad. Most people in America will never see millions or billions of dollars in their life time, especially at once, it is almost unbelievable that, that amount of money could be spent on food. It's a bad situation that the country has gotten themselves in but I hope that they and other country's can learn from the mistakes of over-printing money.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kirsten. I just can't comprehend how this is even possible, don't you see whatever you are doing is just making it worse? It just is so unbelievable that inflation could get that out of hand and nobody, not one person has seemed to do even remotely something about it.
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