Hugo Chavez is a palpably evil thug, and he confirms this status with a new proposal to issue cards that almost certainly will be used to ration food. Left-wing despots claim that their policies put “people above profits,” but they never can explain why people (especially the masses) have much higher living standards in countries where “capitalist greed” runs rampant.
Presented by President Hugo Chávez as an instrument to make shopping for groceries easier, the “Good Life Card” is making various segments of the population wary because they see it as a furtive attempt to introduce a rationing card similar to the one in Cuba. The measure could easily become a mechanism to control the population, according to civil society groups. “We see that in short-term this could become a rationing card probably similar to the one used in Cuba,” Roberto León Parilli, president of the National Association of Users and Consumers, told El Nuevo Herald. “It would use more advanced technological means [than those used in Cuba], but when they tell you where to buy and what the limits of what you can buy are, they are conditioning your purchases.” Chávez said Tuesday that the card could be used to buy groceries at the government chain of markets and supplies. …In theory, the government could begin to favor the import of products to be sold through the government chains and have more control over the type of products purchased and the people buying them. Jaime Suchlicki, director of the University of Miami’s Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, said that Venezuela’s current problems of scarce supplies are very similar to those Cuba faced when Fidel Castro introduced the rationing card. “The card emerged when goods began to become scarce,” Suchlicki said. “The government had seized many companies that did not work because the government managed them poorly. Then they decided to distribute groceries through those cards.” And although the cards were introduced as a mechanism to deal with scarcities, Suchlicki said, they later became an instrument of control.
[…] since 2010, I’ve been pointing out that Venezuela is a horrifying and tragic example of what happens when […]
[…] since 2010, I’ve been pointing out that Venezuela is a horrifying and tragic example of what happens […]
[…] blame people in corrupt nations such as Mexico for evading taxation. I don’t blame people in dictatorial nations such as Venezuela for evading taxation. But I would criticize people in Singapore,Switzerland, Hong Kong, or Estonia […]
[…] was writing about the Venezuelan disaster six years ago, but it’s even gotten to the point that left-leaning […]
[…] was writing about the Venezuelan disaster six years ago, but it’s even gotten to the point that left-leaning […]
[…] there’s little doubt in my mind that taxation is theft. And that’s true if the government is sinisterly malign, such as Venezuela, or a failing welfare state, such as […]
[…] there’s little doubt in my mind that taxation is theft. And that’s true if the government is sinisterly malign, such as Venezuela, or a failing welfare state, such as […]
[…] est un bandit méprisable et un illettré économique. Donc, s’il se lamente au sujet d’Obama, c’est le signe, au […]
[…] Venezuelan government can’t keep food on the shelves, and it is moving closer and closer to Cuban-style rationing of basic […]
[…] anybody surprised to learn that Venezuela is in last place of the 99 nations in the […]
[…] Ranks a Miserable 94 out of 100, “the ‘good news’ is that we beat out Argentina and Venezuela, two of the world’s most corrupt and despotic […]
[…] Ranks a Miserable 94 out of 100, “the ‘good news’ is that we beat out Argentina and Venezuela, two of the world’s most corrupt and despotic […]
[…] Ranks a Miserable 94 out of 100, “the “good news” is that we beat out Argentina and Venezuela, two of the world’s most corrupt and despotic […]
[…] Miserable 94 out of 100, “the “good news” is that we beat out Argentina and Venezuela, two of the world’s most corrupt and despotic […]
[…] “good news” is that we beat out Argentina and Venezuela, two of the world’s most corrupt and despotic […]
[…] is a despicable thug and an economic illiterate. So if he’s whining about Obama, that at least means the President […]
[…] of these local politicians are nothing but Chavez-style thugs, willing to use government coercion for arbitrary and capricious reasons. I hope my disdain was […]
[…] Haiti may be the poorest nation in the Americas. Cuba may have the dictator with the longest lifespan. But Venezuela arguably has the worst government. […]
[…] Haiti may be the poorest nation in the Americas. Cuba may have the dictator with the longest lifespan. But Venezuela arguably has the worst government. […]
[…] Haiti may be the poorest nation in the Americas. Cuba may have the dictator with the longest lifespan. But Venezuela arguably has the worst government. […]
[…] Haiti may be the poorest nation in the Americas. Cuba may have the dictator with the longest lifespan. But Venezuela arguably has the worst government. […]
[…] Haiti may be the poorest nation in the Americas. Cuba may have the dictator with the longest lifespan. But Venezuela arguably has the worst government. […]
[…] blame people in corrupt nations such as Mexico for evading taxation. I don’t blame people in dictatorial nations such as Venezuela for evading […]
[…] can point out that communism is so inefficient that you wind up with rationing of everything from food to toilet […]
[…] can point out that communism is so inefficient that you wind up with rationing of everything from food to toilet […]
[…] can point out that communism is so inefficient that you wind up with rationing of everything from food to toilet […]