America is not drifting toward socialism. It is a communist democracy with the trappings and political bromides to pretend that it is free. Venezuela is a perfect example why no state should be allowed to use violence to direct its own populace (it should only be used to prevent or stop violence) into any social structure it deems appropriate. If they people were free even if they had been stupid enough to try socialism it would have been quickly abandoned in favor of the free market even if the populace still favored it. Survival, or as Dr. Walter Williams once pointed out hunger, is a powerful motivator for people to accept reality and redirect their efforts.

I think to attain anything of great value requires
A commensurate effort of value. The moral message of Ayn Rand promoting ethical self-interest as the philosophy of reason that ,with
laissez faire capitalism provides everyone with the
Potential for happiness and success. That lesson combined with a contradiction to the brainwashing that the "common good" is a code word for collapse and self immolation.
I bet the 30 year old parents of 3 kids in Caracas have to work pretty hard to find food let alone build a future.

It is the miracle of indoctrinated socialism with the usual control freak ego trip at its helm.

Welcome to the Gulch.

I suspect he will be turned off by the book. Quite the diatribe and sermon in there. I got a serious Libertarian young man to read Atlas. He persevered, but pushes back on that as a delivery vehicle.

Good alternative . Having read the book (best) and listened to the Audio book ( 2nd best) I still enjoyed the movies.

Maybe the movies...

Have him read Atlas Shrugged.

Robert Palmer. I liked the song in high school, but ignored the message. I suspect there will be a flocking of those that are "simply irresistible" to waiting capitalist arms.

BTW, I play soccer with a guy from Venezuela. What a great player! He describes the goings-on there with a combination of concern, despair and disbelief. Interestingly, he assigns the blame to a power struggle, and not the political system.

Chavez looted private industry and businesses.
He nationalized 90% of companies and production has crashed to next to nothing.
State controled wages and prices. Causes shortages and starvation.

The government provides them extra rations, as in Atlas Shrugged. The media never points out the lack of production because of government interference and mandates. It's always portrayed as "greed."

You got 9,000 clams and want a weird rocking chair? Go for it, babe! If I decide to get one, I'll wait until the price comes down to a couple hundred in about 5 years.

It may take just 20 years with all the indoctrinated little snowflakes graduating from colleges and some of them becoming educators and so-called "journalists"
For now, the mainstream media is ignoring the lesson Venezuela as much as possible. It does not fit well into their agenda.

This should be warning for the US, but it, too, will fall on deaf ears as we drift closer and closer to socialism. It will take us 20 years to get to this state and by that time most will have forgotten the Venezuelan meltdown and civil war.

Thanks. I clicked my way through several.
Those cartoonists don't like Barry all that much either.

https://www.google.com/search?q=carto...

His national guard (as I heard his military described) appears to be all he has between him and his hungry people. Maybe his soldiers can bag extra rations for their families.

Reminds me of someone else~
http://legalinsurrection.com/2014/02/...

Hi Dino,
It is unimaginable to have that many people hate him and yet he continues to try to be the man.
Sociopathetic unwashed scum.

Socialism in all its glory.
Doubt Venezuela is a word Bolshevik Bernie will ever utter.
That would include O'Marxist and the Evil Hag, come to think of it.

Yes the pull for the looters was simply irresistible.

I think the lyric is from the song "Simply Irresistible" by Robert Palmer. In Venezuela it's not hard to figure out where the money went, and it was not to the people that earned it.