"Okay then. We hold the world ransom for 100 BILLION DOLLARS!"

man that is really scary, its unbelievable.

wonder how much $ (in usd) it would cost to get them back on their feet.

@tenio: An infinite amount. Mugabe has no interest in reducing hyperinflation in Zimbabwe, it is of no political or national interest to him. For one, it secures political control, second, it is a useful charge against the British (Mugabe's government claims that British imperialism and Western meddling is to blame for the hyperinflation), and it makes government weapons trade much easier. With a dictatorial socialist tyrant, no Western aid can rescue the poorest and unhealthiest country in the world (which Zimbabwe has become under Mugabe and ZANU-PF -- what once was the strongest economy in post-colonial Africa with one of the highest life expectancies [60-years-old in 1990], now has the lowest per capita income on Earth [$188/year] and the lowest life expectancy [34-years-old in 2007]).

It's a nightmare. Oh, but Mugabe was re-elected on June 29th with 100% of the vote! Go progress!

:doctor evil pinky pose: One hundred billion dollars....

Fiat currency. Coming to a country near you soon!

At what point does it become less expensive to go back to trading shiny rocks than it does to print all the zeros on the paper currency? I wonder if those people actually have anything smaller than billion dollar bills.

"socialist" ?

It's like Snow Crash, but without the pizza, computers, and hacker-samurai.

Don't worry, in 500 years this is what our currency will look like.

@A.W.E.S.O.M.-O: First post in and the Dr. Evil reference is shown. Good show! =D

@MichaelBrazell: @FCAlive: Not socialist. More a monarchy. He's taken land from whites to "redistribute" to blacks. He's also considering nationalizing companies from contries that oppose his policies. But, he's giving it to a few powerful families and allies. So he's using socialist spin, but imperial actions.

@MayorBee: Dude, your tests came back, and the results aren't good.

Well, don't want to sound like a dick or nothin', but, ah... it says on your chart that you're fucked up. Ah, you talk like a fag, and your shit's all retarded.

Hey, was this caused by sub-prime lending?

@Parapraxis: Don't be a dick. i wish there was a way to report douchebaggery on this site.

@wattznext: It's vaguely funny if you've seen Idiocracy. Go rent it.

@Parapraxis: Go away, m'batin!

@wattznext: Like howie says, go rent Idiocracy. It's strangely prophetic.

@wattznext: *whoooooosh*

@MayorBee: But it's got what people want. It's got eletrolytes!

@blong81: I'm calling my pimp, Upgrayedd. He spells it with 2 D's, for a double dose of pimpin'.

@Parapraxis: Yay, our first clear-cut ban hammer nominee!

@wattznext: Go rent Idiocracy. One- You will understand all these comments and two - you will get to see into america's bright future. Its win win!

@Trai_Dep: Its a quote from the movie that is referenced by that picture of money. see @Tmoney02:

@Trai_Dep: The quote might have been crude, but I don't think it's any reason for a banning. I laughed at it. Everyone should see Idiocracy. It actually extrapolates out a lot of the issues that we have now after 500 years.

I think this whole post should get a blind eye from the moderators. :-P

@Parapraxis: Why come you don't have a tatoo?!

Bank transfers command a special rate. A hundred billion dollars is worth US$5 at the official rate, US$1 at the black market rate _ but just 30 U.S. cents in a transfer because by the time the funds are processed the Zimbabwe currency can be expected to be worth a lot less.

Surely it costs more for the Zimbabwe mint to print the money than the money is worth, especially at a 12.5-million% inflation rate.

@DashTheHand:

I've read that Zimbabweans try to do most of their transactions in foreign currency where possible. Of course, they usually get paid in domestic currency, so that isn't always workable.

@howie_in_az:

I recall from a history class that during Germany's hyperinflation that workers often got paid 3 times a day (and received raises each time) because the money they were paid at the beginning of the day was worthless by the end of the day.

And then there's always that picture of the lady feeding her cash into her fireplace since the money was worth more in fuel than it was as money.

@blong81:

@drjayphd:

Its got what plants crave.

@MichaelBrazell: Yeah, but he sure was pissed when his one opponent backed out in an attempt to stop violence and save lives. So he got 100% of the votes... against no one. Woo hoo. You go, evil dictator. Oh, I'm sorry, I mean evil "elected president".

idiocracy, loved that movie.

would you like some BIG ASS FRIES WITH THAT

"carls Jr....Fark you I'm eating"

I could go for a full release latte at starbucks

@MichaelBrazell: Erm... weren't his detractors cut down with machetes? Yeah, I might not be out voting against the guy if his cronies were threatening to slash open my skull.