Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe has been the butt of many callous financial jokes, the poster child of runaway hyperinflation and its tragic consequences. As a result, President Roger Mugabe and his thugs were printing 100 hundred trillion dollar bills. Hence, citizens either starved or migrated to neighboring countries as grocery markets couldn't stock shelves due to government mandated price controls, even as their cost of goods spiraled out of control.

After the abandonment and collapse of the Zimbabwe dollar in February 2009--a reset of the currency essentially, the Zimbabwe economy has actually recovered robustly, albeit from very low levels. Unshackled by price controls and foreign currency regulations, free markets are returning in Zimbabwe, despite continued strict credit financing. The Zimbabwe case study may provide a micro illustrative portend of what is and could be occurring in the United States.

Let's hope the USDollar doesn't become the butt of currency jokes.

http://www.kitco.com/ind/Field/nov112009.html