Nice guy, that Chavez

Granted, I’m no expert on Venezuelan politics, but it looks from here like Hugo Chavez is setting his nation up for some mighty hard times about 10 or 15 years from now.

A couple of things lead me to this conclusion. He is taking over every major business in the country.

Check this out.

But wait. There's more.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t this the same strategy that ruined the economies of whole bunches of Third World countries in the 1960s and 1970s? And didn’t it pretty much wipe out the economy of Zimbabwe? All this socialist-populist stuff sounds great to the masses, but all it is is a power and wealth grab by the ruling classes. In the end, it makes a few politicians rich and the masses poorer.

Or am I wrong?

It’s all right if you’re Chavez, I guess. What happens to the 25.7 million other people in the nation is of no significance.