This is the beginning of the end of Lebanon’s current financial model; the problem is that we refuse to accept it. There are clear signs that painful change is coming, made all the more painful by attempts to ignore the inevitable.Chronic corruption has paralyzed the country. The absence of growth the past eight years has caused thousands of businesses to shutdown (3,000 in the last 18 months) and seen unemployment hit record high numbers in times of peace—unofficial estimates put unemployment at 35 percent in 2018, up from 16 percent in 2010. The Lebanese lira is under a pressure not seen in 27 years; an indicator that the post-war economic and financial system is coming to an end.Banque du Liban (BDL), Lebanon’s central bank, has been forced to prioritize crucial imports, such as wheat, medicine, and fuel.Long unsustainableThe choice to peg the lira to the US dollar is a monetary
