In an election year, it is easy to become caught up in the political discussion about which candidate has the best policy on education, which candidate will fix healthcare, or which candidate will lower our gas prices. It is easy to focus on the problems because politicians don’t get elected for the things that have gone right. These are the things we take for granted, but there are certainly places in the world where the things we take for granted are serious concerns.

Zimbabwe is one of those places. Yesterday, it was determined that the Zimbabwe dollar has suffered from 11,200,000% inflation for the 12 previous months. That’s 11.2 million percent inflation. As Tom Palmer has aptly said, this is how you destroy a country. As you may have surmised, this is a classic example of hyperinflation.

The leaders of Zimbabwe are at best clueless and at worst ruthlessly careless as to the effects of their policies. Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe and Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono have devalued the currency rather than attempt to address the root causes of the problem. They blame sanctions from western countries for their economic woes, when in reality they have created their own crisis.

Zimbabwe has the natural resources to be one of the wealthiest African countries. Zimbabwe is home to Victoria Falls, a worldwide tourist attraction. They also has rich mineral deposits that could support some of the best mines in the world. Zimbabwe’s sub-tropical climate could support significant agriculture as well. These resources simply need to be managed properly.

Meanwhile, the people of Zimbabwe are suffering. The unemployment rate is over 80%. The brain drain has been staggering. Only those people who can’t afford to leave or who care too much about their homeland to leave remain in the country. Parts of the country have been without running water for months. The electric grid is unstable. Basic elements of the country’s infrastructure are failing.

Zimbabwe’s economic problems dwarf those problems in the United States. The US has had a 17 year high percentage of inflation: 5.6% This is certainly a problem, and one that has caused the economy to be a serious topic of the current presidential election. The economic concept of sound money (a monetary unit that is relatively stable and inflation-free) is crucial to any economy. However, it is important to remember that things could be much worse and we still have a pretty stable economy. If you find yourself tired of paying too much for gas or fed up with the election year political chatter, remember that there are probably quite a few things we may be taking for granted.