The Venezuelan Economy Has Crashed

All the meat freezers were empty last month in a grocery store in Caracas, Venezuela, part of a long list of shortages. Credit Meridith Kohut for The New York Times

New York Times: Few in Venezuela Want Bolívars, but No One Can Spare a Dime

CARACAS, Venezuela — Pity the bolívar, Venezuela’s currency, named after its independence hero, Simón Bolívar. Even some thieves do not want it anymore.

When robbers carjacked Pedro Venero, an engineer, earlier this year, he expected they would drive him to his bank to cash his check for a hefty sum in bolívars — the sort of thing that crime-weary Venezuelans have long since gotten used to. But the robbers, armed with rifles and a grenade, and sure that he would have a stash of dollars at home, wanted nothing to do with the bolívars in his bank account.

“They told me straight up, ‘Don’t worry about that,’ ” Mr. Venero said. “Forget about it.”

The eagerness to dump bolívars or avoid them completely shows the extent to which Venezuelans have lost faith in their economy and in the ability of their government to find a way out of the mess.

WNU Editor: I lived this type of life in the Soviet Union .... and I was one of the lucky ones .... my parents had access to the "special stores" that catered to the government elite. Bottom line ... supply and demand is the golden rule for how modern man lives .... you are start messing around with that and you will inevitably end up like Venezuela .... massive poverty, money that is useless, and no hope.