Chavez has bought "The Dummies Guide to Setting Up a Socialist Dictatorship" book and is following the chapter by chapter steps. This is the same program that Saddam, Qhaddafi and others have followed. The people (majority struggling and require gov't assistance) are always duped into believing that he will centralize power to serve the people better, but this has not worked in an oil producer throughout history. The next step would be heavy restrictions on movement across the boarders including money or assets. It will be followed by a rapid atrophy of that part of the population that has the intellect, business sense and wealth which is needed to sustain the future. Those people will rush to more secure ground in other countries where they will be more productive in the host country than in Venezuela where their security is at heavy risk. It is just so sad to see this happen over and over.
well the biggest flaw to this strategy is the high probability of a us invasion. let's leave them alone and see how they do. would you prefer we set up yet another puppet regime and accompanying military defense for "private oil" interest? and please tell me where citizens working from january to july to pay their income taxes does not mirror socialism. this tax bill only services the banks who create the money they loan out of thin air. call it what you want, socialism, slavery, bankers capitalism but the slander of labelling chavez a socialistic dictator just doesn't have the sting it once had when the USA didn't jail its citizens without due process.
hell thats just income taxes.... don't forget all the other "hidden" taxes. and where do they get this money they loan us?? things that make you go hmmmmmmmmm. let's see.... i print money out of thin air and i am not required to back it with anything... then loan it to you and you have to pay back principle and interest. sign me up for that pyramid scheme.
Ratboy, I'm not against socialism or any other type of govt. I'm just highlighting the process that everyone has gone through to become the Saddam, Castro and others of the world. I'm very familiar with this type of movement and policy quickly after someone takes power. Put the fed, oil and the entire private sector under your command and then begin to focus on education and eliminating any threat to your power. You then set the country back and limit any innovation and advancement while the currency crashes and unemployment shoots through the roof. How many examples do we need? I am not getting into the US policy at that point. I don't really care at the moment because what is happening in Venez. is in the people's hands right now. I'm not promoting US intervention or whatever. Not sure where you were headed with your post. I'm just outlining what has been seen and read about over and over and over.
This is very true. It is just a fact of the global economy right now. What do you do about that? Do you own gold? Commodities? Or are you like everyone else who is currently paying a mortgage and sales taxes. You sound like someone who is trading a craft for a craft and has given up on using currency as an exchange medium. Or are you merely stating what has been obvious since the Nixon presidency? Great comments, but point me to a system that works better. I grew up in Europe. The socialist system existing in France, Belgium and other industrialized nations there is not a model of beauty. Switzerland has a better system, but it also enjoys one of the highest standards of living and wealth in the world. Is Castro's system better? That's where Chavez will probably go with it. Soon, doctors, engineers and scholars will be running to Mexico where they can earn a decent living rather than waiting for 6 months to get a check from the gov't for services rendered. That human capital will diminish so fast, there won't be anyone there to lead the next generation. This is just my thought on it. I hope and pray this doesn't happen to Venezuela. It has suffered a lot of corruption and some serious economic swings. Chavez promises to end that. I hope he does. I hope it becomes the new century model for how Latin America should be in the future. More power to him if he does that. This will be my last reply. Politics and religion are never-ending discussions.
Nobody can fix South American economic problems, least of all Marxists. Why worry about it? OTOH why try to drag them into the modern world either, it's a lot of work. If they want a charity state and huge poverty who are we to question their values as long as they are not declaring war on us.