While he covers many areas of the Venezuelan economy and conditions on the ground there, his main point is the country's 94% dependence on oil. Like Russia, but even more so, Venezuela's nationalized economy runs parallel to the price of oil.
Johnston's chart:
Crude's one-year chart (MW):
You'll pick up a lot of good information in this article, such as the 6-month timeline it takes to start a business there, their 27% inflation rate since 2005, or this: a comparison of Venezuela's deficit to some of the worst on the planet.
Did you notice Greece?
I've hit on many of these areas in the past as part of the Ushanka mission to warn of what may come here at home. The decline into full-blown Socialism doesn't have to be instant, nor is it even guaranteed. But Venezuela is an example, like Detroit, where prosperity was expected to counter any political moves to the left, but didn't. How come leftists don't measure the risks in their ideas before they act on them? (That was rhetorical)
While one can assume violence increases in a decline, I was shocked at Johnston's data for Venezuela. The country is sporting a very high 54 per 100k murder rate. And worse, Johnston informs us that "the police killing rate in Venezuela is more than twice the homicide rate in the US."
More proof that
Click here to read the full article.
U/T: Michael Johnston
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