REPORT #288 May 2000  Produced by the Belize Development Trust
If the Belize Dollar is worth only .03 USA cents by some
calculations, in May, 2000, and the official exchange rate is $2
Belize dollars for $1 USA dollar, or a Belize dollar is
officially exchanged for .50 cents USA. How does the government
do this magic illusion? Is there sleight of hand, some magic
trick to guaranteeing .50 cents USA for a Belize Dollar, when
the economic figures say it is only worth about .03 cents USA?
Don't you always wonder what the government is really saying,
when they announce those complicated balance sheets and fiscal
reports? Can you figure things out more simply? We know it is
only human nature for politicians to lie and put the best face
on things and bureaucrats are no stranger to this phenomena
either. What really is the state of the economy of Belize?  One
of the ways of guaranteeing an official exchange rate, is like
one of those one armed bandit gambling machines. They work on
percentages. They only permit a