Chronicles in Socialism - Venezuela Meltdown, an Underappreciated Opportunity for Gawking

[maxparrish]

You know, in one life-time there are a limited number of opportunities to be immersed in cataclysmic events (for good or ill). Those of us who missed experiencing the collapse of eastern Europe, or the end of the Sandinista's, may yet experience some thrills in the bottomless meltdown of Venezuela - a silver lining for gawkers and tourists!

Oh Joy, among the 'tourista' experiences that await...

Apparently there is now a big bread shortage (I am sure Maduro is reminding the population that less fiber means that the toilet paper shortage has been solved!).

But it is getting serious and CÑN tonight had a title with "no bread in Venezuela".

It is true and it is not amusing.

I eat little bread for diet reasons, limiting myself to full fiber sliced super market loaves. But the SO wanted some bakery bread. I went to 4. I did not find any. The last one I found some "pan dulce" and that was that, good enough to eat with a cup of coffee, if you have it. They also told me that they bake bread only twice a day now, for early breakfast and for diner when people come back from work. Depending on the bakery they give one or two "canillas" (sort of our local baguette). And that within 15 minutes it is usually all gone.

But this is not the only item missing...

http://daniel-venezuela.blogspot.com/2016/02/life-under-food-medicine-shortages.html#more
More at: http://cnnespanol.cnn.com/category/venezuela/ (use translate).

And more:

On the medical front things are worse, if possible. Today I learned of the arrival of some generics from a medicine for triglycerides that I had to stop taking. I arrived in time at my local "LOCATEL". I tried to get also a small bottle of rubbing alcohol. To my surprise there is none. The lone brand on the market has stopped delivering. No more rubbing alcohol for your disinfection needs!

Since my SO, and the mother in law, are physically unable to stand in line for anything for more than half an hour, we must all share the burden. I cannot so I am resorting more and more to black market. I put on Instagram the latest of my loot on toilet paper, two heavy bags at 8 times the normal cost (and I learned that actually I got it for cheap!). But I also got 12 kilos of pasta that way, albeit at only twice the normal cost. Currently I am waiting for milk (it will be twice) and rice (at least thrice). But I have also been told not to hope much for that arrival. Corn flour is too political so my black market guy does not dare to go there. For that I will need to go to "buhoneros" in Petare at 4 times the cost, if not more, under the eyes of the Nazional Guard.

There is no black market for medicine because there is none. Well, almost no black market. One of my siblings got some of his heart medicine from some one bringing it form the US and cashing it in USD!!!!!!!

And another blogger reports:

When I initiated the Puero Cabello Non-Baltic Index (PCNI) on Jan. 28th. my intention was to contribute some sanity to the claim that no ships were arriving to La Guaira by noting that Puerto Cabello was running about as usual with about 15 cargo ships or more in port on any given day (I only count cargo ships docked i the port, not tankers or others). At the same time, given that I was concerned about the possibility that in the near future imports could go down enough to be a concern, it was a way of monitoring how things were.

Unfortunately, only days after my first post, there was significant drop in cargo ships arriving in Puerto Cabello and even a couple of days of practically no ships in port as you can see in the graph above. From levels of 15 cargo ships in port, we are no running around 4 to 5 a day, a significant drop from the customary 15.

http://devilexcrement.com/


Surreal.

 

[barbos]

I would like to point out that there were no such thing as toilet paper in Soviet Union.

 

[untermensche]

Poverty Statistics in the United States

In 2014:

46.7 million people (14.8 percent) were in poverty.
15.5 million (21.1 percent) children under the age of 18 were in poverty.
4.6 million (10 percent) seniors 65 and older were in poverty.
The overall national poverty rate according to the Supplemental Poverty Measure is 15.3 percent, as compared with the official poverty rate of 14.8 percent.[ii]
Under the Supplemental Poverty Measure, there are 48.4 million people living in poverty, nearly 2 million more than are represented by the official poverty measure (46.7 million).[iii]

In 2014:

48.1 million Americans lived in food insecure households, including 32.8 million adults and 15.3 million children.
14 percent of households (17.4 million households) were food insecure.
6 percent of households (6.9 million households) experienced very low food security.
Households with children reported food insecurity at a significantly higher rate than those without children, 19 percent compared to 12 percent.
Households that had higher rates of food insecurity than the national average included households with children (19%), especially households with children headed by single women (35%) or single men (22%), Black non-Hispanic households (26%) and Hispanic households (22%).

In 2013, 5.4 million seniors (over age 60), or 9 percent of all seniors were food insecure.[v]
Food insecurity exists in every county in the U.S., ranging from a low of 4 percent in Slope County, ND to a high of 33 percent in Humphreys County, MS.[vi]

http://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/impact-of-hunger/hunger-and-poverty/hunger-and-poverty-fact-sheet.html?gclid=Cj0KEQiAxrW2BRCFidKbqKyq1YEBEiQAnMDWxnYW0gMrGAr9aH688EV1mlTERQ9L5wD1NhxmHRQ2CwEaAmwN8P8HAQ

Those that live in glass houses.

