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Hyperinflation In Action: Beer For Bag Of Cash
In May 2011, Belarus surprised its citizens by devaluing its currency by 50% overnight in an attempt to kickstart its economy, leading to swift and brutal hyperinflation. And while written narratives of the most recent episode of monetary collapse are one thing, nothing is quite as amusing, and grounding for those attempting to "value" money (such as Nobel prize winning economists writing out of their steel exoskeletal ivory towers), as watching a bag of cash be used to pay for seven boxes of beer. And nothing is quite a cathartic as spending several hours trying to count said cash - cash backed by the "full faith and credit" of the Belarus central bank...
h/t Daan
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BP June 2012 oil markey report
White Russia oil comsumption KBD
Y2009 :188
Y2010 : 146 (crisis ?)
Y2011 : 180
Somebody was consuming real BTUs / real goods
But who ?
Meanwhile OECD Europe has lost 2 MBD of consumption since Y2006
Thats 11+ White Russias gone..........................
Bernanke, Evans, Dudley, Yellen's wet dream.
They'll keep printing until it happens.
CNBS and the media will spin it as a positve event. Of course the stock market will be up big before it occurs, just like Zimbabwe.
They look like 20 rouble notes.
P.S. Eastern european women have got to be the prettiest women on the planet!
They are f'in babes.
lol...now thats "rich" ;-)
I don't think hyperinflation will ever hit the US or EU- why?
All the money printed is not reaching the final customers aka consumers aka us. All the money is just used by the banks to hoard it and to make some money with it. As long as the banks are not giving out credit like madmen there will be no inflation.
I would say the massive easing by the fed and ecb is to fight the deflation we are facing since 2008. But maybe i am all wrong - who knows. The only thing I know for sure is that a lot of money flows to the rich, they make the most money with capital gains. The poor average joe has no money left - therefore no inflation. :O
QQ
Your mistake is that you think Hyperinflation is simply really high inflation. Hyperinflation is caused by a loss of faith in a currency, not simply due to increases in money supply and velocity.
They can't keep control of Ben's newly printed money indefinitely. The banks can't resist chasing a better return than they are getting by lending it back to the government. They are just too greedy, and there is too much cash for the 1% to hang on to themselves.
Hyperinflation will most def. hit the US & EU. It is already too late to stop it.
Amazing you got 5 upvotes. Shows there's lots of stupidity here on ZH regarding monetary matters, and lots of hopium hyperinflation won't happen.
Hyperinflation is already happening. Expanding the money supply 1,000% in just over 4 yrs is hyperinflation.
Yes, most of that "new money" is out of circulation, tucked away in reserve accounts at the Fed or hidden in all sorts of "off balance sheet" arrangements with other central banks.
But we know somewhere around $1 trillion is getting into the circulating money supply each year from US govt debt purchased by the Fed. That "new money" is spent by the govt right into the circulating money supply each year.
Yes the Fed is trying to offset that by nearly shutting down lending in the private sector, why businesses can't borrow money these days and consumer borrowing has high interest rates, trying to discourage consumer borrowing.
Several hundred more billion of "new money" is getting into the circulating money supply from student loans, plus a few hundred more billion from mortgage lending, credit card lending, etc.
Altogether I suspect the circulating money supply is growing $2 trillion a year now. Just the ratios are different. Way more from govt borrowing, way less from private sector borrowing.
But they're doing a good job of hiding it, changing the way M1 & M2 are tallied, leaving out more and more stuff, keeping the numbers low.
Then there's the role the US military plays, keeping nations on the US dollar when they'd really like to switch to Euros or some other currency, like Saddam Hussein wanted to do for Iraqi oil.
There won't be any deflation in America's foreseeable future. Deflation means the currency gains value, and that won't happen.
What IS happening is demand collapse in some areas, particularly housing. That's not deflation. It's just falling prices.
Falling prices from demand collapse is not deflation. The currency is still losing value. But demand collapse is offsetting it, resulting in prices falling slightly rather than rising rapidly.
