A Dozen Eggs Cost $150 in (Socialist) Venezuela

One of the horrors Bernie Sanders unleashed on America during his campaign is screwing up the definition of “socialism” for an entire generation of college students. Socialism is the public ownership of the means of production. Unfortunately now whole swaths of rank-and-file Bern victims think socialism means “cute Nordic countries.”

Sweden and Denmark have high taxes and robust welfare programs, but in every other respect they are more free market and capitalist than we are. They are not socialists. (Interesting fact: IKEA and Volvo are privately-owned corporations.)

Venezuela is socialist, and price controls and nationalized industry are wrecking its economy more effectively than Godzilla. People are literally eating zoo animals for food. The International Monetary Fund predicts Venezuela will have 720% inflation this year. That means you’d have to take a wheel barrel full of worthless cash to the grocery store, it would become even more worthless by the time you arrived, and then one of the store clerks would mug you for your wheel barrel.

Learn More: A Dozen Eggs cost $150 in (Socialist) Venezuela