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In reply to the discussion: Now Venezuela is running out of toilet paper [View all]Dreamer Tatum
(10,926 posts)it's not wonder that Venezuela is so inept at everything else.
It's the PRICE CONTROLS. THEY DO NOT FUCKING WORK.
Know what's probably happening? The government toilet paper manufacturer (probably a Chavez monkey) is required to sell at the government-mandated price. This causes said Chavez monkey to sell X rolls at that price, which go to market, and the REST of the production is sold on the black market at MUCH HIGHER prices. Chavez monkey makes money for himself, kicks a cut to other Chavez monkeys to keep quiet, and they all have a nice thick steak while rank and file Venezuelans are forced to use their government-issued copies of The Communist Manifesto for its most valuable purpose. The result? Wealth accrues to Chavez monkeys instead of capitalists (which, let's face it, is the point of all this "socialism" , shelves are bare due to the contrived shortage, and people buy more than they would because they're afraid the Chavez monkey will want to divert MORE to the black market.
(if you scoff at that, see Union, Soviet.)
Meanwhile, in sane countries that don't mind if shareholders of a corporation earn a profit so long as they have access to plentiful asswipe, life goes on as it should.