Never thought I'd write a post with this title!
The financial crisis that most of you have never heard of is going on right now in this country of 1.3 billion people. It's a move to root out "black money": tax evaders and bribes. I won't comment on the politics or financial reasons behind this. But I will tell you what I see.
The night after my home country's election, my other-home country's Prime Minister announced that from tonight the two most-used bills will no longer be legal tender. 500s and 1000s (roughly $10 and $20) were to be no longer taken at any place of business.
And by the way, the ATMs and banks will be closed for the next two days.
And by the way, this is a cash-based economy.
And by the way, there are 1.3 billion people.
So, Friday comes. The banks open and they run out of cash. ATMs are not restocked with the new bills. People wait hours to simply exchange money or withdraw from their accounts. The newspaper reports on the daily deaths occurring in ATM lines.
The autos mostly sit empty. Fruit vendors disappear from the streets. Our building watchmen cannot buy their daily groceries because their cash is now useless.
Some, like us, have credit cards. And while it is inconvenient to find a place that takes a foreign card, we can still buy food. Many do not have this luxury...and how I forget it's a luxury! Over 40% of this country do not have bank accounts, let alone Visas or Mastercards.
The demonetization of these cash notes threw (is throwing!) our economy into a whirlwind. We are figuring it out. We are readjusting. This country is resilient if nothing else.
The uncertainty is constantly hitting us here. I know, I know...everyone was surprised by the election. And that Clemson lost a football game. (Ok, that was just me.) I'm not trying to say we have it worse, but I see people that do. I am face to face with them, buying tomatoes and onions for them with my credit card, wishing I had cash to support their business, standing in line with them for temporary security.
The financial crisis that most of you have never heard of is going on right now in this country of 1.3 billion people. It's a move to root out "black money": tax evaders and bribes. I won't comment on the politics or financial reasons behind this. But I will tell you what I see.
The night after my home country's election, my other-home country's Prime Minister announced that from tonight the two most-used bills will no longer be legal tender. 500s and 1000s (roughly $10 and $20) were to be no longer taken at any place of business.
And by the way, the ATMs and banks will be closed for the next two days.
And by the way, this is a cash-based economy.
And by the way, there are 1.3 billion people.
The autos mostly sit empty. Fruit vendors disappear from the streets. Our building watchmen cannot buy their daily groceries because their cash is now useless.
Some, like us, have credit cards. And while it is inconvenient to find a place that takes a foreign card, we can still buy food. Many do not have this luxury...and how I forget it's a luxury! Over 40% of this country do not have bank accounts, let alone Visas or Mastercards.
The demonetization of these cash notes threw (is throwing!) our economy into a whirlwind. We are figuring it out. We are readjusting. This country is resilient if nothing else.
The uncertainty is constantly hitting us here. I know, I know...everyone was surprised by the election. And that Clemson lost a football game. (Ok, that was just me.) I'm not trying to say we have it worse, but I see people that do. I am face to face with them, buying tomatoes and onions for them with my credit card, wishing I had cash to support their business, standing in line with them for temporary security.
Whoa, that is incredible �� I can't imagine what it would take to adjust to something like that - has this ever happened before?
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