The Day Ecuador Fired Its Money Printer (And Lived to Tell the Tale)In 2000, Ecuador did something few countries dare to do: it fired its own money. The sucre was in freefall, inflation was chewing through savings, and trust had left the chat. So, the government dollarized, swapping the local currency for the U.S. dollar wholesale. Prices calmed. Sanity returned. But a new problem appeared the morning after: when you use someone else’s money, you lose the printing press. Life without a printi...

The Day Ecuador Fired Its Money Printer (And Lived to Tell the Tale)In 2000, Ecuador did something few countries dare to do: it fired its own money. The sucre was in freefall, inflation was chewing through savings, and trust had left the chat. So, the government dollarized, swapping the local currency for the U.S. dollar wholesale. Prices calmed. Sanity returned. But a new problem appeared the morning after: when you use someone else’s money, you lose the printing press. Life without a printi...