Not For Sale

Doommonger extraordinaire, Tyler Durden, has an interesting post on the collapse of the Argentinian economy due to their social justice fascism and borrowing and printing and spending. The interesting part is not the doom and gloom, but the mechanics of life under hyperinflation. It's not that prices are going up, it's that nothing is for sale. Tyler includes an interview between Chris Martenson and Fernando Aguirre wherein lies the payoff.

Chris Martenson:  So 100%, 20% inflation; are those yearly numbers?

Fernando Aguirre:  Those are our numbers in a matter of days. In just one day, for example, cement in Balcarce, one of the towns in Southern Argentina, went up 100% overnight, doubling in price. Grocery stores in Córdoba, even in Buenos Aires, people are talking about increase of prices of 20, 30% just these days. I actually have family in Argentina that are telling me that they go to a hardware store and they aren't even able to buy stuff from there because stores want to hold on and see how prices unfold in the following days.

Chris Martenson:  Right. So this is one of those great mysteries of inflation. It is obviously 'flying money', so everyone is trying to get rid of their money. You would think that would actually increase commerce. But if you are on the other end of that transaction, if you happen to be the business owner, you have every incentive to withhold items for as long as possible. So one of the great ironies, I guess, is that even though money is flying around like crazy, goods start to disappear from the shelves.

When you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Why sell a power drill for $60 today when you can get $75 for it tomorrow? Plus, the money you receive in return is worth appreciably less every day. It only makes sense to sell something when you need some cash right then.