Posts Tagged ‘Venezuela’
Thursday, January 22nd, 2015
It was about time to do another update on Venezuela’s failing socialist economy when I dropped by Hot Air and saw that Ed Morrissey had already done all the heavy lifting for me:
“The currency in what should be the richest country in South America has collapsed, as well as its economy, under the dual weight of falling crude prices and the Chavista socialism that has been choking the country for more than a decade.”
More:
Venezuela’s Chavista policies have always ignored economic reality. Socialism is a fantasy economic system, especially as implemented by Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro.
The difference between Venezuela and the nanny-state petro-economy in Norway is that the latter preserves itself by respecting private property and foreign investment. From the beginning, Hugo Chavez attacked both, nationalizing oil production and criminalizing private investors as part of his “Bolivarian” revolution. When it did that, it chased off the talent needed to run oil production and the investment needed for all other kinds of goods and services. For a short period of time, their oil revenue allowed it to succeed in ignorance. When that failed, Chavez and now Maduro reacted to those predictable consequences by predictably imposing all sorts of rationing mechanisms which only decreased incentives for production and investment, especially in the legitimate economy. Now that the price of oil has collapsed, so has the official Venezuelan economy — and a populace used to a high standard of living now endures massive shortages and ever-increasing oppression to cover it up.
Morrissey, in turn, quotes a big chunk of this Matt O’Brien piece in the Washington Post:
Venezuela’s government is running a 14 percent of gross domestic product deficit right now, a fiscal hole so big that there’s only one way to fill it: the printing press. But that just traded one economic problem—too little money—for the opposite one. After all, paying people with newly-printed money only makes that money lose value, and prices go parabolic. It’s no wonder then that Venezuela’s inflation rate is officially 64 percent, is really something like 179 percent, and could get up to 1,000 percent, according to Bank of America, if Venezuela doesn’t change its byzantine currency controls.
What he said. Er, both of them.
Tags:Budget, hyperinflation, inflation, oil industry, socialism, Venezuela, Welfare State
Posted in Budget, Communism, Welfare State | No Comments »
Monday, January 5th, 2015
Time waits for no man, so here’s your first LinkSwarm of the new year:
ObamaCare’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year.
“Democrats are grappling with the reality that the Obama presidency is nearing its end, and they don’t know what to say about it.”
Pricks in the Democratic party continue to prick people to donate.
“Grand juries that examine hard facts live in a different world from mobs who listen to rhetoric and politicians who cater to the mobs.”
Thanks to The Magic Power of Socialism, Venezuela ice cream shop closes due to lack of milk.
Just as everyone who wasn’t a socialist predicted, France’s 75% tax on the rich has been a miserable failure. “Even by its own standards, the tax was largely a failure — the watered-down version brought in minimal revenue and did little to tackle wealth inequalities.” But it did succeed in driving Gerard Depardieu to Russia and Johnny Depp to England.
The top ten Jihad news stories of 2014. Though personally I would have found room for the Peshawar school attack…
ISIS executed nearly 2,000 people over the last six months.
“The mobs in New York, Ferguson, and elsewhere are not calling for metaphorical murders of policemen, but literal ones.”
If you want to “young black men to stop being shot,” perhaps they should refrain from aiming guns at cops.
Evidence suggests that the “Trayvon Martin Organizing Committee” was behind the “Dead Cops” chant.
Teacher’s unions are very upset that home schooling has allowed children to escape their clutches.
Excess vodka consumption killing Russian men. Stop the freaking presses! But aren’t the deaths of thousands of Russian men a small price to pay for unlimited quantities of amusing YouTube fail videos? (NSFW)
You know who fought “rape culture” in the 19th and 20th centuries? The KKK. (Hat tip: Instapundit.)
“Lying for a good cause doesn’t mean that you care; It means you’re a liar.”
Tags:Democrats, Ferguson, Foreign Policy, France, Gerard Depardieu, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, Jihad, Johnny Depp, LinkSwarm, New York City, NSFW, ObamaCare, Social Justice Warriors, Venezuela
Posted in Communism, Crime, Democrats, Foreign Policy, Jihad, ObamaCare, video | No Comments »
Thursday, December 11th, 2014
There’s been a lot of talk of how low oil prices are screwing Russia, but Venezuela is, if anything, more screwed thanks to the Magic Power of Socialism™:
U.S. currency is vital to Venezuela, which imports as much as 80% of what it consumes; 96% of its exports are petroleum products…In effect, the one-third decline in the price of oil means that the state oil company must either raise or divert enough production because Venezuela effectively owes China 67 million barrels of oil, roughly 27 million more than it did before, for this loan alone. And there are billions of dollars in other loans to consider.
