Venezuela has a bread shortage. The government has decided bakers are the problem

Miami Herald ^ | March 16, 2017 | Jim Wyss

[detective]

Facing a bread shortage that is spawning massive lines and souring the national mood, the Venezuelan government is responding this week by detaining bakers and seizing establishments.

In a press release, the National Superintendent for the Defense of Socioeconomic Rights said it had charged four people and temporarily seized two bakeries as the socialist administration accused bakers of being part of a broad “economic war” aimed at destabilizing the country.

[detective]

“The government isn’t importing enough wheat,” he said. “If you don’t have wheat, you don’t have flour, and if you don’t have flour, you don’t have bread.”

That is to logical and sensible for a socialist. For a leftist nothing is ever the governments fault.

[Darteaus94025]

Socialist: “When we imprison all of the bakers we will have more bread!”

[Leaning Right]

> the National Superintendent for the Defense of Socioeconomic Rights said... <

You gotta give fascists and communists credit for one thing. They sure do have snazzy job titles.

[Leaning Right]

> Socialist #1: “When we imprison all of the bakers we will have more bread!” <
Socialist #2: “And the beatings will continue until morale improves!”

[shibumi]

I got my eye on a job as
“Sub-Regional Assistant Deputy Oversecretary for Economic Underdevelopment.”

[BeauBo]

“Facing a bread shortage that is spawning massive lines and souring the national mood, the Venezuelan government is responding this week by detaining bakers and seizing establishments.”

“The government is doing everything in its power to end the bread lines”

... by issuing a directive that people are no longer allowed to stand in line for bread.

Literally.

[Del Rapier]

And that is how an entire country,an entire subculture is wiped off the face of the Planet.

Like it never existed.

[ZOOKER]

In a weird way, it almost makes sense.

“The government is doing everything in its power to end the bread lines”

That's bound to work. The bread lines will disappear because why wait in line outside the bakery when the baker's in jail?

Might as well go stand in the caviar line instead.

[Publius]

In a press release, the National Superintendent for the Defense of Socioeconomic Rights said it had charged four people and temporarily seized two bakeries as the socialist administration accused bakers of being part of a broad “economic war” aimed at destabilizing the country.

This has more detail than yesterday's article. From Directive 10-289:

Point Two. All industrial, commercial, manufacturing and business establishments of any nature whatsoever shall henceforth remain in operation, and the owners of such establishments shall not quit nor leave nor retire, nor close, sell or transfer their business, under penalty of the nationalization of their establishment and of any and all of their property.

[A Navy Vet]

I'm still wondering where Sean Penn and Danny Glover are now that their socialist wonderland of Venezuela is out of everything.

One of them thought Obama's relaxed restrictions to Cuba would make it a tourist paradise. I read almost every day that the initial tourism has come to a grinding halt due to the cesspool that is still communist Cuba. Also, have read that airlines are reducing their flights or eliminating them altogether.

Hey Sean and Danny and all the other socialist talking heads in Hollywood, sure the next communist or socialist experiment will get those failed systems to work. Right? It's been working so well for western Europe. Wrong.

One of the long-standing problems I've had with politicians and media pundits and now Trump, few try to discuss the merits of free enterprise and give examples of the failings of socialism. I know it's beyond most GenXers' and Millenials' intellect being taught by socialists, but there are ways to put it in grammar school terms. Maybe we need a new version of the 80's "School House Rock" for the idiot Water's World or Jay-Walking types?

It's past time to compare and contrast. We need a repeating discussion as to why capitalism/free enterprise lifts all boats and socialism sinks everyone except for the totalitarian elite.

[Vince Ferrer]

Even Hollywood has abandoned it.

[Red Badger]

They are using Atlas Shrugged as a guidebook!...............

[Red Badger]

Winston Churchill:

Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.................

[PeterPrinciple]

Well at least their government making sure they don’t have to eat gmo food...............

[Redmen4ever]

capitalism: man does not live by bread alone.

socialism: man does not live.

[Billthedrill]

Don't think of it as starvation, think of it as a new modality of nutrition.

Crespo said he’d been in touch with several union members in Caracas and that most said they’d passed the inspection by simply opening their pantries. “The bakeries are showing the authorities that they have no bread inventory,” he said. “The government has to see the reality.”

Here's the reality:

Venezuela should not have to import wheat. It's one of the richest agricultural countries on the continent. "Big agriculture" was accused of oppressing the people by making a profit, resulting in government expropriation of the means of production in the name of the people. It was mandated to run at a loss so the prices could be kept low. That isn't sustainable. If production cannot sustain itself, it ceases no matter who's doing it, and so it has. Imports to make up for it involve an outflow of cash, and are unsustainable for exactly the same reason. That cash has now run out.

This isn't difficult. A schoolchild could understand all of that. Apparently an ideologue cannot even when his nose is rubbed in it. And the consequences are seen in the pinched faces of starvation.

[Conservative Gato]

It’s so sad what these leftists or statists or whatever they call themselves these days, the damage they end up doing to their fellow citizens.

This type of system always fails but you can never convince them of this as the excuses fly, like the right people weren’t in charge or something crazy like that.

It’s almost like human madcow disease as they’ll go to their graves believing this system can be good and successful for humankind when in reality, it never will.

CGato

[wally_bert]

Ayn Rand was right in a lot of respects.

[Yaelle]

Whip the bakers until morale improves.

[BBQToadRibs]

Importing? With Venezuela’s location they should be having 2x harvests of wheat a year. Easily. There shouldn’t be a wheat shortage.