Posted on 07/20/2016 10:27:38 AM PDT by Red Badger
Pregnant women, children and even elderly Venezuelans crossed into Colombia on Sunday after the border was temporarily reopened, allowing them to buy basic foods and toiletries -- rare commodities in their home country.
Tearful Venezuelans had gone weeks without basic food items like milk, flour and toilet paper. It's a sad but common part of daily life today in crisis-ridden Venezuela, a country that has the world's largest proven reserves of oil. Colombian officials estimate that about 100,000 Venezuelans crossed the border.
Venezuela is expected to dive deeper into the abyss this year, according to new projections published Wednesday by the International Monetary Fund.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
Well, at least Socialism makes its subjects appreciate how Capitalism works.
I remember, around 1990, a Russian exchange student almost going into shock when she went in her first Walmart store.
My daughter thought it was funny as we consider such a store “common”.
So I’m curious and I know most others are, as to why they thought this was so.
I hate modern journalism. Shouldn’t this be in the lead?
I mean, did these people say it was the fault of the capitalists in Venezuela? Did they blame the United States? Or did they blame their reckless, failed-socialist government?
At least three women burst into tears when they reached the Colombian side, and a man shouted “Viva Colombia’’. Some cursed Maduro’s administration back home which they blamed for reducing them to the point where to buy products as basic as rice they now need to cross an international frontier.
“We were a nation that was super rich, and now look at us,” said Yorcy Exposito, who said she set out from her home in the city of San Cristobal at 4 a.m. “Our government just needs to go, and not come back. They humiliate us.”
Do they buy the goods with Venezuelan currency?
Hey, this deflation of oil prices ain’t all that bad. We get cheaper gas, Venezuelans resort to cannibalism, socialism provides people with another reason not to go there.
If someone had told me 20 years ago that Venezuela would fall this far even under socialism I don't think I'd have believed them. This was no natural disaster, world economic catastrophe, or warfare, this was pure local political arrogance, corruption, and incompetence. Fortunately for the citizens of that country the natural resources are still there. Unfortunately, so is the government.
“If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there’d be a shortage of sand.”
— Milton Friedman
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Great quote!
In case you missed this quote by Walter Williams in another thread:
“I respect ordinary thieves more than I respect politicians. Ordinary thieves take my money without pretense. (They don’t) insult my intelligence by proclaiming that they’ll use the money that they steal from me to make my life better.”
Maybe Bernie Sanders and a cadre of his supporters can go to Venezuela and show them how that socialism thing is supposed to be done.
I doubt that Venezuelan currency is accepted in Colombia. I’d marvel at the prospect of anyone even offering an exchange rate, given the wild inflation. These Venezuelans crossing into Colombia to buy staples must have other currency, or they’re selling something to get it once there.
HEARTBREAKING
Hey, is United Fruit Company still around? This would be a great time to offer Venezuela some of our expired MRE’s in exchange for all their agricultural and mineral rights. Time to put the banana back into “Banana Republic”.
The story isn’t complete without knowing how these people voted in past elections and whether they were part of the mobs that helped put the communist Chavez into power. I’m sure there were many Germans who voted for Hitler who had buyers remorse in the aftermath of WWII.
I mean, did these people say it was the fault of the capitalists in Venezuela?
...
Venezuela has been a mess for decades. Chavez made it worse while he enriched his family and friends. If all that Chavez did could be undone, Venezuela would still have problems.
Even blind CNN finds a nut once in a while?
Unfortunately, most in the US are too ignorant to see this.
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