Zimbabwean Economy: ??!!?

[seireikhaan]

Here is an absolutely stunning article on the state of Zimabwe. A few excerpts of notice, I believe:

Economic analysts say unless the rate of inflation is slowed, annual inflation will likely reach about five million per cent by October.

Huh? How on this green earth is that conceivably possible? I mean, seriously, how? I'm no wizard on economics, but this sort of thing seemed beyond the grasp of possibility. That kind of number for inflation rate is utterly mind boggling.

An example of the effects of this:

As stores opened for business Wednesday, a small pack of locally produced coffee beans cost just short of one billion Zimbabwe dollar. A decade ago, that sum would have bought 60 new cars.

That Robert Mugabe could even have the slimmest of chances of remaining 'President' of this country is a pox upon democracy.

[HoreTore]

Huh? How on this green earth is that conceivably possible? I mean, seriously, how? I'm no wizard on economics, but this sort of thing seemed beyond the grasp of possibility. That kind of number for inflation rate is utterly mind boggling.

It's just a number, how big it is now is meaningless, really, now it's just a number for the economists to touch themselves over...

To the average and unemployed Joe Zimbabwe, it means little. Just that he is still as poor as he was before.

[PBI]

Surely the title of this thread is an oxymoron?

As for Zimbabwean democracy, it has been dead for a long time now.

[seireikhaan]

Surely the title of this thread is an oxymoron?

As for Zimbabwean democracy, it has been dead for a long time now.

Actually the title was slightly different when I posted it, but apparently it wasn't quite mod-approved and was changed.

[JAG]

What we need is a war for freedom and democracy, a liberating barrage of cruise missiles and a saviour....

[Lemur]

JAG, why do you reflexively jump from a topic about Mugabe and Zimbabwe to implicit criticism of America's misadventure in Iraq? Are you fixated, stuck in a rut, obsessed or monomaniacal? For this level of fixed malevolence, you would think America was a hot chick who turned you down in front of your buddies.

As for Mugabe's hand-crafted hellhole, it beyond sad. It's like a combination of Stalin's Five Year Plan and the Khmer Rouge's Year Zero "Everybody Dies" adventure.

Real reporters are banned, so almost all the good info coming out is from bloggers. Wave of the future, I suppose.

[rory_20_uk]

I imagine kicking a leftie when he's screwed up isn't an option, so the default position is to America bash.


But what to do? I vote for nothing. As Jag so typically shows, doing anything is of course wrong. Doing nothing would also be viewed as wrong... but costs a lot less money.

I think that China has the right take on these issues: get off the moral high horse and trade with whoever there is for whatever there is we want. Doing otherwise is futile and quite clearly doesn't work!

[JAG]

I was giving a tired thread, which was already slipping half way down the page, some important impetus. Seems to have worked.

I imagine kicking a leftie when he's screwed up isn't an option, so the default position is to America bash.

Oh, funny man. And doing 'anything' is not wrong, it is doing the wrong thing, which is, er, wrong. And I think you have the sense to know that.

[PBI]

So you would argue that we should have no qualms about trading in conflict diamonds then? Or that we should sell Mugabe guns?

As for China, it is a brutal authoritarian state with an appalling human rights record so it is not that surprising that they aren't too fussed about what other governments do to their people. We on the other hand would be hypocritical to try to promote human rights at home and abroad if we then help foreign leaders to abuse those same rights in their own countries by buying their ill-gotten gains.

What can we do about Zimbabwe? Unfortunately I suspect you are right in that I fear there is very little we can do besides watch the disaster unfold; certainly I can't see how military intervention would help. But certainly we should do absolutely nothing whatsoever that helps the regime to cling onto power, even if it profits us in the short term.

Of course, with Zimbabwe it's a moot point since thanks to Mugabe they no longer have anything to sell.

[rory_20_uk]

I'm not so sure Zimbabwe has nothing to sell. I imagine that due to the land mass it has there is mineral wealth in there.

The new thing is to ration food only to those that help the leaders cling to power. SO by not providing food we are complicit in killing the people. Don't we give food to North Korea (and oil and more - even though we know they are using their resources for the army?), and more topically Burma? To me that smacks of hypocrisy.

So, blood diamonds = bad, not buying them will mean that the people get jobs working elsewhere (optimistic to put it mildly). Clothes from sweatshops are OK as long as they are fronted by a brand we know.

[PBI]

As I understand it the main export commodity of Zimbabwe was food, which is why it is so absurd that Mugabe has managed to bring the country to the point of starvation.

Indeed, the trend for dictators to provide food aid only to their supporters is deeply depressing. I believe this is exactly the strategy Mugabe seems to be adopting to steal the presidential runoff - he has banned all foreign aid agencies from the country and is distributing food only to Mugabe supporters.
But I feel happier about giving food aid than about selling arms to dictators.

[Lemur]

Yup, President Mugabe has established an explicit vote or eat policy. This from the man who brought you "get behind the fist" as a campaign slogan.

[Ice]

I don't even read articles about Zimbabwe anymore.

It all can summarized into one category: Crap

[Mikeus Caesar]

As for Mugabe's hand-crafted hellhole, it beyond sad. It's like a combination of Stalin's Five Year Plan and the Khmer Rouge's Year Zero "Everybody Dies" adventure.

I'm sorry, but there's something so thoroughly amusing about this rather accurate depiction of Zimbabwe that i had to siggy it.

[Xiahou]

That Robert Mugabe could even have the slimmest of chances of remaining 'President' of this country is a pox upon democracy.

I has little to do with democracy I'm afraid. I keep hearing story after story about how members of the opposition party are being jailed, disappeared, or outright murdered. All the upcoming runoff will accomplish is giving Mugabe time to complete his stealing of the election.

[seireikhaan]

I has little to do with democracy I'm afraid. I keep hearing story after story about how members of the opposition party are being jailed, disappeared, or outright murdered. All the upcoming runoff will accomplish is giving Mugabe time to complete his stealing of the election.

Hence my ' ' around the word President. Of course its not actually democratic, but it operates under the facade of one.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

How on this green earth is that conceivably possible?

When you need more money, just printing more is a bad idea.

[seireikhaan]

When you need more money, just printing more is a bad idea.

Well, yeah, I know that, but how much money do you have to print to get that kind of inflation? I mean, jeez, that's utterly insane.

[LittleGrizzly]

It must be one of the only sectors of growth in the economy, money priniting...

[rory_20_uk]

The money is printed in Europe (Germany I think) and flown in.

So... Even making the currency eats into foreign hard cash.

[PBI]

The money is printed in Europe (Germany I think) and flown in.

So... Even making the currency eats into foreign hard cash.

That's probably the most funny and most depressing thing I've heard all day, I'm not quite sure which.

It's almost like a case study in exactly how not to run an economy. First, destroy your country's production of its only major export. Then make your currency worthless through printing so much of it in order to keep paying your cronies to enforce your disastrous policies.

indeed.

[Productivity]

Well, yeah, I know that, but how much money do you have to print to get that kind of inflation? I mean, jeez, that's utterly insane.

You just add zeroes onto the end of the notes... As for what it does, it destroys any chance of having a functioning economy. Not that there is much when Mugabe is your president.