Posted on 12/17/2013 8:03:25 PM PST by IBD editorial writer
Leftism: Chile has long been a global model of free-market economics. But on Sunday, it elected socialist Michelle Bachelet, who ran on a platform of tax hikes and "free" education. What drives a country to reject success? Bachelet took an astonishing 62% of the vote against her more conservative rival, Evelyn Matthei, who drew just 38%. It wasn't entirely surprising: Bachelet projected a cheery, confident, maternal demeanor and made few gaffes, quite unlike the less polished Matthei. She also had a good record: As president from 2006 to 2010, she left office with a phenomenal 84% popularity rating — in part, because she resisted the left's calls to spend Chile's state copper revenues on wild schemes. Her record of fiscal discipline was, in fact, the best of any of Chile's leaders since the nation's return to democracy in 1990, based on IMF data. But that isn't the ticket she ran on this time around. Aligning herself this time with the communists and Chile's spoiled student protest leaders, Bachelet adopted a far more aggressive socialist program than in the past, vowing to raise the corporate tax rate from 20% to 25% to pay for a new scheme to make higher education "free." It's a recipe for trouble.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.investors.com ...
Electing politicians because they promise you goodies is like taking candy from a stranger. They are nice to the camera, but other times socialists are often terrible people to be around.
The problem is that the masses ususally have to go through socialism and get shot out the other end to know what it is.
Socialism is on the rise.
Sucks to be us. :(
Seems like the French, Italians and Germans run everything I to the ground down there.
They deserve what they get. They will suffer.....and NEVER know why.
Socialism/Fascism has been on the rise in South America for many decades. Many Nazis settled there to escape prosecution.
It is the eternal battle between good and evil. Evil seems to be winning. Let us hope there is a change!
Seeing the words, “Omen” and “Socialism”, together a lot lately. Maybe an “omen”?
Uh, I don’t think you can blame the Nazis for this one.
Quite frankly, I don’t see any difference in the parties. They BOTH are about death.
It won’t any better for them than it has for us.
What’s the worry?
We have seen how well this sort of regime has worked in Venezuela.
No problemo, asi?
Such people generally vote socialist.
Yup… a lot of bad omens these days… don’t even need to go all the way to chile to see them.
Don’t lose heart… the good guy always wins… stick with Him
Good thought, though it does become a challenge to remember that some days.
It sure feels as though the entire world is going into darkness. Not what I ever believed would happen.
They deserve what they get. They will suffer.....and NEVER know why.
The same here. It’s a shame that so many have to suffer because of them.
I thought Chilean citizens learned their lesson back in the 1970s with Allende. I still remember the photo of him hunkered down in the Presidential Mansion, with a helmet and sub machine gun, when the citizens and army came for him with blood in their eye.
They deserve what they get. They will suffer.....and NEVER know why.
I know we a feeling the Aftermath of our little Socialist problem... Thanks to The American idiots who voted for him not once but twice we are paying the price!!!
Chile and Argentina could be (and were) fairly wealthy countries...before WWII, Argentina had the 10th highest wealth per capita in the world. Gee, I wonder what happened...NOT.
Where are Dick Nixon, Hank Kissinger and Pinochet
when you need them?
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