Prices in Venezuela have increased more than 4000% over the last year.

The Venezuelan Bolivar has quickly lost its value and eroded the quality of life for millions. Imagine, the currency that you are used to using every day to pay for your daily goods, all of a sudden becoming a cheaper option for you to wipe with than going to buy toilet paper. That is, if you can find any toilet paper on the shelves to purchase.

Prices are doubling every month...

Millions of people don't have enough money to afford to purchase what they need to live comfortably and a great deal are going without quality food, medicine, and more.

The monthly inflation rate is estimated to be around 167% right now.

World of Warcraft currency is said to be worth about 7x as much as the Bolivar at the moment. And there are a growing number of people who are resorting to bartering in order to survive and get what it is that they need.

This weekend an election is being held that might possibly determine a change in policies, depending on the results.

However, critics have already called the election a sham and some have suggested that they will flee the country if the current regime maintains their power. As well, the British company that was allegedly behind the voting machines that were used in the last election, have previously claimed that there was manipulation involved with the election. And there are many who will be skeptical of the results this weekend, especially if they are in favor of the current administration.

The Bolivar is a failing fiat currency like hundreds of other fiat currencies that have failed before it.

The central banking system behind these fiat currencies is a dangerous scheme that breeds financial instability, promotes overspending, and affords the government with even more control over business life and society in general. Central banking mostly benefits the money producers and it fosters an unstable monetary situation that the people are forced to clean-up.

The central banking scheme that many countries operate with today is also anti-free market because it violates competition and establishes a government monopoly over money creation. And their current money-making scheme could essentially be described as legalized counterfeiting.

It's also a form of theft, via inflation, though some might justify this by saying the inflation is lawful. However, just because something is lawful doesn't make it moral. Many immoral acts have been committed by the state throughout human history, though they might have been deemed "justified" and "lawful" at the time.

What we have today in the United States, as with in Venezuela, is not a free market, it's interventionism and could be argued that the system has been designed to fail by destroying the middle class and helping to finance some of the worst government endeavors in history.

A reversal on the path of disaster that central banks have been leading us down, would be a turn in the direction of embracing individual liberty and voluntary exchanges. It's time to abandon the interventionist policies. Central banks have eroded a great deal of purchasing power over the years and that isn't within the best interest of the people. Thankfully though, whenever those fiat currencies have failed, it hasn't taken long before the people try to establish a solution of their own and that often means that many resort to peaceful and voluntary bartering, as we've seen in Venezuela and other regions that have suffered economic turmoil.

The election is being held this Sunday in Venezuela. Some groups, such as Human Rights Watch, have already suggested that the election has no credibility and there are many news agencies who've reported that Maduro is expected to win.

Pics:
via caraotadigital.net / EFE
pixabay
freethoughtproject
imgflip

Sources:
http://www.dw.com/en/venezuelas-worthless-currency-turns-into-bags-of-money/a-43833213
http://fortune.com/2018/05/07/venezuela-bolivar-currency-bartering/
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/venezuela-inflation-hits-13779-lawmakers
http://fortune.com/2018/05/07/world-of-warcraft-currency-bolivar-venezuela-inflation/
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/18/venezuela-election-maduro-ready-for-battle-as-voters-vow-to-flee-if-he-wins
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2018-05-18/venezuela-election-has-no-credibility-human-rights-watch-video
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/expecting-maduro-win-many-venezuelans-say-they-won-t-vote-n875121