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Latin America
In reply to the discussion: 4 Board Members of Enne Superstores Arrested in Venezuela for Food Hoarding [View all]joshcryer
(62,536 posts)36. Looks like it covers 616 items:
http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/6905
In any event I am displeased that poster complained about regular folks smuggling gasoline. Fill up a gas tank in Venezuela for $1 (subsidized to the tune of something like $25 billion a year when only 15% of Venezuelans have cars), drive over the border to Colombia for a "visit" to friends or something, siphon it off at half market rates, buy food, clothing, and other essentials. It really does show a disconnect there because these people aren't exactly mobsters or thugs, they're everyday people who've found a way to make money. It reminds me of people chastising people on food stamps for selling their food stamps for cash (or as when I was a kid and we were on food stamps and they gave you back change, I was sent in to stores to make change, buy a coke, get back 75 cents, etc). Yes it is illegal, but it is not immoral, people do these things for a reason.
Look at these criminals:

The really immoral, unethical, cronies, are those who fill up tanker trucks and ships with gasoline and whom the national guard turns a blind eye to. Such an operation is mind bogglingly insane and it requires the knowledge (and bribes) of top level chavistas for it to go on (either in the military or in the government).
In any event I am displeased that poster complained about regular folks smuggling gasoline. Fill up a gas tank in Venezuela for $1 (subsidized to the tune of something like $25 billion a year when only 15% of Venezuelans have cars), drive over the border to Colombia for a "visit" to friends or something, siphon it off at half market rates, buy food, clothing, and other essentials. It really does show a disconnect there because these people aren't exactly mobsters or thugs, they're everyday people who've found a way to make money. It reminds me of people chastising people on food stamps for selling their food stamps for cash (or as when I was a kid and we were on food stamps and they gave you back change, I was sent in to stores to make change, buy a coke, get back 75 cents, etc). Yes it is illegal, but it is not immoral, people do these things for a reason.
Look at these criminals:

The really immoral, unethical, cronies, are those who fill up tanker trucks and ships with gasoline and whom the national guard turns a blind eye to. Such an operation is mind bogglingly insane and it requires the knowledge (and bribes) of top level chavistas for it to go on (either in the military or in the government).
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4 Board Members of Enne Superstores Arrested in Venezuela for Food Hoarding [View all]
Catherina
May 2013
OP
Over 1000 tons of basic foods seized, 6000 kilos of chicken in downtown Maracaibo (Zulia),
Catherina
May 2013
#4
Very worth the time investigating. Since they won't consider their fellow Venezuelans,
Judi Lynn
May 2013
#5
Video report of the confiscation in the 2 Enne stores. Manufactured "shortages"
Catherina
May 2013
#6
I have to wonder - why would these distributors hoard? I can think of a few reasons.
Flatulo
May 2013
#11
No. If anything, they've demonstrated a staggering level of incompetence about all things monetary.
Flatulo
May 2013
#13
Well, in my relatively uneducated opinion, the government of VZ has taken a decidedly Marxist
Flatulo
May 2013
#15
I'm not an advocate of laissez-faire capitalism, and the European social democracies
Flatulo
May 2013
#21
I think it's more the case that those who've relocated here are less risk-averse and thus less
Flatulo
May 2013
#22
The adjusted GDP closely tracks the price of oil. It's not like they increased their productivity,
Flatulo
May 2013
#25
My initial impressions of Chavez were indeed shaped by mainstream media depictions, and
Flatulo
May 2013
#23
I don't think the state is asking them to pay less. They're allowed to make a profit, but a fair one
Catherina
May 2013
#32
I'm glad you agree that a reasonable profit is not a bad thing. People need some incentive
Flatulo
May 2013
#39
I more or less agree with you on executive compensation and corporate governance.
Flatulo
May 2013
#43
Why do we need stock portfolios? What's wrong with good old-fashioned pension plans?
Catherina
May 2013
#46
Pension plans are great, if you can find them anymore in the private sector. Of course, the
Flatulo
May 2013
#47
Canada has the right idea on medicine. Most of their medicines are under price controls
Catherina
May 2013
#35