One Man and Inflation

Trembling and in a nervous sweat, a poorly dressed laborer opened a cloth-wrapped parcel on the desk of the mayor of Votorantim, Brazil. He poured out several packages of money in bills and about 300 coins, pleading with the mayor to store the money for him in a safe place. The bills were stuck together with age and the coins carried dates from 1938 on. Benedito Antunes da Silva then told his story to an amazed mayor.

According to the newspaper “O Estado da São Paulo,” Benedito’s mother had been the family “banker” for over 40 years, keeping the money stored in a locked trunk. She regularly added to the family fortune as the years went by, accumulating well over 170,000 cruzeiros. But Benedito became alarmed at the thought of having so much money stored in his mud hut and feared being assaulted. Hence, he asked the mayor to keep his money for him. The mayor then called the police, who confirmed what the mayor had feared: the “fortune” was of absolutely no value! All the bills and coins were for “old” cruzeiros, out of circulation for years.

The now bewildered and weeping laborer learned that if, instead of being stored away, the money had been used at the time, it could have purchased 17 middle-class houses, which by now could be worth a real fortune. Instead, Benedito sadly left the office with 500 cruzeiros ($6.00, U.S.) in his pocket, given to him by the compassionate police investigator. Inflation had taken its toll.