Economics, Maduro Style

Don · Jul 23, 2015

Nationalizing the production of dirt-poor farmers; the logical end-game of nationalization of industries.

Venezuelan farmers ordered to hand over produce to state

Venezuela's embattled government has taken the drastic step of forcing food producers to sell their produce to the state, in a bid to counter the ever-worsening shortages.

Farmers and manufacturers who produce milk, pasta, oil, rice, sugar and flour have been told to supply between 30 per cent and 100 per cent of their products to the state stores. Shortages, rationing and queues outside supermarkets have become a way of life for Venezuelans, as their isolated country battles against rigid currency controls and a shortage of US dollars – making it difficult for Venezuelans to find imported goods.

Pablo Baraybar, president of the Venezuelan Food Industry Chamber, said that the order was illogical, and damaging to Venezuelan consumers.

"Taking products from the supermarkets and shops to hand them over to the state network doesn't help in any way," he said. "And problems like speculating will only get worse, because the foods will be concentrated precisely in the areas where the resellers go.

Ode to the Glorious Revolution

First they came for the electrical and telecommunications industries, and I did not speak out...
Because those rich bastards deserved it, and I was relatively poorer.

I figured I'd get some of that wealth without earning it.

But now they want my produce, since that's all that's left to steal.

How will I feed my family?

"It is better for us all to be equally poor, than for some to be richer than others."

I will tell this to my crying child, instead of feeding her produce from my field.

But at least Saint Maduro and his Court will dine sumptuously tonight.

All Hail the Glory of Socialism.

Cramp · Jul 23, 2015

If only anyone cared to argue with the claim that this was the only logical outcome of Socialism!

Amadan · Jul 23, 2015

Cramp said:
If only anyone cared to argue with the claim that this was the only logical outcome of Socialism!

Indeed. That's why I find engaging with these posts beyond the level of an eye-roll is mostly futile. When you're debating someone for whom the slightest touch of government regulation is not merely a step onto a slippery slope, but a leap off a cliff, into Orwellian socialism, you're observing a presentation of theater, not ideas.

Don · Jul 23, 2015

Cramp said:
If only anyone cared to argue with the claim that this was the only logical outcome of Socialism!

Who's arguing that? There are a plethora of other real-world examples of how socialism turns out. Why, look at the glories of North Korea, Cuba, or the People's Republic of China. Or how about Bangladesh, Portugal, and of course, our current example of Venezuela.

All leaders in living standards, as well as civil rights. Right?

And historically, we have the fine example of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Remember how badly people wanted the wall torn down between East and West Berlin so they could migrate to the progressive German Democratic Republic, and how the West Germans actually had to shoot their citizens to keep them from trying to escape to the GDR? Remember how much better off the residents of the GDR were compared to their western counterparts? If only the GDR hadn't built that wall to keep the illegal aliens out, we'd all be living there today!

Oh, I may have that last one backwards. It's such ancient history, who knows these days?

Amadan · Jul 23, 2015

Don said:
Who's arguing that? There are a plethora of other real-world examples of how socialism turns out. Why, look at the glories of North Korea, Cuba, or the People's Republic of China. Or how about Bangladesh, Portugal, and of course, our current example of Venezuela.

Or apocalyptic dystopias like Sweden and Norway.

I'm not really in favor of socialism myself, but let's not be dishonest about claiming it is always and everywhere a road to hell.

RoadTripDog · Jul 23, 2015

Socialism promises much, but it is unsustainable economically and cannot deliver on its promises in the long term. It appears to be wonderful to the masses who can't or won't think it through to its obvious conclusion. When they overturn whatever they had (and often it needed overturning) they find that they have traded one burden for another, because socialism requires complete control of the citizenry otherwise the citizens get twitchy and want something better. Their government leaders live in luxury, get better health care and so on while the sheep stand in line for bread and shoes. Not to say capitalism is perfect, it also fails when greed and/or delusions of grandeur run rampant. We have not yet, and may never find the perfect balance, but socialism by its own definition cannot be the basis of a vibrant economy.