Inflation shows up in areas where demand is steady, like food and fuel. Mostly food these days, since fuel demand is dropping off. It's why gasoline is hovering around $3 / gal now and gasoline inventories are piling up. People just aren't buying as much gas as they used to. But look at diesel, still over $4 / gal, because demand for diesel hasn't dropped off.
Diesel should be $8 - $9 / gal now. And it will be when oil producing nations finally move away from USD, which they're quietly planning to do.
Someone said hyperinflation is mostly from loss of confidence in a currency. Yes that's correct. It's why you can't quantify and forecast hyperinflation. You cant quantify and forecast loss of confidence.
And it usually happens suddenly, or quickly over a short period of time, like in Iran from US embargo actions, forbidding companies from trading with Iran, reducing demand for Iran's currency, causing loss of confidence in that currency.
Same thing will happen to America at some point. The rising Asian alliance will do it.
That's when America will be cut off like Iran is cut off now, and we'll see hyperinflation here, just like Iran has.
COG, your post gave me the chills.
Green arrow for you.
Last I checked, beer still required the same proportions of grains, hops, water, yeast, spices, a little heat, a dash love for liquid bread.
So, in real terms, beer costs the same as it always has, perhaps less due to improved methods of production.
1) It's an old video
2) They are not buying beer, they are buying KBAC
3) They are paying with the lowest deonomination of 10ruble bills that are still legal currency edit: yep, some 20s in there as well
They are just joking around. It's like buying a new car with $1 bills.
I could go to the bank and convert 300 RMB into 30000 fen and try to pay with it for similar effect.
Exactly, "kvass", a far cry from beer. +1 from me.
of course the do nothing managers are nowhere to be found
Not true, he gently set down the calculator and split.
It is really quite sad when you see someone trade in a year's worth of toilet paper for a week's worth of beer.
A mistake they will regret in 8 days.
Maybe this is EXACTLY why the are trying to demonise cash as the choice of terrorists - they know this is the situation we will be in soon. Pay by credit - this problem doesnt exist.
completely true.
for the logistic part, adding a zero is a bitch but with a card it ain't.
and those kids find it funny, but for those who actually had money lost it all.
new wages adapt and you can spend your salary on a monthly or daily basis.
no saving is allowed so you won't be able to buy real assets anymore.
living... on a monthly basis....
the poor don't mind. food and drink with these months credits which will change next month.
How many people now already live on a monthly basis? and who are these people?
Well, we'll all find out when our currencies die.
And without savings, there's no escape.
You are locked in place because getting out costs money. money that is tradable in other locations than your own.
"therefore no inflation."
Look around rather than regurgitating government CPI data.
The government has a good reason to keep the CPI low. It's called inflation obligations.
Do you eat, drive, heat your home, pay taxes?
Nonsense. This sounds like Fed and government crap they jawbone.
The government CPI says newspapers and magazines have only increased 35% over the last 10 years. Yet newspapers, like the New York Times increased their papers by 135% in the last 10 years.
Have you purchased gasoline?
Ever look at the packaging and how the sizes are decreasing? For instance the price of coffee has increased and it shrunk.
Also other manufacturers have decrease sizes.
The Incredible Shrinking Sugar Baghttp://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/11/15/the-incredible-shrinkin...
The fact that producers are shrinking the packages instead of raising the price also contributes to something I've recently seen popping up both on personal finance boards, and in personal conversations: people expressing surprise and frustration at their inability to control their soaring grocery bills. They don't feel like they've shifted their consumption habits--indeed, in many cases, they've been cutting back on expensive items like meat and cheese--but somehow they just can't keep the cost down, and they don't understand why. That's because many of them haven't noticed that they're getting less product in their packages. They may not even be aware that they're running out of things sooner. But week in and week out they're having to buy more groceries at each trip, and that's adding to a much bigger bill. They know the price of meat has gone up, because that's something that you usually buy by the pound. But they're less aware that the price of everything else has gone up too.
Ugh. Please don't post links to the Daily Mark of The Beast.
Thanks in advance.
Health insurance premiums up 100% in 4 years and my health has not changed one bit.
