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One of the captions says: Store shelves that are well-stocked, like those in this bakery near Zerpa’s house, are typically full of non-essential items set at s

One of the captions says: Store shelves that are well-stocked, like those in this bakery near Zerpa’s house, are typically full of non-essential items set at sky-high prices

ChuckMcM 10y ago
Yes that is the caption but the picture shows a store with ample bread products, cereals, meat selections, canned vegetables, oils and other cooking supplies. When the discussion of the article is a "hunt for food" those things all seem like stuff you'd consider "prey". My question is whether or not that store is accessible to everyone (as described by my father, in the USSR the 'diplomatic' stores were not open to regular citizens) and if the prices are extortionate or merely market priced. The root of those questions are whether or not an actual economy could be bootstrapped underneath the current mess or if it is too late for that. It is a sad story either way.
- wmil 10y ago
  The Venezuela government set extremely low prices for essential goods and has devalued the currency to an extreme degree. So anything market priced is extremely expensive (the money isn't worth much) and many local producers went under because they couldn't make money at the prices they were required to charge.
- mzs 10y ago
  In Poland you could exchange hard currency like US Dollars and German Marks for PeKaO bony (like coupons from national bank) and then use those in stores like Pewex to buy everything. Later it was streamlined like all at one window in the same store or even at check-out. I suspect that is what your father meant by diplomatic stores. The gov wanted hard currency so that it could import from outside the iron curtain, regular folk had no means outside of black market and family and friends living in the west to gain hard currency, so the stores were for tourists, foreign scholars, and diplomats essentially. Another interesting situation in Poland was fuel rationing. Many things were rationed, but if you were a foreigner entering the the country in the mid '80s you could by coupons for X liters of gasoline. Then you did not even have to wait in the long lines at fuel stations. It was not unheard of people buying stolen fuel under a bridge or in a forest. Most stores were bare because when inventory came-in it was quickly purchased. Since the prices were controlled people had enough zloty but not enough to spend it on so buying items like paper was desirable because later you could barter it for items you needed on the black market.

One of the captions says: Store shelves that are well-stocked, like those in this bakery near Zerpa’s house, are typically full of non-essential items set at sky-high prices

ChuckMcM 10y ago

Yes that is the caption but the picture shows a store with ample bread products, cereals, meat selections, canned vegetables, oils and other cooking supplies. When the discussion of the article is a "hunt for food" those things all seem like stuff you'd consider "prey". My question is whether or not that store is accessible to everyone (as described by my father, in the USSR the 'diplomatic' stores were not open to regular citizens) and if the prices are extortionate or merely market priced. The root of those questions are whether or not an actual economy could be bootstrapped underneath the current mess or if it is too late for that. It is a sad story either way.

wmil 10y ago
The Venezuela government set extremely low prices for essential goods and has devalued the currency to an extreme degree. So anything market priced is extremely expensive (the money isn't worth much) and many local producers went under because they couldn't make money at the prices they were required to charge.
mzs 10y ago
In Poland you could exchange hard currency like US Dollars and German Marks for PeKaO bony (like coupons from national bank) and then use those in stores like Pewex to buy everything. Later it was streamlined like all at one window in the same store or even at check-out. I suspect that is what your father meant by diplomatic stores. The gov wanted hard currency so that it could import from outside the iron curtain, regular folk had no means outside of black market and family and friends living in the west to gain hard currency, so the stores were for tourists, foreign scholars, and diplomats essentially. Another interesting situation in Poland was fuel rationing. Many things were rationed, but if you were a foreigner entering the the country in the mid '80s you could by coupons for X liters of gasoline. Then you did not even have to wait in the long lines at fuel stations. It was not unheard of people buying stolen fuel under a bridge or in a forest. Most stores were bare because when inventory came-in it was quickly purchased. Since the prices were controlled people had enough zloty but not enough to spend it on so buying items like paper was desirable because later you could barter it for items you needed on the black market.