Zimbabwe's Dollar

Back in 1983, the Zimbabwe dollar traded at par with the U.S. dollar. Now, taking into account devaluations and revaluations, the Zimbabwe dollar has gone down by a factor of 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. (That should be 24 zeroes, by the way.)

In the UK and South Africa, poster campaigns using real Zimbabwean currency have gone up to draw attention to this catastrophe brought upon the Zimbabweans by once-elected dictator Robert Mugabe.

Mugabe became Prime Minister in 1980.

In 1983, the Z$ passed 1:1 with the US$. Before that, it was worth more!

Mugabe made himself President in 1987. He was "re-elected" in 1990, 1996, and 2002, but those were shams. In 2000, he began destroying the farming system by forcing whites from their farms and giving the land to blacks who had no farming experience. And that was just the beginning of the catastrophe.

In 2002, the Z$ hit 1,000:1 with the US$. They then introduced new currency and revalued the Z$, making the new Z$ worth 404 old Z$.

In November 2006, the new Z$ hit a mark that would put the old Z$ at 1,000,000:1 against the US$.

In December 2007, the new Z$ hit a mark that would put the old Z$ at 1,000,000,000:1 against the US$.

In May 2008, the new Z$ hit a mark that would put the old Z$ at 1,000,000,000,000:1 against the US$. They then introduced new currency, dropping ten zeroes.

In August 2008, the third Z$ hit a mark that would put the original Z$ at 1,000,000,000,000,000:1 against the US$.

In September 2008, the third Z$ hit a mark that would put the original Z$ at 1,000,000,000,000,000,000:1 against the US$.

In October 2008, the third Z$ hit a mark that would put the original Z$ at 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000:1 against the US$. They then introduced new currency, dropping twelve zeroes.

Things leveled off a bit after that. Now, in April 2009, the fourth Z$ is not quite yet (but very close) to a mark that would put the original Z$ at 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000:1 against the US$. Maybe next week.

How bad can it get in Zimbabwe? Will race-based socialism strike in the U.S., too?