They have hispanic cashiers in Belarus. There're everywhere.
Could be worse; bag for a cache of beer.
That too will come to pass, if there is any beer by then.
cash for cache
It was Kvas not a beer. Kvas is like soda (fermented grains). Supposed to be healthy and you can buy it from the ethnic stores here in USA. I bought it once and it wasn't bad - interesting taste.
Looks like the money is heavier than the product it buys. Coming soon to good ole USA.
Kvass is good I highly recommend it, chilled a bit like beer it's great on a hot day. Alcohol content is low, typically about 1%.
I am sticking to my hard apple cider post-collapse beverage plan. Apples, yeast, air-lock stopper.
Hard cider is a grossly neglected and underrated beverage. I have made it for years (or at least used to, when I used to live next door to apple orchards), and I find it eminently far more drinkable and approachable than nasty bitter beer. How the latter has EVER become as popular as it is is a total mystery to me.
I have five apple trees (a nearby friend has several more). We consider hard cider one of our future barter items.
Screw that. I, the grandest of virtue, will try to steer this comments thread back on course (from page 2). I, the beholder of wisdom, will bring the point back to the needle. I, holder of all things sacred, will allow the flow to come back. I, the............................................ I, the.......................... a
*insert pause*
I got nothing.
Where is Paul Krugman..... We just didn't print enough!!!!!
Stacking gold isn't gonna be any help for anyone's "retirement".
Here is an opinion that makes sense to me that there will not be hyperinflation and stacking gold is not a solution.
http://armstrongeconomics.com/the-taxman-cometh/
The Weimar Republic and Zimbabwe did not have bond markets. The USA has the biggest one ever and the bond vigilantes will keep The Fed from printing out of control. High inflation, stagflation and deflation all happening at different times and in different areas of the economy is what I think we will be dealing with, but never hyper-inflation. Cash/money will still be good for quite awhile and economic volatility and crises will continue to push people to fly to USD and treasuries, thus keeping the USD up and working as the reserve currency. We'll be using cash and then we'll go to all electronic money (symbolic of cash). You retirees ain't gonna be paying your rent, your groceries, your car payments, your gas, your electric bill, your doctor/dentist bills, your taxes, etc. etc. etc. with gold of silver.
I agree with you that we will be experiencing inflation, deflation and stagflation simultaneously but to say that stacking gold is not a solution because cash will be good for quite a while is a dangerous proposition.
We know which of the two has faired best over the last decade or so.
We also know whose side history is on as well.
In any case the Chinese appear to have stopped stacking US dollars and are keeping their gold stacking activities secret. I wonder why.
Alfbell, I think you are both right and wrong in your analysis of the future for the US dollars.
Regarding your putative "bond vigilantes", I can only laugh, as the Fed IS the market for US bonds now for all practical purposes, and if there were any signicant "bond vigilantes" they would have ALREADY reacted to the grossly irresponsible and unsustainable fedgov debt issuance, and interest rates would have ALREADY risen significantly, but that is not the case, and will not be going forward.
However, I suspect you are correct that there will be no hyperinflation in the US. That will only be small comfort, though, as I believe that the depreciation of the US dollar is destined to accelerate, perhaps even devastatingly, with something on the order of a 50% or 75% loss over the next five or six years. Whether that depreciation happens suddenly, in a currency crisis a la Argentina in 2001-2002, or as a managed and orderly decline, I cannot say, but either way it will be catastrophic to those with any form of fiat-denominated savings, and indeed to everyone as their standard of living will most likely be falling more or less accordingly. The fact that such a currency depreciation might not meet the technical definition of hyperinflation will be quite beside the point; it is certainly better to lose 'only' 75% of one's savings than 99.9999% of one's savings, but both outcomes utterly suck.
The USA has the biggest one ever and the bond vigilantes will keep The Fed from printing out of control.
Nonsense. "bond vigilanties" have no control over Fed's printing press, as we've seen 4 years now.
This is ridiculous and shows the ignorance of authorities and lack of respect for technology. Printing trillions of notes and wasting trees and ink, when they could just follow the post office's lead. Print one note tied to an official, central transcript value on a website.