And the outlook for the immediate future is equally grim:
Venezuela’s economy is expected to contract in 2014 and 2015, and even though it’s already recognized as the 14th least competitive economy in the world (according to the World Economic Forum) and the eighth-worst economy for doing business (according to The World Bank), [President Nicolas] Maduro’s laws seem to discourage private investments even more. The new laws reinforce bureaucracy and the difficulty of doing business in the country, particularly in the area of taxes.
“Increasing numbers of low-income Venezuelans are souring on Maduro as they suffer a declining economy, the highest inflation in the Americas, chronic shortages of basic goods and one of the world’s highest murder rates.”
If Venezuela’s economy collapses, they might take Cuba down with them, since the Castro brothers are so heavily dependent on Venezuelan oil subsidies to prop up their own moribund economy.
Compounding Venezuela’s crises is the fact that it’s probably going to default on its bonds. So they’re finally reaching the point in socialism where the run out of other people’s money. Next to that singular problem, U.S. sanctions on government Venezuelan officials for killing protestors are a trivial irritation…
Tags:Cuba, Economics, Foreign Policy, hyperinflation, inflation, Nicolas Maduro, socialism, Venezuela
Posted in Budget, Communism, Foreign Policy, Welfare State | 1 Comment »
Monday, September 8th, 2014
A Monday LinKSwarm to kick off your week with:
Surprise, surprise, surprise: Obamacare discourages work.
Media: ObamaCare is fading as an issue. GOP strategists: LOL.
“Obama has overseen a shocking decline in America’s standing in the world. Everyone is mad at, or disappointed in, the United States.” As far as I can tell, Obama’s foreign policy is to do nothing until Americans are killed, and then to do nothing some more…
More on the theme:
“Obama says what he has to say to make reporters stop asking about it.”
Rotherham: “The local government tolerated sexual violence on a vast scale. Why? In part, because the criminals who committed these sickening acts were Muslims from the local Pakistani community, and noticing their depravity was considered insensitive at best, racist at worst.”
Illegal alien “children” with gray hair enrolling in public schools since the Obama Administration won’t let school districts check their ages.
After more than five years of Obama, the Los Angeles Times asks “Is economic stagnation the new normal?”
Obama starts the latest poker round by showing Putin his hole cards.
Iran bans women from many university courses. Now remind me what this whole “war on women” is about again…
Interview with the woman who runs the only Arabic language magazine of sex and erotica. Good luck with that…
Thanks to The Magic Power of Socialism, Venezuela is now importing oil.
Hey, remember when Bush attended three fundraisers and a wedding during the middle of the invasion of Iraq? Me neither.
“However stupid the creation of the euro was, undoing it will not be easy.”
UC Berkley wants to make sure “we can only exercise our right to free speech insofar as we feel safe and respected in doing so.” “And by ‘contentious’ speech, we mean ‘non-liberal’ speech. Or, as we like to refer to them, ‘hate crimes.'”
Military rifles, armor, and ammo sent to numerous Texas school districts. If anyone knows why Texarkana ISD needs a SWAT team, I’m all ears…
In a shocking and unexpected development, I actually agree with Keith Olbermann about something. Namely the idea that it was amazingly stupid for the Huffington Post to hire Donte “9/11 Truther” Stallworth to be a “National Security Fellow.”
This weekend there were numerous protests to wage fast food wages. What’s behind them? $3 million in union money.
Huffingotn Post fooled by scam story. Clip this headline out and save it and I’m sure you’ll be able to make use of it in the years to come…
Mandy Nagy, AKA “Liberty Chick,” is recovering from surgery following a stroke.
A little fun via the #ExplainAFilmPlotBadly tag:
Tags:Border Controls, Elections, Foreign Policy, Iran, Islam, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, Jihad, Jonah Goldberg, Keith Olbermann, Media Watch, ObamaCare, rape, Rotherham, Russia, Ukraine, unions, Venezuela, video
Posted in Border Control, Crime, Democrats, Elections, Foreign Policy, Jihad, Uncategorized, unions, video | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 18th, 2014
There’s so much news going on in the world that it’s hard to sit down and focus on one story to get a single blog post out of it when there’s another huge story coming down the pike. Iraq, Ukraine, the VA Scandal, the dog eating Lois Lerner’s emails (“Barack Obama has brought us Jimmy Carter’s economy and Richard Nixon’s excuses”); too damn much going on to focus on one thing. So here’s a LinkSwarm instead:
Barack Obama is not interested in war, but war is interested in Obama.
Obama golfs while the world burns. “Oh Lord, I was born a golfing man!/I get in a round whenever I can…”
Obama Administration admits that ObamaCare will cost people more for health care, even with the subsidies.
