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Petro-Communism: Chavez threatens to confiscate private property

Posted January 15, 2008

by J. Christoph Amberger 

Baltimore — (TFN): As "progressive" American politicians running for President are warming up left-over socialist solutions from the mid 20th century for the brewing economic crisis — planning to combat recession with redistribution of property, government handouts and the nationalization of an entire industry — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez serves as a timely reminder that socialist economics really have very little to contribute to a stable economy.

This darling of the American left is riding high on record revenues for Venezuelan crude. To appeal to those who may lack economic sense but vote anyway, Chavez has been sponsoring charity programs in capitalist countries… paying the train tickets of UK commuters and the heating oil bills of some American urban poor.

Meanwhile, the Venezuelan economy has gone into a tailspin. After nationalizing the country's press, the oil and telecommunications industry and casting an acquisitive eye on the nation's banks, he has implemented price controls to combat runaway inflation — which came in at 22.5% in 2007.

With his measures having short-circuited supply and demand, he is employing the time-honored socialist strategy of blaming businesses and capitalists for the problems for shortages in food, especially staples such as sugar, cooking oil, milk, beans, and eggs. According to IHT.com, 'Chavez said that price speculation is occurring "at all levels of society, from the big capitalists to the small shopkeepers," and said his government could expropriate property from individuals or companies that purportedly sit on goods for months to sell later them at inflated prices.'

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Emigration of people and capital from Venezuela is at record highs. A timely (if ultimately useless) reminder just what large  a failure socialism has turned out to be in the past… and will turn out in the future.

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Posted by J. Christoph Amberger · Filed Under Politics 

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