I don't quite know if your assertions are countered towards Venezuela or Scandinavia in this case, but I want to point out that this is blatantly untrue for Scandinavia. Sweden et. al have debt-to-GDP ratios and fiscal balances any American tea partier would drool over.
The left embarrasses itself when it supports this guy. Thankfully, it's usually only fringe lefties who can't see him for what he really is. Venezuela's economy is junk and is only going to get worse.
I believe Norway also runs a budget surplus and has a low (and shrinking) debt to GDP ratio whilst still providing free healthcare as well as primary and secondary education (that includes college).
They also have pretty free and open economies where property rights are respected and business flourishes. Nothing like Venezuela where Chavez takes over most private enterprises, gives them to his cronies, and siphons off money.
ATW, refer to the original post of Refman, where he quotes glynch on the following--- This might be a time to warrant that before you launch pointless tirades that don't address any issues, you might want to read the accompanying thread of thought that led to the discussion in the first place, before you embarrass yourself.
Its ridiculous to compare Norway as they have a few million people and huge oil reserves and produce energy for much of Europe. That allows them free healthcare etc as they're small population is covered because of these commodities. Most nations in the world do not have that benefit so it is misleading to state it for a reason socialism or pension or government healthcare works. Venezuela has huge energy reserves which is why the country even survives while driving business out of the country. The problem is that Venzuela has deep reserves and the capital, investment and perspective is not long enough and therefore their output continues to fall despite strong energy prices. I do however blame the alleged capitalists in South and Latin America as they used government as a way to enrich their friends and family and had oligarchy type rule in these regions under the guise of free markets, when it was anything but. The counter to that crony capitalism has been crony socialism. I love hearing whose families have owned beer distributorships (with tariffs on foreign beer) or Coke distributorships etc. complain as they siphon millions to banks in Miami and the Cayman Islands.
Well, the other OECD countries can testify to universal healthcare and "socialism". Last I checked, the UK wasn't usually a net exporter of oil, yet they (and countless other nations---basically almost every OECD country except America) can do it. To tie this back into the thread, I don't think Chavez has been great by any measure. However, to have some pie in the sky myth of "free market" Venezuela doesn't exactly square with Venezuela before Chavez. Place was always an exploited net exporter of something---coffee first, then oil. The country has always fluctuated with oil prices, the place had inflation at something like 100% in 1996, and an economic crisis that wiped out a third of per capita GDP. So, yeah, you can extort Chavez for expanding state domination of the economy, but you should realize Venezuela didn't exactly have an economy before-hand anyways. At least Chavez has squared up the HDI in the country so that oil exports aren't totally going to waste. What is he supposed to do, follow the Colombian path to development? Or the East Asian "directed finance, control and command" path?
Refman, they are doing quite well, at least as well as we are. Keep drinking the kool-aid, though. USA USA USA USA USA
Nothing wrong with busing poor folks to the polls. Maybe we should do it in this country, too. --as log as they vote independently. The 1% and their fan boys and girls hate any sort of thing that makes it easy and cheap to vote. BTW many illiterates vote more intelligently than maybe you might. Voter suppression tactics such as expensive ID's, voting during work hours. Perhaps you are not familar with such tactics since Germany does not do them.
Anyone who pretends that the old right wing oligarchs ran Venezuela better is completely clueless. Fortunately the majority in Venezuela has shown that it knows more.
No, but perhaps you don't know that other countries in Western Europe that don't have oil can afford "all of this" as you put it.
