Zimbabwe starts $50b notes (enough to buy two loaves of bread) - 231m% inflation

[Lunar]

HARARE, Zimbabwe (CNN) -- Zimbabwe's central bank will introduce a $50 billion note -- enough to buy just two loaves of bread -- as a way of fighting cash shortages amid spiraling inflation.

The country's acting finance minister, Patrick Chinamasa, made the announcement in a government gazette released Saturday.

Although Chinamasa did not give the date on which the $50 billion and new $20 billion notes would come into circulation, an official at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe said the notes would be distributed to all banks by the end of Monday.

Zimbabwe is grappling with hyperinflation now officially estimated at 231 million percent, and its currency is fast losing its value. As of Friday, one U.S. dollar was trading at around ZW$25 billion.

When the government issued a $10 billion note just three weeks ago, it bought 20 loaves of bread. That note now can purchase less than half of one loaf.

Realizing the worthlessness of the currency, the RBZ has allowed most goods and services to be charged in foreign currency. As a result, grocery purchases, government hospital bills, property sales, rent, vegetables and even mobile phone recharge cards are now paid for in foreign currency, as the worthless Zimbabwe dollar virtually ceases to be legal tender.

Once a regional economic model, Zimbabwe is in the throes of an economic crisis, with unemployment running at more than 80 percent and many families unable to afford a square meal. President Robert Mugabe's critics blame his policies for the economic meltdown, but he says the West is sabotaging his efforts.

[Bacon King]

Do you think there is somewhere I could exchange dollars into Zimbabwean currency? It'd be kinda neat to have a $50 billion bill.

[© tweed]

Do you think there is somewhere I could exchange dollars into Zimbabwean currency? It'd be kinda neat to have a $50 billion bill.

wait a few months and you could get a trillion bill.

[Meeker]

If you write to the Zimbabwean government very nicely then I'm sure they'd send you some. Of course you might get some questions from law enforcement officials as to why you're trying to bring Zimbabwean dollars into the country...

[2952-0-0]

^^ They won't care. The Zimbabwe Government Officials will welcome anyone who gives them foreign currency, and the Zim Dollar Bills would be treated as scrap paper by the custom officials anyways.

[Jacobtm]

When have you ever seen a graph of inflation on a log scale? Look back to 2003, inflation was only around 200-300% a year...

[Eraserhead]

...and we overthrew Hussein instead of this guy?

[GMantis]

...and we overthrew Hussein instead of this guy?

Iraq has oil.

[Franzl]

...and we overthrew Hussein instead of this guy?

Iraq has oil.

and Zimbabwe has $50 billion bank notes

[Matt Damon™]

...and we overthrew Hussein instead of this guy?

We shouldn't have overthrown either.

[k-onmmunist]

...and we overthrew Hussein instead of this guy?

Iraq has oil.

Associating the iraq war with oil? Fail. Tell me, how much oil has the US directly taken from Iraq? NONE.

Oil prices rose massively in fact, reaching their higest ever levels recently.

The Iraq War was Bush having Saddam taken out over a personal grudge... I mean, Saddam tried to kill his father for gods sake, thats why the invasion happened.

[Franzl]

...and we overthrew Hussein instead of this guy?

Iraq has oil.

Associating the iraq war with oil? Fail. Tell me, how much oil has the US directly taken from Iraq? NONE.

Oil prices rose massively in fact, reaching their higest ever levels recently.

The Iraq War was Bush having Saddam taken out over a personal grudge... I mean, Saddam tried to kill his father for gods sake, thats why the invasion happened.

And it has quite a bit to do with the current president's (lack of) intelligence.

[k-onmmunist]

...and we overthrew Hussein instead of this guy?

Iraq has oil.

Associating the iraq war with oil? Fail. Tell me, how much oil has the US directly taken from Iraq? NONE.

Oil prices rose massively in fact, reaching their higest ever levels recently.

The Iraq War was Bush having Saddam taken out over a personal grudge... I mean, Saddam tried to kill his father for gods sake, thats why the invasion happened.

And it has quite a bit to do with the current president's (lack of) intelligence.

That would be correct.

[MasterJedi]

Ok, time to assassinate the heads of the government and military!

[Kaine for Senate '18]

...and we overthrew Hussein instead of this guy?

We should overthrow this guy, too.  But, let's get some help this time.

[Franzl]

...and we overthrew Hussein instead of this guy?

We should overthrow this guy, too.  But, let's get some help this time.

and what happens after we overthrow him?

[Matt Damon™]

Ian Smith is dead so we have no potential replacements for Mugabe so no. Also, it's not the west's duty to mess with third world nations.(or enable their population growth via the provision of cheap food/energy)

[k-onmmunist]

It would all be so much better if we had never left.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

...and we overthrew Hussein instead of this guy?

We should overthrow this guy, too.  But, let's get some help this time.

and what happens after we overthrow him?

That's the problem; at the moment, nobody seems primed to take over.  I'd say have Tsvangirai take over on an interim basis, until things can be reorganized and at least some of the damage undone.

[Matt Damon™]

giving aid/food/energy/trade to third world nations only enables unsustainable populations to continue living.

[2952-0-0]

Giving cheap credit and mountains of crap to the US only enables an unsustainable economic situation.

[Ban my account ffs!]

giving aid/food/energy/trade to third world nations only enables unsustainable populations to continue living.

It's called family planning.

The fertility rate in Iran has been reduced from like 6 in 1990 to less than 2 today.  The number of births has declined by more than 50%... all because Iran instituted mandatory marriage counseling and allowed contraceptives after nearly 2 decades of unprecedented growth in the population.

[Eraserhead]

...and we overthrew Hussein instead of this guy?

We should overthrow this guy, too.  But, let's get some help this time.

I'm not actually advocating overthrowing him (although I won't be sad when he's finally gone obviously). But if we are going to start overthrowing governments based on moral outrages it would have made more sense to have started here than, say, Iraq.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     It would be awesome to have a smaller denomination of zim dollars from way back when it was worth something. The money would literally be worth less than the paper it was printed on.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

...and we overthrew Hussein instead of this guy?

We should overthrow this guy, too.  But, let's get some help this time.

I'm not actually advocating overthrowing him (although I won't be sad when he's finally gone obviously). But if we are going to start overthrowing governments based on moral outrages it would have made more sense to have started here than, say, Iraq.

Yeah, I know; I was merely saying we should remove Mugabe as well.