boedicca
Uppity Water Nymph from the Land of Funk
- Feb 12, 2007
- 59,439
- 24,109
- 2,290
Venezuela is proof that the problem with Socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money. Well, the OPM is now gone.
...
[Venezuela’s] gold reserves have dropped almost a third over the past year and it sold over 40 tonnes in February and March, according to IMF data. Gold now makes up almost 70 per cent of the country’s total reserves, which fell to a low of $12.1bn last week.
Venezuela has larger crude reserves than Saudi Arabia but has been hard hit by years of mismanagement and, more recently, depressed prices for oil. Oil accounts for 95 per cent of its export earnings. Despite the recent price rebound, declining oil output is likely to take a further toll on the economy.
The IMF forecasts the economy will shrink 8 per cent this year, and 4.5 per cent in 2017, after a 5.7 per cent contraction in 2015. Inflation is forecast to exceed 1,642 per cent next year, fuelled by printing money to fund a fiscal deficit estimated at about 17 per cent of gross domestic product....
(And BAD NEWS FOR THE DEMS: )
Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders might prefer to distance himself from Chávez and his socialist legacy, but admiration for Venezuela’s socialist experiment goes a long way with American progressives and liberals. Sander’s top advisor and his pick for the Democratic Party’s platform committee, Cornel West is a fervent devotee of Venezuelan dictator.
Socialist Venezuela Goes Bust
...
[Venezuela’s] gold reserves have dropped almost a third over the past year and it sold over 40 tonnes in February and March, according to IMF data. Gold now makes up almost 70 per cent of the country’s total reserves, which fell to a low of $12.1bn last week.
Venezuela has larger crude reserves than Saudi Arabia but has been hard hit by years of mismanagement and, more recently, depressed prices for oil. Oil accounts for 95 per cent of its export earnings. Despite the recent price rebound, declining oil output is likely to take a further toll on the economy.
The IMF forecasts the economy will shrink 8 per cent this year, and 4.5 per cent in 2017, after a 5.7 per cent contraction in 2015. Inflation is forecast to exceed 1,642 per cent next year, fuelled by printing money to fund a fiscal deficit estimated at about 17 per cent of gross domestic product....
(And BAD NEWS FOR THE DEMS: )
Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders might prefer to distance himself from Chávez and his socialist legacy, but admiration for Venezuela’s socialist experiment goes a long way with American progressives and liberals. Sander’s top advisor and his pick for the Democratic Party’s platform committee, Cornel West is a fervent devotee of Venezuelan dictator.
Socialist Venezuela Goes Bust