48.1 million Americans lived in food insecure households, including 32.8 million adults and 15.3 million children.

In perspective the population of Venezuela is about 30 million.

 

[dismal]

Those that live in glass houses.

I'll take "False equivalence for morons" for $100, Alex.

 

[untermensche]

Those that live in glass houses.

I'll take "False equivalence for morons" for $100, Alex.

When one uses the meaningless term "false equivalence" it is a sign of desperation and ignorance.

More Americans can't get enough food than the total population of Venezuela.

Isn't capitalism great?

 

[dismal]

Something tells me I'm not going to correct your delusions here. Given reality hasn't managed to do it.

 

[untermensche]

Something tells me I'm not going to correct your delusions here. Given reality hasn't managed to do it.

Those are the facts.

More Americans unable to get enough food than the TOTAL population of Venezuela.

Why are you trying to run away from these disturbing facts so fast?

Yet wanting to dwell on the minor problems in Venezuela, in comparison, forever?

It is called childish hypocrisy.

 

[dismal]

Something tells me I'm not going to correct your delusions here. Given reality hasn't managed to do it.

Those are the facts.

More Americans unable to get enough food than the TOTAL population of Venezuela.

Why are you trying to run away from these disturbing facts so fast?

Yet wanting to dwell on the minor problems in Venezuela, in comparison, forever?

It is called childish hypocrisy.

This is a thread about Venezuela. Some of us actually are gifted with the ability to discuss topics other than how much the US of America sucks.

 

[coloradoatheist]

So to compare the poverty in Venezuela to the US we actually need to know what it means and see if there is a difference. So to really compare poverty in the US to poverty we need to know what basics each or isn't getting, not just a relative measure that poverty numbers are.

 

[untermensche]

Those are the facts.

More Americans unable to get enough food than the TOTAL population of Venezuela.

Why are you trying to run away from these disturbing facts so fast?

Yet wanting to dwell on the minor problems in Venezuela, in comparison, forever?

It is called childish hypocrisy.

This is a thread about Venezuela. Some of us actually are gifted with the ability to discuss topics other than how much the US of America sucks.

This is like the thousandth such thread, without one intelligent comment, just psychotic glee.

But there is nothing to be gleeful about, and it is hypocrisy to keep putting up these threads when there are more people in the US going without enough food than the ENTIRE population of Venezuela.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

In 2014:

46.7 million people (14.8 percent) were in poverty.
15.5 million (21.1 percent) children under the age of 18 were in poverty.
4.6 million (10 percent) seniors 65 and older were in poverty.
The overall national poverty rate according to the Supplemental Poverty Measure is 15.3 percent, as compared with the official poverty rate of 14.8 percent.[ii]
Under the Supplemental Poverty Measure, there are 48.4 million people living in poverty, nearly 2 million more than are represented by the official poverty measure (46.7 million).[iii]

In 2014:

48.1 million Americans lived in food insecure households, including 32.8 million adults and 15.3 million children.
14 percent of households (17.4 million households) were food insecure.
6 percent of households (6.9 million households) experienced very low food security.
Households with children reported food insecurity at a significantly higher rate than those without children, 19 percent compared to 12 percent.
Households that had higher rates of food insecurity than the national average included households with children (19%), especially households with children headed by single women (35%) or single men (22%), Black non-Hispanic households (26%) and Hispanic households (22%).

In 2013, 5.4 million seniors (over age 60), or 9 percent of all seniors were food insecure.[v]
Food insecurity exists in every county in the U.S., ranging from a low of 4 percent in Slope County, ND to a high of 33 percent in Humphreys County, MS.[vi]

http://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/impact-of-hunger/hunger-and-poverty/hunger-and-poverty-fact-sheet.html?gclid=Cj0KEQiAxrW2BRCFidKbqKyq1YEBEiQAnMDWxnYW0gMrGAr9aH688EV1mlTERQ9L5wD1NhxmHRQ2CwEaAmwN8P8HAQ

Those that live in glass houses.

48.1 million Americans lived in food insecure households, including 32.8 million adults and 15.3 million children.

In perspective the population of Venezuela is about 30 million.

There's a big difference between no food to be bought and parents more interested in feeding their own addictions than caring for their children.

 

[Jayjay]

I'll take "False equivalence for morons" for $100, Alex.

When one uses the meaningless term "false equivalence" it is a sign of desperation and ignorance.

More Americans can't get enough food than the total population of Venezuela.

Let's have a look at the definition of "food insecurity":

Low food security (old label=Food insecurity without hunger): reports of reduced quality, variety, or desirability of diet. Little or no indication of reduced food intake.

Very low food security (old label=Food insecurity with hunger): Reports of multiple indications of disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake.

So, you are simply wrong. Low food security doesn't mean that one isn't getting enough food, it's just a matter of quality and variety. Only the 6.9 million households at very low food security count. And that's less than the population of Venezuela. Get your facts straight.

 

[dismal]

Us government defined "food insecurity" not equal "going hungry". Food insecure people have higher rates of obesity that the general population.

