Venezuela, An Example of Modern-Day Socialism
February, 2020
- Socialism is seductive. Here's the bait:
- Evil Capitalists / Corporations
- The Greedy Rich / Conservatives
- Universal, Government-run, or Free Healthcare
- Free College Education
- Price Controls
- Income Equality / Fairness
- A Guaranteed Job/Income, etc.
- Subscribers gleefully walk right into the crocodile's mouth not knowing they are sealing their fate.
- Run, do not walk, away from candidates (of any political party) whose tax, spend and borrow platforms include the above.
- The smoke and mirrors of Socialist philosphy is that none of these "benefits" are free.
The reality is:
- someone has to pay for all the "free stuff"
- in the beginning, Socialism relies on Captialism to fund the giveaways
- Socialism acts like a cancer that destroys Capitalism from within
- when Capitalism falls, Socialism fails.
- When producers (those who start/own/manage businesses and those who work for them)
- are unfairly taxed
- government price controls price their products below their abilty to make a profit
- or their profits are seized outright by the government
they move on. The natural consequence is that supplies dry up, money runs out -- and that's when people start
standing in line for bread and toilet paper.
- Check out this article from CNN.
- and a few images from The Atlantic.
Each picture has a "View Page" link. I suggest clicking on a few.
- So, how did Venezuela, a once thriving country, experience such decline?
- In 1999, Venezuelans elected Socialist Hugo Chavez as President. He became a virtual dictator, staying in power until his death in 2013.
- Chavez was the Bernie Sanders* of his country -- charismatic and promised all sorts of "goodies". He was to get even with the evil, rich Capitalists, and share Venezuela's wealth with the people. Truth be told, the wealth was being shared. Venezuelans didn't know
how good they had it -- until it was too late.
- When Socialism failed, as it always does, who did his successor, Nicolas Maduro, blame?
The rich, of course.
- Here's one example of how something as common and simple as
toilet paper,
can be so mismanaged by those in government who convince voters they can better manage business than
the private sector. No, they can't.
- As Venezuelan Debbie D'Souza explains in her video, "I can tell you what happened to [Venezuela] in one word, Socialism".
- * Don't get me wrong. I'm not suggesting that if Sanders is elected President that he would refuse
to step down once his time in office is up. I am suggesting that his policies, if fully implemented, will lead
to the decline and ruin of the U.S. as we know it.
- The situation in Venezuela has become so dire,
people are fleeing by the hundreds of thousands.
Look at some of those pictures. Take a moment and personlize this. Just how desperate
would you have to be to pack what you could in a duffle bag, leave everything else behind,
travel on foot, and hope to able to cross the border into a neighboring country? From where
and whom will your next meal and cup of water come? And people in the U.S. want to nominate
a Socialist to be President? ¡Ay, caramba!
- Newcomers to the Socialist dogma often acknowledge past problems in places like The Soviet Union, Cuba, Venezuela, etc., but insist they will "get it right". No, they won't.
- The sad and frightening reality is that we in the U.S. are already too far down the path of Socialism
for comfort, as we are now over
$23 trillion in debt. That's over $180 thousand per
taxpayer! This level of debt is unsustainable -- and we will either turn this ship around, or pay a terrible price.
- Voting for Socialism is like a child taking candy from a stranger. It looks inviting but not a good idea.
Don't stand in line for bread and toilet paper.
Do not elect Socialists.
