Monedas...

To quickly define 'Monedas' - think of change, yes, the little coins we cherish so greatly (pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, and the ever rare silver dollar)... Well, think of an environment where stores, cabs, kiosks, restaurants, etc literally did not have coinage to make change...

That's the world of Argentina right now - you can see signs in almost every window where business is conducted that says something to the effect of, "We don't have change." It seems preposterous that a government responsible for monetary policy could have a shortage of change within the country, but hey, I live here, and it is Argentina... So, we've been told, and have seen it already take effect, to hoard our monedas, if we can ge our hands on them... Primarily, the conspiracy-theorists (who may have things right down here) suggest the privately-operated bus/subte (subway) company is keeping all of the monedas to themselves with the hope of selling the coins back to banks (and the government) for a premium... Does that sound normal to anyone? So, economists have been suggesting the government authorize the private production of coinage, which has apparently been done in the past, but in England, where it worked fine...

With under-reported inflation, some pegging actual inflation at nearly 25%, I can understand the issues surrounding additional currency, which would further boost inflationary pressures, but to have a shortage, with high inflation is just abnormal, but again, this is Argentina... Since I got here, the price of the subway has increased nearly 25% (from $0.90 to $1.10 - Argentine pesos), but like NYC did while I was also there, this doesn't seem too crazy... The difference of course, is that I only noticed the change when I went to buy a subte ticket, and just figured that because I was in a different station, and traveling further than I previously had, that the system was more like London or DC where you pay by zone/distance traveling... Nope, I was wrong, as I noticed the taped sign above the ventanilla (ticket window) about the fare increase... So, it's entirely possible that this hike has been in the works for a while, and I just never learned of it until after it happened, but still..

There's plenty more to learn, and this is only the beginning...

No hay monedas acá!