That way they can look online, real time to see what the "value" of the note is at that particular moment. Problem solved.
The store would be better off if they demanded payment in copper pennies. That paper should be burned.
Inside a Failed State - Zimbabwe
This is why gun control is so instrumental in completing their mission. 'So you'll suffer a little bit': Bloomberg says combating addiction 'epidemic' is priority as he hits back at claims that plan to restrict prescription painkillers will penalize poor
Back in the day, a job at a "grocery" store in Pick-a-S.S.R. was THE job to have...well, outside of being head of the Central Committee.
I was in Belarus and Russia in 1992 when the Rouble dropped from about equal to a dollar to being worth 1 cent. A steak dinner that normally would be $20 cost me 20 cents. Soviet military belt buckles were 3 cents, Lenin pins and medals were 1/4 cent to 1 cent each, watches 50 cents, an all-day taxi ride around the countryside was $12. Hyperinflation is fun for foreign visitors.
Ahh, Crap! Here come the tourists!
...but wait - From where will they come? Everybody's junking their currency.
Perhaps these are interstellar tourists? Maybe Icke's shape-shifting reptilians come to see their relatives and check up on how the ranch is coming along?
The tourists come from hard-asset land... Haven't you been paying attention??
peterpan: But what about the idea that gold will be confiscated and it won't be accepted for the purchase of staples. That is what happened in the Great Depression. The next one is going to be GREATER... so I'd expect more strident rules on gold and more capital controls than ever. The US government will enforce everything in its power to remain in existence (even destroy it Constitution, economy and country). I believe the Chinese are stocking gold for one purpose... so the renmimbi will be strong and can come on line as the new reserve currency (not that likely), or one of the currencies in a reserve currency basket (more likely).
akak: I agree with you that the depreciation will be terrible (but not hyper-inflation). Half of the treasury market is owned by foreign sources (Japan, China, Russia, England, Netherlands, etc.). They don't want interest rates going up and killing the yield on their existing bonds. They may have slowed on buying new issues but as things worsen in Europe and Asian emerging countries struggle to grow, and more and more crises occur (volatility caused by too much debt) I believe there will be a flight to the USD... preservation of capital as opposed to return. I think the dynamic of bond holders will play more of a inhibiting role on Fed printing (thus government spending) than you think. With all the variables, intervention, false stats and information that exists today... it is all speculative as to what will happen.
I'm always interested to hear what others are doing preparation wise. Love to hear from anyone on the subject.
I personally buy no and own no gold. Sold off my silver a long time ago. I make lots of cash and keep using my cash to amass more and more cash. I believe I have 3-5 years left to continue doing this. When the time is right I'll go into apartment buildings and farmland as my tangible assets to protect my wealth and continue to give me passive income. That is the bet I'm placing. I hope I'm right!
Feedback, advice, suggestions, other options, etc. are all welcome. Lot of smart people here on the ZH.
I have very little gold and silver and even less money for rents. Keep your apt, I'll be homeless.
I'm already bartering silver/food. I can see now more reports of gold->cash->food right the grocery store too http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtDIq1iUqA8
I would suggest your no-metals-all-cash strategy will lead to bankruptcy in a currency collapse.
Investing in apartment buildings is risky. You're assuming people will have money to pay higher and higher rent you'll need to pay higher and higher costs like property taxes, maintenance, etc.
I wouldn't invest in something that (a) depends on other people's discretionary income, which will fall in the years ahead, (b) requires services from other people to maintain, like plumbers, electricians, etc, and (c) is a favorite revenue target for city govts (taxes / fines / assessments).
Farm land is good. It can produce food which other peple must have, and taxes / maintenance are low.
At that point the money is not worth counting. The store should not accept it as payment.
They can't refuse (legal tender).
This is why I have a home brewing kit in my bug out bag.
Tyler: It's not beer, it's Kvas, a yeast-based drink without alcohol.
Do you want to know what is funny? A Kenyan Muslim holding a Christian bible during the upcoming inauguration. Lincoln helped free slavery, while Obama is refueling indentured servant policies. You have to love the irony.
