Things keep getting better and better - socialism at its most triumphant. From Yahoo/Associated Press:
Venezuela begins occupation of private supermarket chain
National guardsmen and state price adjusters fanned out across Venezuela Wednesday to impose a military-style occupation with an unusual goal: Making sure shoppers can buy enough sugar.
The South American country's socialist administration temporarily took over the Dia a Dia supermarket chain as part of a crackdown on the private businesses it blames for worsening shortages and long lines. Embattled President Nicolas Maduro says right-wing owners are purposely making shopping a nightmare by hoarding goods and removing checkout stations. He has promised to jail any business owner found to be fomenting economic chaos.
BZZZZTTTT!!! The problem isn't the right-wing owners, it is the central government meddling with the economy by fixing prices and not making it economically viable for business owners to import or grow sugar. Fix the price below market cost and nobody wants to produce.
More:
On Monday night, Congress President Diosdado Cabello said officials had arrested Dia a Dia's owner and taken over its 35 stores "for the protection of Venezuelans." By Tuesday morning, armed soldiers were overseeing lines for bags of sugar at a Dia a Dia location near the presidential palace.
Many economists blame price and currency controls for causing the economic distortions plaguing the country at a time when falling oil prices are battering its revenues. Analysts see this week's moves against business owners as an attempt to drive home Maduro's counter-narrative that the right-wing is waging an economic war.
Christ on a corn-dog. Who in their right mind would want to run a business in Venezuela now - all the outside businesses (oil, electricity, telecom, media - basically energy and tech) have been nationalized and nobody is offering to invest. The local talent has no clue how to maintain the equipment so their infrastructure is crumbling. What makes this so tragic is that this could be the United States in about twenty years if Hillary or other fool gets elected in 2016. Venezuela is running out of other people's money.
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