October 16, 2019
written by Net Advisor™
CARACAS, Venezuela. The country of Venezuela was once the wealthiest in Latin/South America. Then Venezuela moved to socialist-control. This was all for the good of the people. The government promised low cost food, housing, healthcare, lower crime and education. It didn’t take much time for the country to spiral out of control and the economy to tank.
[1] Gun Control.
The Socialist government of Venezuela first implemented a gun-control program that made it illegal to own firearms. The misleading thinking to the public was that if we banned guns, then crime would also decrease or eventually go away. Only the army, police and government contractors could own arms. Venezuelans now regret having gun control.
[2] Record Homicides After Gun Control.
The homicide rate hit record levels just two years AFTER gun control. Shockingly, the gangs, drug cartels, and other criminals didn’t turn over their guns to the government as the law said. As a result, crime and homicides continued to skyrocket, and now their country is in shambles. By 2018, the rule of law was reported to be “virtually absent.”
[3] Corruption.
Socialist leader’s family enriched themselves, including via drug trafficking while destroying the economy.
“Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves. When socialist President Hugo Chávez was in power, from 1999 until his death in 2013, he used oil money to finance social programs….
But the opposition says much of the income was lost to mismanagement, patronage, and corruption.”
— BBC, June 28, 2018
In other words, corrupt socialist government leaders stole billions of dollars from the People, and likely used some to pay off military and personnel to avoid being subject to a coup.
[4] Price Controls.
In 2013, in order to “stabilize” food prices, the government used the military to enforce price controls, and the military decides who gets to eat.
After implementing these wonderful price controls, reality set in. Venezuelan inflation skyrocketed to over 65,000 percent just in 2019. This is on top of the 1.3 million percent increase of inflation last year.
Government price controls not only didn’t control prices, it had the opposite effect. It made everything prohibitively expensive.
[5] Media Control.
A paper shortage made it useful to have the government shutdown newspaper press. By 2018, nearly 75 percent of newspapers are no longer in business. There is one independent paper left. The government also shutdown 40 radio stations it didn’t like. The Venezuelan government now controls all major media, including blocking social media.
[6] Greater Economic Control.
The country’s auto industry collapsed by 83 percent in just two years after socialism.
The Venezuelan government seized a leading maker of (toilet) tissues and diapers who could no longer afford to operate or gain materials for manufacturing. Workers asked the government to seize the company so the state did just that.
The Venezuelan government actually arrested Pepsi workers for not making enough Pepsi. Coca-Cola suspended operations due to a lack of raw sugar.
Economic growth fell in three years from negative 6 percent in 2015 to negative 14 percent in 2018.
[7] Record Unemployment.
The Venezuelan unemployment rate temporarily went down after government promised virtually everything to its citizens including jobs. Then reality set in – the costs.
Those jobs were rapidly lost as the socialized economy tanked. As a result, Venezuelan unemployment rate climbed to over 20 percent in just two years after socialism. The Venezuela unemployment rate for 2019 is at 34 percent – where one-out-of-three people don’t have a job.
Venezuelan unemployment rate is projected to hit over 44 percent by 2023.
[8] Healthcare Control.
The free or low cost healthcare resulted in the collapse of the entire healthcare system.
“Dilapidated infrastructure and a brain drain of medical personnel have already brought Venezuela’s once cutting-edge health care system to its knees.
But if the dangerous shortages of drugs and medical supplies persist, even the few who remain will have nothing with which to treat their patients.”
— AP, March 3, 2019
The Venezuelan government has refused to release healthcare statistics because they don’t want to show how bad their socialized healthcare really is.
If you want medical treatment, you’ll have to give up your vote for the socialist party.
[9] Lack of Energy – Blackouts.
Some 70 percent of the country has experienced blackouts. This past March, most of Venezuela was without power for more than a week.
[10] Lack of Food.
Those price controls we talked about still hasn’t helped the people. The result of these price controls was a lack of food to feed the country. A massive amount of people are going hungry since socialism took over. A report found 75 percent of the county lost an average 19 pounds each due to a lack of food.
“Venezuela’s Living Conditions Survey found that nearly 75 percent of the population lost an average of at least 19 pounds in 2016 due to a lack of proper nutrition amid an economic crisis.”
— UPI, Feb. 19, 2017
About one-out-of-three people are eating two or three fewer meals per day. People are so desperate for food, zoo animals are turning up missing. Venezuelan police say people are eating the zoo animals.
Years of massive food shortages have also led to massive riots, looting and curfews. The government has also gone after Christian and Catholic religious groups.
[11] Government War on Religion?
The Venezuelan government has been shutting down and attacking churches, because organized religion seems to be a threat to the socialist government.
[12] Personal Income & Domestic Energy Tanked Under Socialism.
Before Socialism took over Venezuela, average incomes in U.S. dollars was $18,327 in 2012. Two years after socialism began, incomes fell, and fell, and fell. By 2018, annual incomes fell to an estimated $10,399, a -$7,928 decline, or -43 percent.
Shopping malls temporarily close down to save on electricity for the good of the country. This means mall workers are not getting paid.
To solve the lack of jobs, job cuts, and paying for welfare programs, the socialist government raised oil prices by 6,000 percent. This is supposed to support the costs of government education, and healthcare services.
Once energy independent, Venezuela now is producing less and less oil because no one is working for free. A government takeover of industry has been an utter failure.
[13] Just “Raise the Wage” – Problem Solved?
Venezuela made a mandatory 20 percent minimum wage increase. To pay for mandated higher wages, the government just devalued its currency by 95 percent. So now, people have substantially less money than they did before government raised wages.
[14] Vote For a New Government? – Good Luck.
When the people had enough of the socialist government, it was time to choose a new leader. The Venezuelan socialist government handled that problem by assassinating the opposition leader.
Anyone else planning to run against the socialists are threatened to be banned if they run for office. If that didn’t work, socialists fixed the elections by padding over a million fake votes.
“Many opposition candidates had been barred from running while others had been jailed or had fled the country for fear of being imprisoned and the opposition parties argued that the poll (election) would be neither free nor fair.”
— BBC News, Jan. 24, 2019
Any public opposition to the socialists were now under attack by the government-controlled military.
In 2015, then President Obama declared Venezuela a “national security threat” to the U.S., and issued sanctions against seven officials.
By 2019, President Trump declared an executive order imposing new sanctions on Venezuela’s government and called for Venezuelan military to take back the country for the people.
[15] What Are People in Venezuela Doing to Escape Socialism?
Since they can’t fight the repressive socialist government, as they stupidly gave up their gun rights, people are fleeing the country including nearly 300,000 came to the U.S.
[16] Getting By.
In December 2018, some women have reportedly been so desperate to flee Venezuela’s socialism, that they are selling their ‘hair, breast milk and sex’…” Children are dying of malaria and hepatitis…suicide rates too have skyrocketed, even among children.”
This past May, the Associated Press reported that the Venezuelan socialist government killed one and injured twenty-two others trying to get outside food and aid into Venezuela.
Socialism sounds good on the surface when officials make many big promises, but when it fully plays out, it’s a total disaster.
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