Xelebes · Jul 23, 2015

RoadTripDog said:
Socialism promises much, but it is unsustainable economically and cannot deliver on its promises in the long term.

Isn't that the same criticism afforded to capitalism?

RoadTripDog · Jul 23, 2015

I believe that I already stated that in my post.

Xelebes · Jul 23, 2015

RoadTripDog said:
I believe that I already stated that in my post.

Yes you did. I quoted it.

Don · Jul 23, 2015

Amadan said:
Or apocalyptic dystopias like Sweden and Norway.

I'm not really in favor of socialism myself, but let's not be dishonest about claiming it is always and everywhere a road to hell.

Except neither Sweden nor Norway lay claim to being socialist, although both have rather extensive welfare states. SocialistWorld.net has this to say about Sweden:

"Sweden has always been a solid market economy", states the present right-wing government on its website. And that is certainly true. Sweden has never been a socialist society - based on public ownership of production, workers’ control and management, social equality and a democratic plan of production. Neither has Sweden been a ‘mixed economy’ or provided a ‘third way’ - an alternative to both capitalism and socialism, if such a thing were possible.

I believe you'll find the same true of Norway. Their government has certainly become more conservative in recent years, and the socialist parties have lost significant ground in parliment.

Amadan · Jul 23, 2015

Don said:
Except neither Sweden nor Norway lay claim to being socialist, although both have rather extensive welfare states. SocialistWorld.net has this to say about Sweden:

I believe you'll find the same true of Norway.

Ah, we're down to arguing over which countries are "true" socialist ones. Funny how the criteria for capitalism and socialism broaden or narrow depending on the argument.

Don · Aug 13, 2015

Well, I guess it's nice to know that not everybody in Venezuela is suffering.

Hugo Chavez's ambassador daughter is Venezuela's richest woman

The daughter of Hugo Chavez, the former president who once declared 'being rich is bad,' may be the wealthiest woman in Venezuela, according to evidence reportedly in the hands of Venezuelan media outlets.

Maria Gabriela Chavez, 35, the late president's second-oldest daughter, holds assets in American and Andorran banks totaling almost $4.2billion, Diario las Americas reports.

The figure would make Gabriela Chavez wealthier than media mogul Gustavo Cisneros, whom Forbes named the wealthiest Venezuelan earlier this year with $3.6billion in assets.

robeiae · May 29, 2016

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/28/world/americas/venezuela-economic-government-collapse.html?_r=1

The courts? Closed most days. The bureau to start a business? Same thing. The public defender’s office? That’s been converted into a food bank for government employees.
Step by step, Venezuela has been shutting down.
This country has long been accustomed to painful shortages, even of basic foods. But Venezuela keeps drifting further into uncharted territory.
In recent weeks, the government has taken what may be one of the most desperate measures ever by a country to save electricity: A shutdown of many of its offices for all but two half-days each week.
But that is only the start of the country’s woes. Electricity and water are being rationed, and huge areas of the country have spent months with little of either.

blacbird · May 29, 2016

More than any other nation, Venezuela has been hammered economically by the persistent low in oil prices. Couple that with the obvious pigheadedness of Chavez and Maduro on just about everything needed to govern well, and you have a big, important nation on the verge of complete collapse. Given the history of many countries in South America, a military coup there wouldn't shock me. There's only so long you can get away with blaming a cabal of outsiders for your inherent internal mess. Maduro doesn't have the public adulation or charismo that Chavez did, nor could he ever exercise the absolutism of, say, Kim Jong-Un. At this point, even opening the nation up to more private industrial economic development isn't going to result in a quick fix. Venezuela is in the midst of a very rough ride which isn't going to end soon, regardless of what is done.

caw

Economics, Maduro Style

Don

All Living is Local

Cramp

Pain in the writing wrist

Amadan

Don

All Living is Local

Amadan

RoadTripDog

Xelebes

Delerium ex Ennui

RoadTripDog

Xelebes

Delerium ex Ennui

Don

All Living is Local

Amadan

Don

All Living is Local

robeiae

Touch and go

blacbird