Russia cuts off natural gas supplies to Ukraine.
Russian tanks appear in eastern Ukraine.
Russia’s top anti-corruption cop decides to take up flying.
One reason the IRS went after the Tea Party: Chuck Schumer asked them to.
“The Obama administration has reached levels of hitherto unknown incompetence.” (Hat tip: Instapundit.)
A majority of Americans do not believe that Obama is trustworthy. You don’t say.
Another day, another 48 people dead at the hands of Jihadists in Kenya. There are days when 48 people killed at a hotel would top the news…
The Obama Administration also released 12 Jihadists in Afghanistan.
Won’t someone please think about poor, impoverished Hillary Clinton?
The Obama Administration’s intentionally lax border control enforcement is letting letting Mexican gang members waltz into the country.
“Thousands of young, poor would-be immigrants—90,000 this year alone—have swarmed across the border, the logical fruition of the entire cynical approach of the Obama administration toward illegal immigration.”
Bill Gates wants to propagandize you into accepting illegal alien amnesty. Actually, what Gates and his high tech baron compatriots really want is more H1-B visas, but since that doesn’t help the Democratic Party as much as illegal alien amnesty, it gets rolled into the giant “comprehensive immigration reform” ball.
Should Obama have erased the IRS emails Nixon have erased the tapes?
Turning point in the Brat campaign: crashing a staged event to prove Cantor was lying about amnesty.
“Prostitutes more than double their earnings by moonlighting as currency traders” in Venezuela.
Argentina runs out of rope.
European cab drivers protest Uber by halting traffic. Result? Uber sees 850% increase in signups.
I’m going to boil this down to the essentials: Never open an account with a Georgia bank.
But maybe they need to seize your money to pay for all that food stamp fraud.
Does anyone really think West Virginia Democratic Senate candidate Natalie Tennant is any more “pro-coal” or “pro-gun” than Bart Stupak was “pro-life”?
Another year, another lefty writer caught plagiarizing the work of others. And not just any lefty writer, but a Pulitzer Prize winner to boot…
Chelsea Clinton got paid $600,000 by MSNBC. That worked out to $26,724 for each minute she was on the air. In other news, your betters in the overclass really don’t care what you think of the financial compensation one member of the class gives to another…
Millions in “urban redevelopment” money in Democratic-controlled Philadelphia ends up in certain people’s pockets with almost nothing to show for it. Try to contain your shock. (Hat tip: Instapundit.)
South Carolina university professors: “How dare you make us teach the Constitution?”
Violence and subway strike in advance of Brazil’s World Cup.
New guidelines for ignoring due process in accusations of college campus sexual assault = Lawsuitapalooza!
Erick Erickson calls out Ted Cruz for not endorsing more conservatives.
Dwight does some gun geeking for you Smith & Wesson fans.
Dear anyone who’s ever self-published their own book: you’re a fascist Ayn Rand supporter, using your evil individualism to bypass the holy gatekeepers of traditional publishing.
And if you think that’s the stupidest left-wing essay you’ll read today, think again.
There was enough voter fraud in a Weslaco City Commissioner Race for the judge to order a new election. “Some of the disallowed ballots were cast by voters claiming Rivera’s childhood home as their address.” Note: Weslaco is down in the valley right next to Donna, Texas, which had its own voting scandal.
Doggies! (Patriotic doggies, no less.) (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)
“This harlot-sized ensemble will make you the envy of your trampish posse on your fraudulent wedding day.”
Tags:Argentina, Brazil, Chelsea Clinton, David Brat, Democrats, Eric Cantor, feminism, fraud, Georgia, Guns, Iraq, IRS, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, Jihad, Military, MSNBC, Natalie Tennant, ObamaCare, Philadelphia, Richard M. Nixon, Russia, Snith & Wesson, South Carolina, Ted Cruz, Texas, Ukraine, Venezuela, Victor Davis Hanson, Weslaco, West Virginia
Posted in Border Control, Democrats, Foreign Policy, Jihad, Media Watch, Military, Obama Scandals, ObamaCare, Texas, Waste and Fraud | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, April 9th, 2014
When last we checked, Venezuela had come down with a case of Terminal Socialism. Here’s an update.