Let's see if they get the oath of office right this time.
Now that's irony...so typical of this cast of characters in D.C.
Even funnier, he'll be pretending to pledge to defend the Consitution of the U.S. With a straight face. so help him, Allah!
Well, not really funny.
From iTulip, a good summation (written several years ago, but still on-point and valid) of what we are likely to see going forward regarding US debt and the US dollar:
Can a run-away monetary "deflation" happen in a world of floating exchange rates and no gold standard? No. Just the opposite.
As we have said ad nauseum since 2001: governments inflate their way out of debt deflation trouble. Always have, always will. The one (count 'em: one) exception was the 1930s asset price and commodity price deflation in the US. It was nearly instantly ended in 1933 when FDR took the US off the gold standard and the dollar money supply was inflated by the Fed (see the image to the left that we extracted from a Fed working presentation). The rapid inflation was created even though thousands of banks had failed. So much for the idea that central banks can't create inflation when the banking system is broken. They can. What they can't do is create money and have it go where they want it to go, nor can a central bank guarantee the foreign purchasing power of a deflated currency. Fact is, as long as a central bank is not constrained by the gold standard, it can increase its balance sheet more or less infinitely.
The only other case of an all-goods price deflation since central banks stopped using gold for either international trade or internal money backing was in Japan as a consequence of the Bank of Japan's bungling of their asset price and debt deflation. Note that the BoJ raised rates from 4.25% to 6% between Dec. 25, 1989 and Aug. 30, 1990, while the NIKKEI fell from 38,916 to 24,166. That's like the Fed raising rates starting March 2008 from 4.25% to 6% in August 2008 while the DOW falls from 13,100 to 8,700. Every reader who believes the Fed will do this, please raise your hand. Anyone? Nobody?
Even then, the "deflation" in Japan was never more than 2% in any year, and all the poor "deflating" Japanese economy was able to do during its "lost decade" was take over the US auto industry as the US economy "boomed" with Toyota last year replacing General Motors as the largest auto maker in the world. Lesson learned: don't raise interest rates during a debt deflation, stupid. (In case you are wondering why the BoJ kept rates so high for so long when the US experience in the 1930s provided clear instruction against it, the answer is: to help get Ronald Reagan elected, but that's a tale for another day.)
If not deflation, then hyperinflation?
The US is not on the gold standard so a 1930s style deflation is impossible. The Fed even before Bernanke was hired repeatedly stated (as in the presentation we got the image from) that the Fed will not sit by and allow inflation to fall below zero, so a repeat of the Japanese 1990s "deflation" experience is about zero, unless the Fed decides to crash the US economy on purpose on behalf of some external political entity–and that ain't how we operate.
Besides the 1930s depression in the US and the self-inflicted ongoing debt deflation in Japan, every other instance when a government, its politicians, and their voters have gotten themselves in as much credit driven hot water as the US is in today has done one thing, and over and over. In fact, while the world experienced two (2) deflationary episodes in the past century, how many debt deflations resulted in currency depreciation and all-goods price inflation? The answer: 17.
I'm leaving off many minor examples, and that is just in the past 90 years. Go back centuries and several dozens of examples can be cited. Yet the one instance of a runaway price "deflation" in the 1930s becomes for some the model for a modern, post credit bubble US debt deflation. Bizarre.
Will the US experience a hyperinflation? No, that is also very unlikely to occur. Unlike the nations listed above, none had a currency that was a reserve currency. All were politically and economically isolated at the time they suffered the economic shock that set off the hyperinflation. We explored the idea of a technical hyperinflation (more than 100% over five years) in the early 2005 with the article Inflation is Dead! Long Live Inflation!. But for that to happen, US trade partners will have to repudiate economic and political ties to the US and abandon the dollar. That strikes us highly unlikely, unless President Bush canceled the Constititution and declared himself President for Life. Then maybe we'd have a dollar hyperinflation. So, as we explored in 2006 in Can the U.S.A. have a "Peso Problem"?, we do not expect a dollar hyperinflation but rather a period of higher than normal inflation but not as high as Mexico's nor as high as we floated out in our 2005 trial balloon back when many were still wringing their hands about deflation. Our best estimate at this point, as we approach the nexus of the debt deflation crisis, is peak inflation rates of 6% to 9% annual CPI-U or 9% to 12% in pre-1983 inflation measures.
http://www.itulip.com/forums/showthread.php/2806-How-to-make-301-in-six-...
