The joys of Socialism – Venezuelan money not worth the paper its printed on.
The economy in Venezuela is so messed up, it’s cheaper to use actual cash than to buy napkins. (Reddit)
Food lines wind around a block in Punto Fijo, Venezuela.
Venezuela is in crisis.
Inflation in the Socialist regime today is estimated to be from 68% to 808% .
Business Insider reported:
An image is going round that sums up just how ridiculous Venezuela’s economy has become.
A Reddit user uploaded a picture on Monday of a man using a 2 bolivar note to hold an empanada.
According to Venezuela’s official bolivar-dollar exchange rate, the man using his money as a napkin is wasting about $0.31 (£0.20).
But on the black market, the reality is completely different. You can get 676.88 bolivars to the dollar, according to dolartoday.com. That means holding food with a 2 bolivar note costs the holder less than a third of one US cent.
This time last year, the bolivar was far more valuable, and even as recently as May this year, you could still get hold of a dollar for less than 300 bolivars. Today, you need more than twice that.
The country has a spiralling inflation rate. Official inflation is high enough, at 68.5% , but like the official exchange rate, that paints a much rosier picture than reality. Professor Steve Hanke, who runs the “Troubled Currencies Project,” a joint program between the Cato Institute and Johns Hopkins University, says in reality inflation is more like 808% .
The country is a major oil exporter, and the plunge in prices is a huge part of what’s causing the crisis — as a result, the country is pegged as having the riskiest debt in the world, with the highest likelihood of a future default. Food is increasingly hard to get hold of, shop shelves are often empty, and the country’s social order is deteriorating.
In Venezuela people make line for hours just to get the most basic food baskt products. #ماذا_لو_كنت_ملياردير pic.twitter.com/nZRhbnYMnK
— M@D Yi$u$ (@MadYisus) August 12, 2015
#SocialismFail
“@_donaldson: #BernieSanders rally?
Nope, just another food line in #Socialist Venezuela.
pic.twitter.com/qpjxJC9awY”
— Daniel12.3 ن (@Pursuitcntns) July 21, 2015
