you know, Mr Lautaro, it never ceases to amaze me how quickly guys like Texassho criticise socialist governments, and socialism, but keep quiet when socialism benefits them. the bank bailout is going to line the rich people's pockets at the expense of the taxpayer. instead of using the bailout money to increase liquidity, the wall street crooks are busy looking to use the money for mergers and acquisitions, to fatten their wallets. the poor will suffer, and a few guys will buy yet more yachts. but we do not hear any outcry from the anti-socialists. they do not mind the concept of re-distribution of wealth; they just believe it should be re-distributed to those who already have too much! all this crap about Obama looking to re-distribute wealth; what do they think the republicans did? same thing!! they just gave it all to the rich, that is the difference!!

Hi Dread,

Hope you are well since I have not heard from you in a while. As far as Socialist governments go when they expropriate private business to make them state owned is normally what I detest. Concerning the "bailout" of the banking industry there has been a precident set such as the Chrysler bailout which was repaid. The theory of the Democratically controlled congress when developing this plan is that this will function the same way. Folks like me did not have a say in the plan. I am an owner of a small but sucessful business, I did not finish college and held a job the 2 years I was there and always worked for someone else for the last 26 years of my life. I do not own a boat much less a yacht and probably never will. I, in my prevoius employment, lived in Venezuela for 6 years before and after Chavez and due to his socialist revolution the general populace is poorer now than before despite him giving two 30% wage increases in back to back years becuase of run away inflation and high unemployment. Socialistic like programs have existed in this country since the mid-30's so it is hardly a new phenomenon. Pan de Jamon, a seasonal item for this time of year in Venezuela will be out of reach for most because of the price of the ingredients.

http://www.eltiempo.com.ve/noticias/default.asp?id=169370

BTW in the article they talk about bacon being BF50 a kilo Thats $25.00 per kilo or $11.36 per pound!

An article on a public (government run) clinic that has not had Air Conditioning in 7 months,

http://www.eltiempo.com.ve/noticias/default.asp?id=169371

An article on the budget shortages two municipal districts face because of the nationalization of two large companies that were in the area. Now that they are goverment owned they do not pay taxes.

http://www.eltiempo.com.ve/noticias/default.asp?id=169369

A side effect of the implimentation of price controls and fishermen

http://www.eltiempo.com.ve/noticias/default.asp?id=169431

hi Tex; thanks for your welcome. Venezuelans will not have pan de jamon. the employees from 155 branches of Circuit City will soon have no jobs, among others. october job losses; 128,000. seems like no christmas turkey in some houses to me.

Welcome,

I dont know if you noticed all of those articles were from todays paper. It is a shame because it reads like that almost everyday. I read that particular one, as well as El Universal, because it is from Puerto la Cruz where my in-laws live as well as all of my brother and sister in-laws (all 9 of them) and my 17 nieces and nephews and lastly my step daughter who after 3 years just recieved notification of he visa approval, live. So in 6 months or so she should be here.

it is sad, Tex, but equally sad for 4 million americans who will lose their homes to foreclosure; not because of socialism, but capitalism. hmmmm......

And that's not a small number, considering it, it would be like saying that all the people in Costa Rica or Panama will lose their homes. In other words, an entire little nation.

an extremely profound insight, Mr Lautaro. it is easy to criticise the conditions in an underdeveloped , poorer nation, pointing fingers here and there. but what is America's excuse?

Announced today, Venezuela has an inflation rate of 35.6% for the last 12 months. In the same article it states food have gone up over 50%.

http://www.eluniversal.com/2008/11/07/eco_art_la-inflacion-acumula_1135832.shtml

The state of Anzoategui has an inflation rate of over 24% for the first 10 months of this calender year.

http://www.eltiempo.com.ve/noticias/default.asp?id=169840

NO.

Those people will lose their homes becasue they didn't pay their mortgage.

Blamming capitalism for the foreclosures is like blaming the ocean for a man who doesn't know how to swim but still dives into the surf on the Ocean.

BTW if it wasn't for the capitalist system those 4 million(A dubious number) would never have had the chance to own those homes to begin with.

the clueless wonder never ceases to amaze the world with his ignorance. anthonyc, you need an editor. you need to have somebody , who has something of a brain, reading your "thoughts" before you release them for public consumption. 65% of the people who ended up with sub prime, adjustable rate mortgages, qualified for conventional mortgages. just about everybody who had a subprime mortgage was paying the note at the initial interest rate. it is only when the note adjusted upward that they came into default. many of these people did not even understand the terms of the financing. but, as a republican propagandist and liar, i would not expect you to allow your arguments to be contaminated by inconveniences such as FACTS. it is easier to be an ignoramus than attempt to divine the truth. and, capitalism did not allow them to buy houses; it caused them to lose all thay had. if you consider the current condition that these people are in a triumph to capitalism, you are even dumber than i usually gave you credit for being. i have encountered many dim witted people in my time, but you are at the top of the pile.