Uh Oh...

Isn't this what Mr. Chavez from Venezuela does?

What to Do if Your Economy is in the Dumpster (Because of Your Own Actions)

If you are Venezuela, you use the time-honored policy of picking a fight with your neighbor so that you can shine attention away from the fact that your stupid policies are ruining your country.

Venezuela Heading Down the Path of Zimbabwe

This is totally unsurprising because one can ignore the laws of economics all one wants to, but one cannot escape them. Apparently the Venezuelan central bank is turning to "alternative means" to finance its disaster of an economy. Meanwhile, rather than blow through most of its dollar reserves, it is trying to put one over on Brazil by borrowing money from them. Good luck getting paid back, unless oil goes to $120 a barrel again.

The Next Zimbabwe

Venezuela, under Hugo Chavez, is headed down the road to being the next Zimbabwe. Chavez does not understand that you cannot dictate economics, it doesn't work and never has. All his attempts to prop up his economy are failing and taking over more of the oil industry will not help. Oil at $120 a barrel, that will help. Nothing else will.

Another Attempt at Land Reform (Which Will End In Disaster)

Apparently the Venezuelan government is allowing squatters to expropriate privately owned ranches and farms in Venezuela. This policy will be a disaster in the long term. Robert Mugabe tried this in Zimbabwe and it led to widespread food shortages and the inevitable reduction in the production of the land. The reason for this is that the squatters have neither the financial means, nor the connections to keep the land producing as well as the private owners. Evidence is already mounting in the form of shortages of certain staples across Venezuela. From the article:

But the policy has produced a side effect, opponents say: It has reduced the production of sugar cane, corn, cereal and milk, contributing to food shortages that have hit Venezuelan consumers.

''Chávez's land reform has diminished sugar production,'' said Pedro Pablo Alcántara, director of the opposition party Un Nuevo Tiempo and a former representative of the National Assembly that presided over the parliamentary commission on agriculture and land.