Posted on 04/20/2017 8:17:35 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
This news broke overnight and it undoubtedly comes as a shock to anyone who hasn’t been paying to socialism in general and the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in particular. The government of Venezuela came in and seized control of the General Motors plant in the city of Valencia, taking over the property, assets and accounts. The automotive giant responded by saying that they were immediately halting operations. (CNN)
General Motors says it will immediately halt operations in Venezuela after its plant in the country was unexpectedly seized by authorities.
GM (GM) described the takeover as an “illegal judicial seizure of its assets.”
The automaker said the seizure showed a “total disregard” of its legal rights. It said that authorities had removed assets including cars from company facilities.
“[GM] strongly rejects the arbitrary measures taken by the authorities and will vigorously take all legal actions, within and outside of Venezuela, to defend its rights,” it said in a statement.
GM’s Venezuelan operation was already pretty much at the point of stagnation. Productivity was approaching zero because their currency had collapsed and they couldn’t order parts to keep the lines running. Also, the domestic market for cars wasn’t exactly booming because their potential customers have money which is basically worthless and they’re mostly too busy looking for scraps of food to worry about a new set of wheels.
If nothing else, this incident will provide an enlightening, educational moment for the rest of the world. It’s a given that this is bad news for General Motors, for the workers there… let’s just say it. This is bad news for everyone except Maduro and his cronies. But it also serves to further pull away the mask, allowing the rest of the world to see what’s actually going on. So gather around, kids, because we’re not only seeing how socialism ends (and it always ends this way) but also how the socialist machinery operates through the various phases of its life cycle.
Originally, the government tolerates the presence of foreign manufacturing entities such as General Motors to fill needs they have which can’t be handled domestically. (GM has been there for roughly seven decades.) It’s not that the Venezuelan people are incapable of innovation or creation… there’s simply no motivation for them to strive for success. Anything they create simply becomes the property of the state anyway, so the hard working, innovative person doesn’t realize much more success than the guy who can barely keep his eyes open to show up for his job sweeping the sidewalk. There’s no point to being particularly innovative.
So companies such as GM are allowed to go to work. But once the system inevitably begins to implode, the tyrant in charge begins looking for new resources to grab. In the name of the socialist concept wherein everything “belongs to the people” he seizes the GM plant. They take the cars which are there to hand out to high ranking party officials and divide up the assets while demanding that the workers get back to producing automobiles. This is, of course, impossible because they don’t have the parts to do it and the people who actually know how to run things are fleeing.
These are the fruits of socialism. It’s a humanitarian disaster to be sure, but it’s also a teachable moment. Watch and learn.
This should be a Dinesh D’Souza movie.
Why is there no embargo against Saudi Arabia?
I have a solution to “the” problem.
Brazil should invade Venezuela.
Many regional issues could be solved.
Just sayin
5.56mm
When CEOs make deals with the devil to improve their profits it always seems the devil can’t and never loses .
Everybody that makes a deal with the Devil loses. The Devil wins everytime.
No, somebody decided they needed a new set of wheels.
They didn’t go to Venezuela to save money. They went to produce products for central and south America many years ago. They don’t even have the same model lineup.
Speaking of which... What’s the wisdom in investing in China and Russia?
I think someone wanted new wheels.
This plant has been in operation in Venezuela since 1948 so that does not appear to be the case.
I would not equate Gubermint Motors with Rearden Steel but rather Associated Steel. Make that Steal.
Be fun to see what kind of ragtag buggies the Venezuelans come up with. If they stole the plant, does that mean they own the designs?
Would I want a car made by ANY GOVERNMENT? No, the workers would screw a screw halfway in and say, ‘Close enough for government work’ and 1 mile after you drive it off the lot, the screw (holding a wheel) falls off and the car crashes...
Venezuela — AND AMERICA — are suffering under the “myth” of UNBACKED PAPER FIAT CURRENCY and will continue to suffer until this very profitable — for a SELECT FEW – SCAM is halted!
Lori and I delve into this topic in part 2 of our series at the link below. Listen — if you dare!
1/2 HOUR RADIO SHOW ON MONEY, THE FED, INFLATION, ETC.
As some already know, since mid-2014, we’ve been doing a 30 minute weekly Wednesday
radio show (aka “rant”) with Dr. Lori Wilson out of WLBB in Carrollton, Georgia.
If you have an interest in listening, go to this link http://www.gradickcommunications.com
and the center “PODCASTS” Menu and click on “The Wednesday Show with Dick Bachert”
for the current program.
If you want to listen real-time, the show airs between 8:30 to 9:00 AM, Eastern
:)
Also, Venezuela has been ‘siezing’ businesses for a few years. It’s hardly news anymore, unfortunately.
There ya go; that’s what I was thinking. We will now confiscate the property and the inventories, whether gasoline or whatever.
Two can play at this game. Enjoy, Maduro.
[Unexpectedly? The bigger question is what the hell did you have a plant in this crap hole country for in the first place?]
Well, we couldn’t have the U.S. Government Motors employing Americans ya know......
And another Obama plan comes to fruition....
They’ll get 96 cars that were almost completed! Sweet rides!
(just guessing and just kidding)
As another FReeper noted, this is a teachable moment!
Probably not a teachable moment. Anyone smart enough to grasp the lesson is probably already not inclined towards communism.
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