4 Board Members of Enne Superstores Arrested in Venezuela for Food Hoarding

[Flatulo]

21. I'm not an advocate of laissez-faire capitalism, and the European social democracies

are not either. I believe they're far more regulated than those in the US, especially after a series of embarrassing corporate governance scandals in the eighties and nineties. We've just barely survived a brush with three decades of deregulation, so please don't assume that I'm an Ayn Rand libertarian.

I worked for a Danish company (Vestas Wind Systems) and their processes all stress the highest levels of ethical behavior imaginable. Being even slightly disingenuous with customers, coworkers or business partners will get you immediately fired. You are requird to be honest, even when honesty would harm the business or cost money.

Now, I can't explain away private sector problems in Brazil, or anywhere for that matter. But I have observed that the Euro states that I mentioned are thriving, and Spain, Portugal, Greece and Italy are all on life support.

I'd be interested in hearing your ideas on why countries so geographically close to each other are experiencing such drastically different outcomes. My opinion? The failing states have oversized and ineffective governments that are sucking up resources and giving back nothing in return. I mean, there must be some optimum size for the government, right?