Friday, August 5, 2011

Our monopoly money

60 years had passed, yet people don't remember the basics of our arithmetic
education. It's great wonder to see how people just add zeroes without understanding what each zero means. While we may laugh at the following images, just take a look at what are happenings at our doorsteps. Projects and contracts keep running up with more zeroes.
It appears all the zeroes don't mean a thing, except, 0000000000000!

Inflation seems to be the sum of all zeroes. As some folks say: "It's a zero game!" Like one of the words in the images said: "Take off 10 zeroes". If we could inflate, we could also deflate. Like our Bakun Dam case, they're bargaining 8 and 6 billion, as if they were only 8 and 6 dollars. What had happened to all our education. Our kids will be wondering what are all these zeroes mean.

It's good to take another look at what's happening in our country - Malaysia. Or we mayfollow this African country in no time. Don't laugh, please. It could happen.

What the real crisis is like!
If you think that the current economic crisis is something that has never happened in history before, you may be wrong! After the collapse of the agriculture sector in Zimbabwe in 2000, the inflation in that country skyrocketed to 231 million percent a year! Just think about it - 231 000 000%! Unemployment went up to 80% and a third of country's population left it.

Let`s now have a look at the photos that you may not be able to see anywhere else in the world.

Here is a boy getting change in 200 000 dollar notes!


One 200 000 dollar note equals less than $0.10 cents.


December 22nd, a new note of 500 000 dollars introduced to the market!


Next - 750 000 dollars.


January - new note of 10 million dollars.




This US $10 dollar note is 10 times worth more than the 10 million dollars Zimbabwe note.



A case worth 65 billion Zimbabwe dollars which equals to $2000 US dollars.


This guy is going to a supermarket. The exchange rate is 25 million Zimbabwe dollars for 1 US dollar.


This mountain of cash is worth USD$100.


50 Million note is then introduced!


Next is 250 million dollars note!


Sorry, how much is this t-shirt?
- It`s cheap, only about 3 billion dollars!



May - a note of 500 million dollars is introduced!


June - note worth 25 and 50 billion are printed.


And finally - 100 billion dollars note!


What can you buy for it? Well, these 3 eggs for example.


That's how people went to restaurants!


And the bills:



In August, the government devalued Zimbabwe dollar by removing 10 zeros from notes.


However, inflation kept going up and in September for this amount of cash you could only buy 4 tomatoes.


And for this - some bread.


And then it started again: 20 000 dollars note in September.


50 000 a couple of weeks ago!


They`ve got a pretty good chance of hitting billion dollar notes again by the end of this year!

So when UMNO rather Najib, Vincent Tan and Bank Negara continue printing monopoly money, how much do you think our ringgit will be worth in five years time?