We all talk about currency debasement in Bitcoin circles and look at numbers, but it sure doesn't tell the full picture, prices of things don't always reflect the behaviour changes and the way people are compensating for the debasement of their salaries and savings.
Sometimes I am also guilty of getting caught up in the discussions and forgetting the reality on the ground, but man this hit me big time.
I came home from soccer last night at around 10 pm, and most stores are closed, expect for forecourt retailers at petrol stations, which retail at a pretty hefty premium I was out of coffee, so thought I'd walk to my local "spaza shop" these are informal stores that sell all sorts of rando stuff, sometimes if I have cash I will buy Bitcoin vouchers there
Anyway, as I was standing in the queue outside, I took note of the people in front of me, and what they were buying, now there are certain things that are pretty normal to see people buy in singles
- Cigarettes
- Nappies/diapers
- Coffee sachets
But I shit you not, this trend is moving into other things too, people were literally buying those sliced processed cheese in singles, like the shop owner would break open the packet and give them like 1 or 2 slices of cheese, people would ask for 5 biscuits, and the shop owner would do it, rather than not do the sale
The crazy thing is some people were doing this and still paying by card, but why would you pay card fees when you already skimping like this? Cash would be cheaper, so they could even be doing this on credit, but this is just an assumption.
You can also see the fresh fruit and perishables section in the store has shrunk considerably, obviously, it has a shorter shelf life, but even with less available electricity, you don't even have the fridge to extend it, so you see the stores packed with seed oil, sugary stuff because that can last longer and reduce the volatility for the shop owner
Food poverty takes on many forms
And it's not just in my area, this story broke is starting to make the rounds, of people buying rice by the cup or cooking oil by the spoon
We're also seeing shops and to an extent, people taking chances on expired food and yeah as you can expect it's not going well and there have been 4 reported deaths from expired or fake food, yes there's also a fake food industry that is growing to support demand for cheap things to eat
I've never seen it this bad