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July 24, 2006

The Hazards of Massive Inflation

Imagine how you would handle quadruple digit inflation. That is exactly what has occurred in Zimbabwe. Here is one remarkably good-natured woman's account of banks whose systems can't handle all those zeros, shopping with wheelbarrows of cash and trying to squeeze incredibly lengthy hand-written dollar amounts so that they fit into the allotted space on a check.

Most of us have hardly come to terms with the logistics of doing ordinary things like paying bills. If we are paying in cash we find ourselves walking around with carrier bags, duffle bags, plastic sacks and even suitcases literally filled with notes. Its a huge relief to get to where you are going without being mugged because its just not that easy to hide a sack of money.

Although, these days, I suppose even muggers must have to think in terms of wheelbarrows at the very least. The next mission is to get the timing right so that you pay bills when the electricity is on otherwise the money counting machines aren't working, the computers that write receipts aren't working and you spend hours waiting in queues, your arms getting longer and longer, weighed down by heavy bags of money. …

Everything in Zimbabwe, even writing a cheque, has become an exercise in extremes - miniscule handwriting for massive amounts of money to pay small fractions of huge monthly expenses.

I think we can all be very grateful for our government and the many people who work to keep our economy functioning properly. We may have our blips now and then and the occasional gas line, but stories like these help put those things back into perspective. They also remind me why government is so important and why I am not a Libertarian.

Posted by Becky at July 24, 2006 10:24 AM