 

[Derec]

48.1 million Americans lived in food insecure households, including 32.8 million adults and 15.3 million children.

In perspective the population of Venezuela is about 30 million.

Comparing absolute numbers among countries with very different population sizes is never a good idea. It's meaningless at best, deliberately misleading at worst.

Besides the definition of "food insecure households" is overly broad. I'd rather be one of those in the US than be in the bottom 95% of Venezuelans.

At least we don't have massive "exquisite" food lines caused by gross mismanagement of the economy.

 

[Bomb#20]

I would like to point out that there were no such thing as toilet paper in Soviet Union.

In Soviet Russia, ass wipes you.

 

[maxparrish]

Graphically Illustrated Facts of Interest:

http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2016/02/graphics-political-and-economic-guide-venezuela

And, as expected, things are getting worse for 2016.

 

[untermensche]

When one uses the meaningless term "false equivalence" it is a sign of desperation and ignorance.

More Americans can't get enough food than the total population of Venezuela.

Let's have a look at the definition of "food insecurity":

Low food security (old label=Food insecurity without hunger): reports of reduced quality, variety, or desirability of diet. Little or no indication of reduced food intake.

Very low food security (old label=Food insecurity with hunger): Reports of multiple indications of disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake.

So, you are simply wrong. Low food security doesn't mean that one isn't getting enough food, it's just a matter of quality and variety. Only the 6.9 million households at very low food security count. And that's less than the population of Venezuela. Get your facts straight.

1 in 7 Americans struggles to get enough to eat. In fact, Hunger exists in virtual every community in the United States. Learn more about how hunger impacts the country as a whole.

http://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/impact-of-hunger/

This is about hunger. In the midst of incredible wealth.

Again, those living in glass houses...

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Let's have a look at the definition of "food insecurity":

Low food security (old label=Food insecurity without hunger): reports of reduced quality, variety, or desirability of diet. Little or no indication of reduced food intake.

Very low food security (old label=Food insecurity with hunger): Reports of multiple indications of disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake.

So, you are simply wrong. Low food security doesn't mean that one isn't getting enough food, it's just a matter of quality and variety. Only the 6.9 million households at very low food security count. And that's less than the population of Venezuela. Get your facts straight.

1 in 7 Americans struggles to get enough to eat. In fact, Hunger exists in virtual every community in the United States. Learn more about how hunger impacts the country as a whole.

http://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/impact-of-hunger/

This is about hunger. In the midst of incredible wealth.

Again, those living in glass houses...

That's a charity looking for donations. Of course they're going to make the problem look big.

Note that they are talking about food insecurity--which he just proved is not hunger.

 

[arkirk]

This is a thread about Venezuela. Some of us actually are gifted with the ability to discuss topics other than how much the US of America sucks.

This is like the thousandth such thread, without one intelligent comment, just psychotic glee.

But there is nothing to be gleeful about, and it is hypocrisy to keep putting up these threads when there are more people in the US going without enough food than the ENTIRE population of Venezuela.

But dismal, you are just like a pot calling a kettle black. That is what Untermensche is saying to you. He read the tripe in the OP and his comment is legitimate.
Without knowing it colorado made a good point....How do we measure poverty anyway? If a country is providing what people need to live, then the money values, the imports and exports and such global notions of economy may not actually be very important to those people. Max has done a lot of presenting charts that are loaded to show that Venezuela is a poor performer in doing things Max's way. There can be no doubt about that. Max does not have any tolerance for any system but the one he knows and uses to keep himself feeling good and perhaps sated. The Cuban doctors helped a lot of people in the country. So did some of their agricultural programs. A country that starts at a very low economic and educational level simply cannot compete in any meaningful way with a highly developed industrial country. Comparisons always show great differences, but those differences do not necessarily mandate that the highly developed country has the right to impose itself on the less developed one and plunder its natural resources. That is really where Max's arguments all point...to intervention, regime change, and finally to more plundering of natural resources from the country.

 

[untermensche]

Let's have a look at the definition of "food insecurity":

Low food security (old label=Food insecurity without hunger): reports of reduced quality, variety, or desirability of diet. Little or no indication of reduced food intake.

Very low food security (old label=Food insecurity with hunger): Reports of multiple indications of disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake.

So, you are simply wrong. Low food security doesn't mean that one isn't getting enough food, it's just a matter of quality and variety. Only the 6.9 million households at very low food security count. And that's less than the population of Venezuela. Get your facts straight.

1 in 7 Americans struggles to get enough to eat. In fact, Hunger exists in virtual every community in the United States. Learn more about how hunger impacts the country as a whole.

http://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/impact-of-hunger/

This is about hunger. In the midst of incredible wealth.

Again, those living in glass houses...

That's a charity looking for donations. Of course they're going to make the problem look big.

Note that they are talking about food insecurity--which he just proved is not hunger.

It is a charity trying to make up for a fucked up system that can't manage to get sufficient food to tens of millions of people, mostly children.

It is a joke for some American to be, like a good puppy, obsessed with Venezuela when there are more American's going without sufficient food than the ENTIRE population of Venezuela.