I am curious about what TFP'ers think about the changes occuring in Venezuela and if you think Chavez is on the right or wrong track in terms of what is best for his countrymen.
I believe he is going to drive the country into ruin and the country is going to loose skilled human capital. There are already indicators that this is occuring.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/16539066.htm
Quote:
The latest figures show a surge of Venezuelans moving to the United States either through asylum, permanent residence or other visas. The number of Venezuelans who got green cards in 2005 -- almost 11,000 U.S. permanent residents -- was more than double those in 2000.
Those who seek asylum are claiming persecution or that communism is about to take hold in Venezuela. In 2004 and 2005, more than 3,000 Venezuelans filed petitions for asylum in immigration courts -- a dramatic rise from 1997 to 2001, when only a few dozen applied each year.
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My personal belief is that communist run countries will all eventually fail due to inefficient centralized control. But when you have a person like Chavez taking total control of a country the problems and the speed of the failure gets magnified.