Sunday, July 20, 2008

Money Money Money

Yes this is for real - a $10, 000, 000 note (you got it right - ten million dollars) issued by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
And before you get impressed by that, be aware that they have today issued a $10, 000, 000, 000 note (yes ten billion dollars).
And what does $10, 000, 000, 000 buy you - the ABC reports that it will just cover two loaves of bread - if you can find someone who actually sells bread.
When will the international community, particularly the African nations, actually DO something to help these people, rather than just circulating hollow rhetoric.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Where do you find this stuff... tis sad though...

Robert said...

Seem to remember that Nazi Germany was in a similar position prior to WW11- it was (nearly literally )a wheelbarrow of money for a loaf of bread !! - and for how much longer can the International community continue to prop up the societies and countries that cannot solve their own problems - seem to remember calls for aid for Ethiopa, Zimbabwee, and a host of other nations 30 years + ago, and the problem is still there,despite Trillions of dollars (non Govt) aid. Perhaps it is just a simple case of too many head/ acre, and this problem has to be redressed before there can be any forward progress.

Unknown said...

i don't know what the answer is robert, but i do know a life is a life, and every child deserves a basic standard of rights... i wonder what it will take???

Anonymous said...

Yep thats it MG, wipe out the poor, the blacks, the starving. God if they cant look after themselves why should we. Personally Im starting to dislike the commericials of starving people on tv while Im eating dinner and this constant begging for food, finacial and medical aide is getting to be a joke...as Robert says weve spent trillions.

Robert said...

Thinking on this issue, particularly in relation to Africa,and checking some old (pre WW11) data, it seems that all of these countries that are now in dire straits in maintaining a reasonable level of life for their poorer sections of society have (i) the potential to be agricultural exporters - they all were while a colony ! and (ii) they all have minerals, gems, coal, or some form of exportable or usable resources to help themselves. The problem would seem to be that the Mugabwe's, Ammins et al who are in power dont care , and expect the rest of the world to solve the problem for them. This seems to be a recurring thing in all of these nations, and drought pestilence etc is used as a lever to get more aid.