You do know that President Obama has declared himself President for Life now. Don't believe me? Wait for 2016.
'Japanese' want so much to reveal they are beingness 'american'
deflating upon 'road side' learns something finally from AnTraditional 'economy' not 'americanism'
The crustiness of your 'american' mattering thing in terms for monolizing the speeching means with offuscationalizingisticalism of 'american' eternal nature of middle class is the king class thusly farming the poor and extorting the weak, alas alas triple alas. Just have to bear with it.
" That strikes us highly unlikely, unless President Obama canceled the Constititution and declared himself President for Life."
Whoops. One little change to the original text suddenly changes its meaning, doesn't it?
Here’s a blast from the past.
The Post-Bubble Recession has Arrived Ka-Poom! Theory: How the 1995 - 2000 asset bubble ends in moderate deflation followed by high inflation
Posted: January 29, 2001
Solution: If we just keep changing the Government mathematical formulations, the muppets will never figure it out. /sarc
So all of those currency swap agreements that the BRICS countries have been making don't count for spit, then?
And the central banks switching from blow to suck when it comes to gold, nothing to see there I guess...
Color me satisfied and set at ease, gee, I thought they were running for the exits.
The article assumes (a) FRN will remain reserve currency, (b) its value is entirely within US control, and (c) America will never be cut off from foreign trade.
None of those things are guaranteed.
unless the Fed decides to crash the US economy on purpose on behalf of some external political entity–and that ain't how we operate
Why do you talk about the Fed in first person? You scare me...
They built that!
So, is beer cheaper for breakfast?
http://silvervigilante.com
Don't laugh, I just got back from the gun show and the best price on green tip 5.56 was $800 per 1000! There was some tracer and ball for $.60 to $.75 per round, but nothing lower than that!
I am sure Fonzanoon has got nothing to do with this post.
At least they still have BEER
Can't happen in the US. First who carries cash these days? Second, go the the bank and ask for more than 5 grand in cash.
While the digital printing presses have been rolling the physical ones have not.
Cheers.
Actually Fubar, it seems to me that that's part of the diabolical genius of the whole global currency devaluation.
Soon enough, NO one will be ALLOWED to use cash. All "legitimate" transactions will be electronic, and therefore monitored, controllable, easily taxable, etc.
And any wise ass who dares to meaningfully challenge or threaten the system or the current state of affairs will have their transaction privileges revoked like they made the wrong comment on a Yahoo forum - silent, no explanation, no redress. Just a cold, faceless reminder that you'd better ShutTFU and get in line, or next time it's the FEMA camp.
I believe dollars still have a long way to go. I'm 60. They won't be worthless in my lifetime. And business and taxes will still be transacted with them. Extend, pretend and prop up can go on for a long long time. Especially if you have a printing press. There is no other country that has a strong enough currency to become a world reserve currency.
Probably would be prudent, as my income increases and I've taken care of my real needs, to start buying some gold and silver coins. Just in case they are helpful. I'd think I'd rather offer shelter (apartments) and food (farm land) as my exchange for money and the things that I need. Health, water, food and shelter are the real wealth. Gold and silver may not turn out to be as useful as most think.
I believe dollars still have a long way to go. I'm 60. They won't be worthless in my lifetime.
All us geezers hope for that.
The politicans keep saying it is the grandchildren who will pay. That is a lie. At the bottom of this cycle, all the Dollars, Treasuries, Bonds and Derivatives will be swept away like the leaves in the fall. The wealth of the geezers will disappear. The grandchildren will get to start from scatch. Good for them, it's not their fault.
