Zimbabwe's inflation falls from 1000% to 9% !
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(I thought this would give you a chuckle Mish)
Zimbabwe's inflation falls from 1000% to 9% ! Community Watch
sudhi | 06-02-06| 04:09 PM| Total Replies: 5
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Zimbabwe's inflation rate has fallen from 1000% to 9% in just two weeks' time. Two weeks ago, a team of statisticians from the BLS in Washington DC, landed in Harare and went immediately to work on the orders of President Mugabe, to lower Zimbabwe's inflation rate to less than 10% within a month.
Due to the untiring efforts of the BLS bureaucrats and the relentless application of strategies like hedonic pricing, geometric weighting, chaining, substitution and other undisclosed methods, Zimbabwe's official inflation rate is now at 9%.
President Mugabe expressed his delight at the lowering of the inflation rate at a luncheon in his palace for the BLS bureaucrats.
The details of the BLS work are not yet known, but it has been revealed by sources close to the BLS that using the method of substitution, the BLS bureaucrats reduced the price of a sheet of toilet paper from Zim$417 to zero (by assuming that a sheet of toilet paper can be substituted by a dry leaf).
The BLS bureaucrat chief also informed President Mugabe that using the latest core PCE deflator technology used in the US, they can lower the inflation rate in Zimbabwe even further, possibly to less than 5 percent.
Replies # 1 - # 5 of 5
1. Those guys from BLS ARE absolutely
drmerle| 06-02-06 | 05:07 PM
amazing...if I didn't live here in the US and see their calculations at work, everyday, in my life, I wouldn't believe it!!!
Aren't they also involved in calculating the unemployment rate? It is at an amazing low level right now...all my unemployed friends tell me so!!!
Dr. Merle
2. BLS and unemployment
sudhi| 06-02-06 | 05:22 PM
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Yes, BLS cooks the unemployment numbers too. People without a job are counted as unemployed only as long as they are eligible for unemployment benefits. Once the benefits run out (and in this crappy economy, they almost always do), BLS simply classifies those folks as "contented and retired multi-millionaires" who don't need a job!
3. Zimbabwe Update - the real deal
Bobcat2| 06-02-06 | 08:27 PM
May 31 BBC report
Zimbabwe is introducing a bank note worth 100,000 Zimbabwe dollars, to help consumers as inflation exceeds 1,000%.
The note will be worth about $1 at the official exchange rate, but only $0.30 on the informal market.
The 50,000 Zimbabwe dollar bill, introduced only four months ago, is not enough to buy a loaf of bread.
The government on Tuesday used its mineral exports to gain access to a $50m loan from a European bank, to pay for essential fuel and drugs.
"It is not the first and last time to see us introducing bearer cheques and we will not hesitate to introduce higher denominations," Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono said, according to the state-run Herald newspaper.
The bills are known as bearer cheques since they are promissory notes rather than official legal tender, but are used in Zimbabwe in the same way as money.
The issuing of bearer cheques began with a note worth 10,000 Zimbabwe dollars, to reduce the need to carry large bundles of paper money.
The government has announced a National Economic Development Priority Programme (NEDPP) in order to deal with the economic problems.
Zimbabwe is suffering from shortages of food, fuel and foreign currency. In April, inflation passed 1,000% per annum for the first time.
President Robert Mugabe blames domestic and foreign enemies for the problems (yeh right), while his critics point to the collapse of agricultural exports following a controversial land reform programme.
The country is struggling to pay civil servants and is thought to owe money to neighbours such as South Africa and Mozambique from whom it has been importing electricity and fuel.
The part about doing this to "help consumers" I find particularly
reassuring :-)
Bob K
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