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Ok, in my thread #916296 about the dollar collapsing recently , @Signal312 mentioned the Hard-Boiled Egg Index, so I decided to check it out!
It was an easy read and, since I haven't read much about economic collapses before, I found it pretty interesting.
I've always wondered what the daily minutia looks like in a collapsing economy and it's quite terrifying. everything fails, crime runs rampant, and, most important lesson, the government is useless and you have to rely on yourself and your friends. In fact, the gov often makes things worse with retarded mandates and price controls that lead to a thriving black market.
City dwellers get smashed the hardest, but if you live in the countryside you can at least grow some food. Asset holders do much better.
Debts got inflated away, but at the price of everything failing.
I'm surprised this book isn't talked about more, Bitcoiners love the Mandables, but this is basically a real-life version.
I wondered have any lessons been learned in Zimbabwe and it looks it looks like they had a go at a gold-backed currency and that's also now fucked
As of April 2024, Zimbabwe introduced a new gold-backed currency called the ZiG (Zimbabwe Gold) to stabilize its economy and combat inflation. However, within six months, the ZiG experienced significant devaluation, leading to increased prices in formal retail outlets and a shift among consumers toward informal markets. In September 2024, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe devalued the ZiG by 42.55% against the US dollar. This devaluation has contributed to rising inflation, with annual rates reaching 57.5%
So yeah, good read, not a long book, and worth a look for any bitcoiner!
Would love a version of this story from Argentina in the early 2000s. Anyone know anything, even if it's not principally about that?
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yes! This would be very interesting to hear
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32 sats \ 1 reply \ @siggy47 23 Mar
I will check it out. This is another good one on the same topic:
I have a bit of a Zimbabwe obsession:
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a Zimbabwe inflation connoisseur lol
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Love it! Great to see your review.
FYI here's a 2019 NYT article about a new episode of inflation in Zimbabwe: https://archive.vn/N3Ig3
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it's insane to see that no lessons have been learned. disgusting politicians as usual
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32 sats \ 2 replies \ @Diego 23 Mar
I’ll add this to my list. Currently reading When Money Dies about the hyperinflation post WW1 in Germany/austria
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i was going to read that after the 4th turning, are you enjoying it?
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32 sats \ 0 replies \ @Diego 24 Mar
Enjoying it might not be the right way of putting it. It’s a tough read because there is so much detail. It’s also pretty devastating. I’m only a quarter way through. Each page just goes from bad to really bad to worse.
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Soon this might happen to larger currencies.
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that's why we bitcoin, but might have to learn how to be a prepper, just in case
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On a related note — I have in the past made the argument that the CFA Franc is, in relative terms, one of the best currencies in Africa, despite its bad reputation among bitcoiners and on the continent
Before Zim's currency collapse, it was in Zaire's (now DRC), back in the 80s. Ghana's currency is also pretty much fucked nowadays. Nigeria's and Egypt's too, but to a lesser degree...
Don't get me wrong, the CFA is not perfect, but it's much more immune to collapses than many other African currencies...
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