Progressives all over the world love Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela. Its considered a model of Progressive governance. From State controlled industries to subsidies for the poor, leftist all over the globe love the Bolivarian regime. There is something the left doesn’t tell people. Hugo Chavez’s price controls have led to food shortages. By not allowing food to be sold at its true value, there is no incentive to grow or sell food. It doesn’t help that Chavez has seized private farms.
CARACAS, Venezuela — By 6:30 a.m., a full hour and a half before the store would open, about two dozen people were already in line. They waited patiently, not for the latest iPhone, but for something far more basic: groceries.
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Venezuela is one of the world’s top oil producers at a time of soaring energy prices, yet shortages of staples like milk, meat and toilet paper are a chronic part of life here, often turning grocery shopping into a hit or miss proposition.
Some residents arrange their calendars around the once-a-week deliveries made to government-subsidized stores like this one, lining up before dawn to buy a single frozen chicken before the stock runs out. Or a couple of bags of flour. Or a bottle of cooking oil.
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But many economists call it a classic case of a government causing a problem rather than solving it. Prices are set so low, they say, that companies and producers cannot make a profit. So farmers grow less food, manufacturers cut back production and retailers stock less inventory. Moreover, some of the shortages are in industries, like dairy and coffee, where the government has seized private companies and is now running them, saying it is in the national interest.
In January, according to a scarcity index compiled by the Central Bank of Venezuela, the difficulty of finding basic goods on store shelves was at its worst level since 2008. While that measure has eased considerably, many products can still be hard to come by.
This is Socialism at work. This is what is in store for America if we don’t remove the Pharaoh!
Tags: Bolivarians, Hugo Chavez
