Oct 18, 2015 New York Times http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/18/new-...ant-bolavars-but-no-one-can-spare-a-dime.html If this were not real life, this would be comedy....the description of living with these anecdotal descriptions of life in Venezuela day. I mean funny. Gut wrenching statements like minimum income people now only have one week income for one month of expenses reminds you this is reality, and it is a violent shake of reminder. I did a search on ET just now for Venezuela once for topic and once for postings and was surprised not to find but one posting of life in that country. I think I understand: I almost didn't read it after seeing the subject line; hell, we all know its life lived lower than whale dung, and who wants to read about it ? But it is an article I would wish to use as a poster child example of government gone wrong inflicting misery on lives with bad economics driven by bad leadership. So what's new ? Venezuela and Argentina hits me as differently than the crimes committed to humanity in the Middle East. The two countries have important common threads. Here is the punch line: There is left sided governments of Europe and S. America and I see big differences in style with big differences in results as relates to quality of life. Of course, in the developed European ones, there is a history with a much bigger head starts in time line than S. America that allows it less abusive at the top as we see it in current days. I have observed closely abuse in leadership in the USA driving bad economics especially as applied as an accelerant to a fire. We are all aware of the potential if not inevitable disaster awaiting; you choose the most likely probability of decrease of quality of life going forward; you can match that with your scene of the degradation of freedom and quality of life. The one thing that I can't get out of my mind as relates to the last paragraph, is when things get bad as they did 6 years ago, voters, especially under educated and/or under-informed, can swing the pendulum hard in the other direction. The question to me is HOW HARD allowing for a demagogue with a party allied and complicit with what will become-- net result-- loss in liberty and harshest of hardships in living that are unimaginable today. It is easy to make essays on the subject, (as I guess I did setting this up), but any brief words from you regardless of your direction in thinking are welcome. I just ask we be respectful of the right to express an opinion regardless of no respect for the opinion. I am looking for insights to illuminate me/us in ways I/we may have overlooked.
what so special about it? Hyperinflation has been experienced in a number of countries and through various times. The US experienced close to 15% annual inflation rates not even 35 years ago. Clearly not hyperinflation but maybe the story highlights why some, such as older generation Germans are so scared of hyperinflation and why the German side of the ECB make-up plays the conservative card and is opposed to unlimited money printing. Certainly it is not to worry any time now.
Which I pointed out is significantly higher than what I described about the US. But then numerous countries experienced inflation levels in the thousand or more percent.
+ volpunter: the resident expert http://fusion.net/story/107578/crisis-pushes-venezuelan-women-to-sell-sex-in-colombia/
People loot a supermarket in San Felix in the state of Bolivar, Venezuela July 31, 2015. Food shortages in Venezuela have intensified as the country's economic crisis deepens. During the looting at a supermarket on Friday, one man was shot dead, according to local media. <http://www.businessinsider.com/r-ve...upermarkets-struggle-to-stock-shelves-2015-9>
Omg. Drama queen? The isles looked like that for 40 years in East Germany according to eye witnesses (I never lived in East Germany) so did they in every Eastern Block and Russia and Cuba and.....and....and....and people still survived. Give it a rest pal....