Posted on 02/17/2007 9:44:10 AM PST by WBL 1952
Faced with an accelerating inflation rate and shortages of basic foods like beef, chicken and milk, President Hugo Chávez has threatened to jail grocery store owners and nationalize their businesses if they violate the country’s expanding price controls.
Food producers and economists say the measures announced late Thursday night, which include removing three zeroes from the denomination of Venezuela’s currency, are likely to backfire and generate even more acute shortages and higher prices for consumers. Inflation climbed to an annual rate of 18.4 percent a year in January, the highest in Latin America and far above the official target of 10 to 12 percent.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
"So many of these idiots think this is such a good thing, but if they were ever stuck living under those same conditions here they would protest so fast your head would spin."
And they'd be first up in front of Chavez' firing squads. The last thing that a dictatorship wants or needs is a bunch of loony loudmouths. T'was ever thus.
They never learn, do they?
"Then my question becomes, why do they push so many Marxist ideas for the US? "
Because they understand that socialism works - for those in charge. They fancy themselves as part of the elite and oh so above-it-all.
I've got news for them.
Who is John Galt?
I posted this last year:
"If they were ever stuck living under the same conditions"
They wouldn't protest, they would do what most people of means who are not "stuck" do and leave, taking assets and knowledge with them. Remember the Hollywood clowns like Streisand who promised to leave America if Bush were re-elected in '04? See any for sale signs on those houses?
Reminds me of Jefferson Starship/Airplane singing hosannas to a Maoist revolution, which had it taken power would have shot them first.
"They fancy themselves as part of the elite..."
I'll bet your news is that the elite dies first. I guess they think history and human nature won't apply in *their* perfect world.
"Hugito" is kind of funny in and of itself.
I agree, most of these protesters would be the first ones lined up for the firing squads, standing side by side with all the ACLU idiots and most of the lawyers.
The country is in big trouble when the government is hoping for 12 percent inflation.
What fun it would be if somene formed cadres to go live in Venezuela and "help the people" there, living in the Venezuelan economy, of course. Those little squealing hygienically challenged pukes over at DU would last about a week.
Only 18 percent? At least its better than Mugabee's 1600 percent.
We are seeing the creation of another oil welfare state. There are examples in the free world too. Sweden had huge income from their off shore oil rigs that pay for a large amount of there state run health care system.
If the USA had the same kind of income from oil it could eliminate the income tax, at least for a week or so and congress would spend all the money and need more.
I would like to ask, where did all the oil money go before Chaves was elected? So now he is building things like roads and things what happened the last twenty years?
I hate Chaves and would like to see gone before he does any more damage but I would like an explanation how a rich country like Venezuela can have so many poor people unless the rich class were really stealing all the money all along.
We have the same thing ready to happen in Mexico. They have large amount of income from oil and vast costal and beach front property resources yet the 70% of the people are dirt poor.
They have a corn shortage because of the ethanol fad in the US. Can’t the government buy 50 John Deer tractors and some water pumps? Can’t they buy a fertilizer plant?
Is that the one where they sing about "got to revolution now"? That was one godawful album. Their first album with Grace Slick (Surrealistic Pillow) was their best and one of the best rock albums ever. They slid rapidly downhill after that. The more political they got, the worse their music got. At that time I was Democrat, and even I thought it was a bunch of crazy Marxist garbage.
"...how a rich country like Venezuela can have so many poor people..."
Kleptocracy?? This is my off the top of my pointy head thought on the matter: If all the kleptocracies on the planet went away tomorrow, we'd be a long way to peace.
e.g., Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Mexico, basically the whole African continent, etc. etc.
It would still leave problems like China, USSR, oops, I mean Russia, Iran, etc., but it would be a start.
Yeah, they put out a lot of crap. Best collection IMO is "Worst of Jefferson Airplane" Slick in best voice and Jorma Kaukonnen(?) with his best riffs.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
I've got a great idea. Let's elect someone to do this to our healthcare system. /s
Wherewithal is, surprisingly, one word.
Some family members of mine have fled that cesspool. Very sad, too. Their home was sold for pennies on the dollar, and their business was taken over.
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