Venezuela hikes minimum wage 30 percent amid economic crunch:

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela's president is ordering a 30 percent increase in the minimum wage, the latest move by the socialist government to grapple with high inflation and economic stagnation

May 01, 2016

The boost announced Saturday night by President Nicolas Maduro comes after a 25 percent increase on March 1. The new increase is effective Sunday, which is International Labor Day, and will push the minimum wage to 15,051 bolivars a month. That is about $1,500 at the official exchange rate, but is around $50 at the current black market rate, which largely sets prices of goods for Venezuelans.

Venezuela's oil export-dependent economy shrank 5.7 percent last year, shortages of basic goods multiplied and prices soared. The government has instituted rolling blackouts and state employees are working only two days a week to conserve electricity.

Socialism at work

while the Bottom is dropping out on their Currency!

http://www.afr.com/news/world/venezuela-to-issue-larger-bank-notes-as-inflation-soars-20150826-gj8ndt#ixzz47Pcqy01v

Venezuela is adding zeroes to its banknotes to deal with hyperinflation

Venezuela is preparing to issue bank notes in higher denominations next year as rampant inflation reduces the value of a 100-bolivar bill to just 14 US cents on the black market.

The new notes -- of 500 and possibly 1,000 bolivars -- are expected to be released sometime after congressional elections are held on December 6, said a senior government official who isn't authorised to talk about the plans publicly.

Many Venezuelans have to carry wads of cash in bags instead of wallets as soaring inflation and a declining currency increase the number of bills needed for everyday purchases. The situation is set to get worse. Inflation, already the fastest in the world, could end the year at 150 per cent, said the official.

The government stopped releasing regular economic statistics in December, when it reported inflation had reached 69 percent

A customer would need at least 1,280 bank notes to purchase a 24-inch Samsung television on sale at a mall in eastern Caracas for 128,000 bolivars. Some banks, meanwhile, have reduced daily withdrawal limits at ATMs because of shortages of the highest denominated notes.

The country is not planning to change it's three-tiered exchange rate system in the short term, said the official, adding that the government is working on plans to increase dollar revenue by developing mining and petrochemical projects and reduce its dependence on oil.

One US dollar is currently worth 725 bolivars on the black market, which Venezuelans use when they can't get government approval to purchase foreign currency at the three official exchange rates of 6.3, 12.8 and 200.

Venezuela's monthly minimum wage of 7,422 bolivars equates to about $US37 at the weakest legal exchange rate and is only $US10 at the black market rate.

A unified exchange rate would not be possible until the economy becomes more diversified and domestic production rises, said the official.

Press officials at the central bank and finance ministry declined to comment when contacted by telephone Wednesday.

The black market rate is being manipulated by traders in Cucuta, Colombia and the Miami-based website dolartoday.com, the official added. While the rate has become a reference for some minor sectors of the economy, it's a small market and not representative of the overall economy, the official said.

Venezuela maintains its willingness to pay foreign debt and is buying back bonds when it can, said the official, adding that the government could consider selling or swapping gold reserves if it needed to. Gold currently held in Caracas could easily be transported abroad if the need arose, the official said.

The country's foreign reserves fell to a 12-year low of $US15.4 billion on July 27 and have since rebounded to about $US16.5 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

New loans from China will slowly be reflected in the country's reserves, the official said.

Bloomberg


Weimar 1930s

sounds like some same stuff happening here, we have a socialist

(communist) government here now

also. votes by our citizens don't count. we are run by multinational corps that

have no allegiance to the united states...they are politely called ''special

interests''..by our congress...and now hillary.... .

