Chavez wages war on "food merchadising"

[The Village Idiot]

This means people in the food industry need to work for free?

http://english.eluniversal.com/2010/05/25/en_eco_art_govnt-launches-war_25A3906133.shtml

Venezuelan Food Minister Felix Osorio said on Tuesday that all companies viewing food as merchandise "will be at war with the government."

He rebutted claims that the government is taking actions against Venezuela's largest food producer, Empresas Polar, or food distribution company Friosa. Rather, he explained that authorities are monitoring all food-related chains, regardless of the type of products they sell.

Osorio clarified that government actions will not be limited to foodstuffs, adding that they will monitor other goods such as clothing and vehicles.

Osorio said "free market" was in place in Venezuela 10 years ago, but not anymore.

[The Village Idiot]

Venezuela GDP falls 5.8% in first quarter

http://english.eluniversal.com/2010/05/26/en_eco_esp_venezuelas-recessio_26A3908297.shtml

The report issued by the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) at the end of the first quarter of 2010 clearly shows that economic downturn has not slowed down, and that the historical link between high oil prices and growth is blurring.

By comparing the figures issued by the BCV with the data recorded in the first quarter of 2009, the average price of the Venezuelan oil basket dramatically recovered by 85 percent to USD 70.5. However, the economy shrank 5.8 percent and declined for the fourth consecutive quarter.

Virtually all the engines that can boost the economy are off. Private consumption declined 5.9 percent; investment plummeted 27.9 percent; government spending fell 0.2 percent. The only positive figure was the increase of Venezuelan exports (70.9 percent) thanks to the recovery of oil prices.

The BCV report shows the impact on key areas for wealth and employment creation: manufacturing declined 9.9 percent; trade (-11.6 percent); construction (-7.8 percent), oil sector (-5 percent). On the positive side, communications jumped 9.7 percent and community services increased by 2.8 percent.

The Central Bank of Venezuela attributed the negative results in the first quarter to the "temporary discontinuation of access to foreign currency for imports of goods and services, lower domestic aggregate demand from consumers, reduced investment and the effects of environmental conditions that forced the government to implement a power rationing plan aimed at ensuring rational and equitable use of electricity."

Although the Central Bank of Venezuela conceded that the economy was affected by exchange shortage, the Foreign Exchange Administration Commission (Cadivi) said on April 15, through a press release, that in the first quarter of this year it allocated a total of USD 5.42 billion for imports, an 11 percent increase over the same period of 2009.

[DumbAss Tanker]

Some similarity to the beginnings of the great Soviet famine (The first wave, not the even bigger disaster they created with collectivization a little later) - free market economic distribution breaks down due to ham-handed Commie meddling and money-printing, so the dictator starts stealing all existing food stocks from distributors, and eventually sending out the Red Guard to seize food stocks from the farms to feed the rabble that keeps him in power in the cities. 

[The Village Idiot]

As ludicrous as raiding a food warehouse and seizing 114 tons of perishable foods that were supposedly "hoarded", the government left 1,300 imported containers of food, about 26,000 tons total to rot at the docks last year.

So efficient!

[JohnnyReb]

As ludicrous as raiding a food warehouse and seizing 114 tons of perishable foods that were supposedly "hoarded", the government left 1,300 imported containers of food, about 26,000 tons total to rot at the docks last year.

So efficient!

About 4 to 5 trailer truck loads....maybe one pickle slice per person.

Just practicing for the real thing.

Now you know our friends, the DUmmies, would just love for Obama to go all Stalin on us and put them in charge of food distribution. They would truly have orgasms watching people they think deserve to die die from starvation.
...and for all their fake compassion for others, don't expect any from them.