"Health, water, food and shelter are the real wealth. Gold and silver may not turn out to be as useful as most think."
Pre-1964 junk (less than collector condition) US silver coins could be pretty widely accepted as money for buying stuff. It's got all the characteristics that real "money" should have.
Gold and silver bars will have to be first converted to whatever's being commonly used as money before you'll be able to buy food or gas or shoes with it. They're an excellent medium for storing wealth, but not so useful for everyday commerce.
Owning quality tools and having skill in using them will be wealth. The jack-of-all-trades who can maintain and repair aging roofs, water pipes, machinery, appliances, broken bakery windows, etc. will thrive.
Personal Trainers, Life Coaches, Beauticians, Financial Planners, Dog Groomers, etc. should all have a Plan B skill to turn to when the mainstream economy goes tits-up. Discretionary spending by the middle class will collapse, and aspirational spending will be the first to get slashed.
I wonder what Paris Hilton would be doing, as far as usefull jobs? Me wonders.
Long gold and increasingly short lifespan it seems. The anticipated doom of a perpetually impending global lifechanging fiscal crisis that appears to have teetered on the edge of the abyss forever has not yet significantly materialised despite logic dictating otherwise. Our western currencies continue to devalue yet life seems for many to continue unchanged regardless. Many citizens of the world vehemently rage against the machine yet nothing has really changed. It would appear the enlightened eventually become painfully aware they are born into existence as an indentured taxed peon and that real freedom is a privilege reserved for the connected and/or wealthy.
However the concept of wealth can be subjective. On topic in 1990 I was relatively poor in my 20's and travelled through eastern europe on a motorbike with a then girlfriend. The berlin wall had been down 3 months and I recall in poland, romania, bulgaria and ukraine the fiat was as in this video. One time I exchanged 100 marks which wasnt much (I lived in london at the time 3 marks to the pound) and couldnt carry in 2 hands the bulgarian fiat called lev. In fact the fiat was cheaper than toilet paper no joke. Likewise when the disolution of the soviet union occured you couldnt buy neck tie in fiat for the fiat cost of an apartment in moscow 18 months earlier. Gorbachev has recently likened the fiscal crisis in the west to the soviet unions perestroika however given our elected leaders we are unlikley to get a glasnost peacefully. I am just beginning to realise how resiliant tptb are they will not just give up easily its business as usual as far as they are concerned. I just hope it occurs in my lifetime and that the metals I hold are not another tulip bubble.
20% inflation in 2012 in Belarus. People keep their savings in USD or jewelry
Mmmmmmm.....bbbeeeeeeeeerrrrrr........
Can we please ban laozi and wstblowr and their relative IP's? Their retarded pro zionist comments are killing this site.
The guys and the store cashier were laughing as if this was a prank - like the guys were paying with $1000 bills instead of with trollin-dolla-platinum coins!
Continue to remain frugal... work hard and make as much USD as possible over the next couple years (or as long as I can). But soon, before a currency or other crisis sweeps in without warning, buy income properties and farm land to rent out to maintain my livelihood. That is my solution for the resultant chaos and disorder that will rain down upon us due to our sins.
After all of the reading and thinking I've done on this subject of "preparation and wealth preservation" this seems to be the best tact.
I'd weigh out 500 bills, then weigh the rest.
Getting bored with Jew bashing, can we start bashing David Icke's Reptillian People for a while?
Now it is 8,660 Belarus rubels for 1 US dollar. So Guinness, my favorite beer is $9.99 a six pack today, or $86,513.40 in rubels.
In January of 2011 it was 2,999 Belarus rubel for 1 US dollar, so my Guinness six pack would have been $29,960.00 in rubles.
If those poor bastards had gold or silver they's be able to buy 4 times the beer they used to.
But.....but.....Paul Krugman is really smart. He's like a Phd economist with a Nobel prize, and he says that this is America and hyperinflation can't happen here, no matter how much munny we print.
So, that was May '11. I wonder who's laughing anymore? I wonder if they have beer anymore? I wonder if the store is there anymore? I wonder if these kids (or this town) even have cell-service anymore?