Venezuela Runs Out of Beer

Venezuela's largest privately-owned beer company has stopped producing beer after running out of malted barley (or, more specifically, running out of foreign currency with which to buy malted barley).
The company, Empresas Polar, stopped production yesterday—it warned last week that it would run out of malted barley by then.
Polar is putting "your drunk uncle's favorite political forecast to the test," Francisco Toro of the Caracas Chronicles wrote . "You know the one I'm talking about, right? That one uncle of yours who gets drunk at every family gathering and starts to rant about how the only way we're going to get people mad enough to take to the streets and overthrow the government is if the beer runs out? Well, here you have it Tio."
http://reason.com/blog/2016/04/30/venezuela-runs-out-of-beer


But that's not all...from the same article:

""Beer now joins a long list of products and food that there have been shortages of in socialist Venezuela since the price of oil went down and the country's government did nothing to loosen its grip on the economy.
In Venezuela, there have been shortages of : Batteries, beef, birth control pills, bleach, brass, bread, breast implants, butter, cheese, chicken, chocolate, clothes iron, coffee, coffins, condensed milk, condoms, corn oil, deodorant, detergents, diapers, eggs, fabric softeners, fish, flour, French fries, fruits, gauze, hops, ice cream, insecticide, jams, juice, lentils, margarine, Marie biscuits, makeup, mayonnaise, medical gloves, milk, mouthwash, mustard, napkins, oatmeal, olives,
pan de jamón , pasta, peas, pork, powdered milk, raisins, razors, rice, sanitary napkins, sacramental bread, sardines, satin, shampoo, shoes, skim milk, soap, sodas, sugar, sunflower oil, tires, toilet paper, toothbrushes, toothpaste, varnish, vegetables, water, wine, and more.""

Blackouts, Zika, recession and now this: a two-day work week. This is life in Venezuela, a crisis-stricken country.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro decided Tuesday night to shorten the work week to two days -- Monday and Tuesday -- in an effort to save energy and electricity. The country's most important source of electricity, El Guri dam, has record-low water levels.

http://money.cnn.com/2016/04/27/news/economy/venezuela-2-day-work-week/index.html/
* More On Link *
------
Crisis-hit Venezuela to push clocks forward to save power

01 May 2016

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/mobile/world/crisis-hit-venezuela-to/2746858.html/
------
April 29, 2015

Venezuela’s Health Care Crisis
Published in The Washington Post

http://www.hrw.org/news/2015/04/29/venezuelas-health-care-crisis/



http://venezuelanalysis.com/

Make up your mind. We can't BOTH be "socialist," AND "run by multinational corps." That last would be closer to fascism.

Well when a socialist country's economy fails back lash is to happen.

And this country has been a hot mess for years.

Socialism = Epic Fail

Venezuela is what happens,
when "derp" rules.

Obonzo is happily following that example,
and leading the U.S. down that same path
to oblivion.

Lucky for you, there's no such person, save in your fevered imagination.

i guess nobody noticed that none of this was happening when Hugo Chavez was prez, and only started when the US killed him off and set up their puppet government...

Yea, Bush did it.

lol... in 2013, he did...

Potus is only my imagination?

You got a fevah! an what you need is more Cowbell

We're adding More Cowbell: http://youtu.be/GCd0OjjCz88/
00:01:06
Christopher Walken - SNL

Yea, Christopher Walken is "The Continental".

which is kinda interesting since they can't afford to pay the printers that deliver the actual money.


Sure we can.
Government nationalizes companies or industries that control a significant percentage of an industry or the economy and calls it a "NGO" or "GSE" and proceeds to guarantee debt and funding while being run privately, and/or multinational corps./business maintain significant influence in government via lobbying. Either or both are then influential in drafting laws, or pointing out where laws should be enacted, that are passed.

i.e. privatize profits, socialize losses, then have the government go to those people and ask them to "contribute" their expertise on what needs to change in order to solve the "problem" that led to the losses, all while also being mindful of how it affects the multinational corps contributors to their campaigns.

Easy peasy socialist AND run by multinational corps.


Helps when your main export that you come to almost completely rely upon spikes to historical highs.
But when it falls it causes havoc.
Dutch disease screwed them after oil took over.

Throw champagnyah in my face once,... same on you

http://youtu.be/_0hPFDmoVyo/
00:49 Christopher Walken

yep,Little Venice really has gone to the Dogs!