Faced with crippling inflation and a shortage of basic goods due to endemic cronyism, horrible mismanagement and laughable official exchange rates, Nicolas Maduro’s socialist government has finally thrown in the towel and instituted floating exchange rates… sort of:
A dollar will cost you 6.3 bolívares if you are the government, or if you can persuade Cencoex (the government’s foreign-trade body) that you intend to import vital goods such as food or medicine. Then there’s the Sicad I rate, currently just over 10 bolívares to the dollar, but contingent on irregular, “auctions” (which are nothing of the sort). The new Sicad II process, which is as close to a free market as the government will allow, opened at a whopping 50 bolívares to the dollar. But even that is a bargain compared with the unofficial exchange rate, which at the time of writing stands at almost 68 bolívares.
Meanwhile, shortages of basic goods mean Venezuelans get to enjoy that classic staple of late stage socialism: waiting in line to get food:
And the violent crackdown against opposition protesters continues:
Naturally, as a prelude to cracking down on the opposition, they followed the old socialist playbook by outlawing private ownership of guns. It’s always so much easier to oppress people once they’ve been disarmed. Even so, as the following video (via Legal Insurrection) shows, police don’t always get the upper hand:
Security forces have also committed dozens of documented instances of torture.
Are there any rays of home in the grim situation? Yes, Maduro’s government and opposition leaders have agreed to talks. Whether these can actually accomplish anything remains to be seen, but the fact that Maduro “ruled out any changes to the course of what he calls the Bolivarian revolution, the distinct brand of socialism created by his predecessor in office, Hugo Chavez,” tends to indicate that the prognosis is still grim.
Other Venezuela news:
An interview with the jailed opposition leader.
Two relative of opposition figures murdered.
Globovision assignment editor Nairobi Pinto kidnapped.
Spain halts shipments of riot gear.
Tags:Economics, Foreign Policy, Guns, Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela
Posted in Communism, Economics, Foreign Policy, Guns | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 18th, 2014
I knew things in Venezuela were bad, thanks to the magic power of socialism, but now they’re poised to get a whole lot worse.
“Over the past week, Venezuelan protesters have been fighting against corruption in the government, high inflation, and a high murder rate.”
The unjust, corrupt and incompetent socialist government of Hugo Chavez protege Nicolas Maduro just raided the offices of the main opposition party
Also, they just expelled three U.S. diplomats.
Here’s the skinny in a video nutshell:
Torture, repression, censorship, media control; Chavez and Maduro certainly learned Fidel Castro’s old playbook.
Ditto the economy, where inflation tops 50% and good shortages are widespread thanks to the usual socialist mismanagement and currency controls. (In just one indicator, Toyota suspended production in Venezuela due to the hard currency shortage. But at least Toyota sold 722 cars in January, while Ford sold a grand total of…2.)
The situation in Venezuela can’t get better as long as the current socialist government is in power, but Maduro’s thugs won’t leave without a fight.
Tags:censorship, Communism, Economics, protests, socialism, Venezuela, video
Posted in Communism, Economics, video | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 26th, 2013
The Venezuelan Parliament just passed an “enabling law” to give Socialist President Nicolas Maduro dictatorial powers.
Gee, you know what other Socialist President had his country pass an “Enabling Law” to give him dictatorial powers?
Go ahead.
Guess.
Maduro’s opponents? Not happy.
Earlier this month, Maduro sent the army to seize electronics store and force them to sell goods below cost, i.e. at the laughable “official exchange rate” of 6.3 bolivars per dollar rather than the real black market rate, which is some eight times higher. (They even tried to get Twitter to block unofficial exchange rates.) And Maduro is looking to loot more stores ahead of the December 8 elections. Given that Hugo Chavez has been hollowing out the country since 1999, I’m not even sure it’s possible for the opposition to win a large enough victory to escape the margin of voter fraud anymore.
Inflation is running at 54%. Oil prices are at 16 month lows, and the country’s oil production has been declining for a while. That, and the crazy Socialist looting, have sent Venezuela bond prices into a tailspin and sent their interest rates to an all-time high. Crime is also high, with Caracas being the murder capital of the world (yes, even worse than Chicago).
Maybe that’s why Goldman Sachs has a scheme to help Venezuela swap gold for dollars.
It’s almost as if Maduro read Atlas Shrugged and saw it as a blueprint rather than a cautionary tale. Imagine Greece, if hyperinflation was just getting started and they didn’t have German taxpayers to bail them out.
You can decree imaginary exchange rates the same way you can decree that π be set to exactly 3, and the reality will ignore and punish your delusion. Watch inflation skyrocket and business collapse as sellers are unable to buy goods and unwilling to sell at a loss, guaranteeing that a far-from rich country is about to get a whole lot poorer.
The only question now is whether Venezuela’s economic collapse will bee Argentina bad, or Weimar Germany bad.
Tags:Crime, Economics, hyperinflation, Nicolas Maduro, oil industry, socialism, Venezuela
Posted in Crime, Economics | No Comments »