Fidelito's in Trouble

El Generalisimo Hugo Chavez's Movement Towards Socialism is becoming less a march and more a stagger, according to the Daily Telegraph.

This is a lesson to those who think state control is the answer. Chavez's stated goal was to pry the country from the greedy grip of the rich oligarchs, who had rigged the game to where they were the only winners, leaving the poor empty handed. Well, he routed the oligarchy, but now the game is rigged for his Socialist cronies and the poor are still empty handed. And the infrastructure crumbles...

Meanwhile, El Jefe Maximo has his state-run oil company producing food, furniture and domestic appliances since his socialism has destroyed the private sector economy.

Oil production has fallen from 3.2 million barrels per day to 2.4, due to mismanagement and crumbling infrastructure.

"There is a bottleneck in the Venezuelan production system," said Mazhar al-Sheridah, 68, an oil expert at the Central University of Venezuela. "It will cost at least $32 billion to build another three upgrading units and take some five years, meaning that Venezuelan production is stuck at current levels for a while yet."

State-sponsored populism, whether left or right, has failed everywhere it has been tried. Capitalism and democracy coupled with the rule of law works every time. Why are we clamoring for more of the former and less of the latter?