Protests, looting erupt as Venezuelans fume over cash chaos

Posted by $ nickursis 7 years, 4 months ago to News
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This seems like a really good example of just how bad things can get, when you practice the "control the economy for your own aims" approach. Venezuela has been doing nothing but going down the socialist spiral to become one of those outstanding examples of how well government (and socialist) policies can work.
SOURCE URL: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/protests-looting-erupt-as-venezuelans-fume-over-cash-chaos/2016/12/16/07281826-c3f5-11e6-92e8-c07f4f671da4_story.html


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  • Posted by $ MikeMarotta 7 years, 4 months ago
    Even if the elections were not rigged, Pres. Nicolas Maduros' emergency powers have locked up the nation, literally, closing the borders. The people there will have to live through this as best they can, because they cannot leave.

    The problem with money is wide and deep. Apparently, electronic transfers are still allowed, but cash simply is not available. With the 100-bolivar note now illegal. The stories speak of 10,000-bolivar or 20,000-bolivar notes coming "soon" but that will not happen. Thomas De La Rue currency printers created the notes, but the central bank did not pay for them, so the delivery was held back.

    What was delivered was 747s loaded with 100-b notes, 10 billion of them - while the US FRB uses about 7B annually. Now the 100-bolivar has been demonetized.

    Blomberg April 27, 2016: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articl...
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    • Posted by $ 7 years, 4 months ago
      Goof article, I liked "In a tale that highlights the chaos of unbridled inflation" in that it is such a cautionary tale for all nations right now running huge deficits and borrowing beyond any hope of repayment. I keep thinking we are really trying hard to make AS real....
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  • Posted by $ allosaur 7 years, 4 months ago
    nick, I could not access your post when it appeared "What's Hot In The Gulch" in my email today. What I got was 404 Not Shown.
    I had no trouble getting here when I went to HOT on top of someone else's post.
    Me dino will now add my Jurassic off the wall comment~ta da!~
    Hey, Venezuela! Send for Bolsheviki Bernie!
    His rabid supporters believe he possesses the yankee ingenuity to make socialism work instead of turning countries like yours into banana republic dictatorships.
    Yeah, Bernie can fix it. He'll just seize other people's money and--oh, wait, Me have reason to believe seizing money may not do the trick.
    Don't worry. Bernie can figure it out.
    He's a United States socialist, you see. Somehow that's believed to make a big difference. Me not know how. But there ya go, I guess.
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    • Posted by $ 7 years, 4 months ago
      Probably more Russian hacking, trying to stop free people from accessing what they do not want us to see? Actually, Bernie may be the right man, at the right time, but being a gringo,...of course we know all good progressive socailists are NOT racist, right? But yea, send Bernie...one way...he can take Hillary Beast as his Sec State....
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  • Posted by Dobrien 7 years, 4 months ago
    Sad sad story Nickursis , it is a failed socialist government for sure blaming the US for its problems. Sounds familiar like all leftist's there is no responsibility on their part.
    But more than all that, it is pure evil. Children are dying of malnutrition with no end in sight but the dogooders who want to help the Syrians are silent. Obama and SOS Clinton took out Gadaffi for surrounding 250 Islamic agitators. I suppose if one had the ability to dig deep they would find Soros has his hand in it. It is about eugenics.
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    • Posted by $ 7 years, 4 months ago
      There is no real honest justice, right and wrong in the world today, it is always ok to kill in the name of some religion or politics, a very poor statement on our civilization.
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  • Posted by CircuitGuy 7 years, 4 months ago
    How does banning the 100 Bolivar bill, valued at USD $0.02, affect organized crime. The Venezuelan gov't claims to be rolling out the 500 Bolivar bill, so wouldn't organized criminals just use that? Is the theory that they allowed enough time for law-abiding citizens to deposit or spend their 100 Bolivar bills but not enough time for gangsters with large stashes to exchange them for another store of value?

    I know it's a gov't lie, but I'm trying to understand what its a lie.
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    • Posted by Dobrien 7 years, 4 months ago
      Keep in mind these people are living in desperate conditions .They likely have virtually no access to the Internet so any news they hear or see is lies from Maduros and his murderers .It is obvious the 100 Bolivar is virtually worthless. They gangsters are the govt of Venezuela.
      The so called enemy gangsters run in the black market. Most essential foods are unavailable in the government store due to price controls. Anything that is more efficient than they is the enemy. Venezuela presents itself as a "socialistic paradise." That is, a country where life is better than in capitalist countries. This is the main justification for socialism and social order. People traveling abroad could immediately see that this is not the case. When this becomes evident to a sufficient number of people, the socialistic statist regime will collapse.
      Travel restrictions are severe . The reasons for restricting travel to these countries are that they , the authorities are afraid to expose people to their lie. Besides that, most South American countries enjoyed higher life standards and less ideological restrictions than Venezuela.
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      • Posted by CircuitGuy 7 years, 4 months ago
        I understood those parts. I didn't get why phasing out the 100 Bolviar bill and introducing a 100 Bolivar coin and 500 Bolivar bill hurts "gangsters" (using Venezuelan gov't's definition).
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        • Posted by $ 7 years, 4 months ago
          Also, he made a vague reference to coming in from the border. It is often easier to blame problems on the faceless "gangs" that real reasons.
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          • Posted by Dobrien 7 years, 4 months ago
            Blaming faceless black marketeers who are likely the only source of food for the victims of the looters from the Peoples state of Venezuela. Starve the people of food and opportunity (everything has been privatized) then lock them into this death spiral by closing the border and also keep food from coming in to the producers oops I mean gangsters , who would sell it to the folks.
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        • Posted by Dobrien 7 years, 4 months ago
          Sorry I thought that was evident. It is to shut the borders so people can't flee. It is what is called a false flag.
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          • Posted by CircuitGuy 7 years, 4 months ago
            Most of the article is about the currency. I don't see the connection besides the fact that the currency issue and travel restrictions are unrelated (as far as I can see) consequences of gov't interference and mismanagement.
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            • Posted by Dobrien 7 years, 4 months ago
              President Nicolas Maduro made a surprise announcement Sunday that the 100-bolivar note would go out of circulation by the week’s end amid the world’s highest inflation. He also temporarily closed the border with Colombia and Brazil, and then on Thursday night extended the border closure for another 72 hours.

              Maduro said the closure was needed to thwart “mafias” who hoard bolivars. Critics mocked the notion that gangsters would choose to keep their wealth in the world’s fastest-devaluing currency. The 100-bolivar bill - until now the country’s largest denomination - is worth little more than 2 cents, down from 10 cents at the start of the year.
              The critics are implying , correctly that Maduro's reason for closing the border and the gangster hoarding worthless 100 bolivar notes is bull ship.
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