Comments for Hispanic Pundit http://hispanicpundit.com Fri, 25 May 2012 15:29:45 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.2 Comment on Food Shortages In Venezuela by Jon http://hispanicpundit.com/2012/05/02/food-shortages-in-venezuela/#comment-320151 Jon Thu, 24 May 2012 15:02:21 +0000 http://hispanicpundit.com/2012/05/02/food-shortages-in-venezuela/#comment-320151 99% of economists prefer capitalism? Where do you get that figure? Not that this has anything to do with what I said, but I'm curious. 99% of economists prefer capitalism? Where do you get that figure?

Not that this has anything to do with what I said, but I’m curious.

]]> Comment on Food Shortages In Venezuela by HispanicPundit http://hispanicpundit.com/2012/05/02/food-shortages-in-venezuela/#comment-320067 HispanicPundit Thu, 24 May 2012 06:04:33 +0000 http://hispanicpundit.com/2012/05/02/food-shortages-in-venezuela/#comment-320067 Capitalism itself Jon, the economic system agreed upon by 99% of economists world wide also gets wide support. Even this you blame on investor climate. Capitalism itself Jon, the economic system agreed upon by 99% of economists world wide also gets wide support. Even this you blame on investor climate.

]]> Comment on Food Shortages In Venezuela by Jon http://hispanicpundit.com/2012/05/02/food-shortages-in-venezuela/#comment-319978 Jon Wed, 23 May 2012 19:44:00 +0000 http://hispanicpundit.com/2012/05/02/food-shortages-in-venezuela/#comment-319978 HP, Megan is quoting a guy that looks to be a a high profile critic that was formerly part of the Chavez administration. He seems to be on bit of a mission to discredit Chavez. Like Richard Clarke, Scott McClellan. Maybe Joe Wilson. His argument is that while some things have gotten better, Chavez doesn't deserve the credit because oil prices rose. Also he cites some isolated statistics that suggest things have gotten worse (% of underweight babies, % of expenditures on health services). These sound kind of isolated to me, but I'm not an expert on that and don't pretend to know who is in the right. But I just think it's worth noticing the way different leaders are treated. Chavez is democratically elected and pretty popular. His failures get loud play. His successes are attributed to other causes. Contrast with say Uzbekistan where the investor climate is much more friendly. Just do any Google search. Here's a recent article: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-05/D9UPJ8SG0.htm Pretty antiseptic. Hey, they're pursuing a privatization drive. Great. Doing well with exports, though unfortunately this deprives the people of natural gas. Oh well (investors are doing fine). The fact that this guy boils people alive and is a leading arms recipient from the US, which he uses to crush his own people? Not interesting. Whatever success he might have you can bet will not be attributed to rising oil prices. The vote is just like the votes were in Iraq. One person on the ballot. Yes or no. He gets elected with like 98% support. It's pretty rare to hear criticism. But Chavez is a dictator. What's the difference between the two? Investor climate. HP, Megan is quoting a guy that looks to be a a high profile critic that was formerly part of the Chavez administration. He seems to be on bit of a mission to discredit Chavez. Like Richard Clarke, Scott McClellan. Maybe Joe Wilson. His argument is that while some things have gotten better, Chavez doesn’t deserve the credit because oil prices rose. Also he cites some isolated statistics that suggest things have gotten worse (% of underweight babies, % of expenditures on health services). These sound kind of isolated to me, but I’m not an expert on that and don’t pretend to know who is in the right.

But I just think it’s worth noticing the way different leaders are treated. Chavez is democratically elected and pretty popular. His failures get loud play. His successes are attributed to other causes. Contrast with say Uzbekistan where the investor climate is much more friendly. Just do any Google search. Here’s a recent article:

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-05/D9UPJ8SG0.htm

Pretty antiseptic. Hey, they’re pursuing a privatization drive. Great. Doing well with exports, though unfortunately this deprives the people of natural gas. Oh well (investors are doing fine). The fact that this guy boils people alive and is a leading arms recipient from the US, which he uses to crush his own people? Not interesting. Whatever success he might have you can bet will not be attributed to rising oil prices. The vote is just like the votes were in Iraq. One person on the ballot. Yes or no. He gets elected with like 98% support. It’s pretty rare to hear criticism. But Chavez is a dictator.

What’s the difference between the two? Investor climate.

]]> Comment on Economic Myths: The 5 Day Work Week And The 8 Hour Day by bartoma http://hispanicpundit.com/2005/09/21/economic-myths-the-5-day-work-week-and-the-8-hour-day/#comment-319939 bartoma Wed, 23 May 2012 17:35:06 +0000 http://hispanicpundit.com/2005/09/21/economic-myths-the-5-day-work-week-and-the-8-hour-day/#comment-319939 Very good analysis... The central problem of labor unions is the degree to which they are able to wield coercive power over others... A voluntary association can serve the valuable purpose of providing a unitary voice for those with shared interests, but when such an association is involuntary, or when it is able to infringe on the liberty of others, it ceases to be a force for good... Whatever benefits unions are able to accrue for its members is necessarily taken from other categories of employees in the same industry or from other industries... Labor action cannot change the value of goods and services industry produces - it can only distort the wage remuneration for those it benefits, and only at the expense of others... Very good analysis…

The central problem of labor unions is the degree to which they are able to wield coercive power over others… A voluntary association can serve the valuable purpose of providing a unitary voice for those with shared interests, but when such an association is involuntary, or when it is able to infringe on the liberty of others, it ceases to be a force for good… Whatever benefits unions are able to accrue for its members is necessarily taken from other categories of employees in the same industry or from other industries… Labor action cannot change the value of goods and services industry produces - it can only distort the wage remuneration for those it benefits, and only at the expense of others…

]]> Comment on Food Shortages In Venezuela by Fernando http://hispanicpundit.com/2012/05/02/food-shortages-in-venezuela/#comment-317436 Fernando Fri, 11 May 2012 13:02:03 +0000 http://hispanicpundit.com/2012/05/02/food-shortages-in-venezuela/#comment-317436 Nothing new about Venezeula. The consensus being that Hugo can destroy his own country, and jon only in your dreams. Nothing new about Venezeula. The consensus being that Hugo can destroy his own country, and jon only in your dreams.

]]> Comment on Food Shortages In Venezuela by Dom http://hispanicpundit.com/2012/05/02/food-shortages-in-venezuela/#comment-317300 Dom Wed, 09 May 2012 17:39:03 +0000 http://hispanicpundit.com/2012/05/02/food-shortages-in-venezuela/#comment-317300 Hmmm ... is it "falling" or "rising"? From the article linked to in the first comment: "The [Gini] index has fallen to 41 in 2008, from 48.1 in 2003 and 47 in 1999." From the article linked to in the second comment: "... the Gini coefficient ... increasing from 0.44 to 0.48 between 2000 and 2005." Assuming the first article simply multiplies the Gini by 100, then the two quotes show that it is either (a) jumping around a lot, or (b) an unreliable measure calculated by the government. Hmmm … is it “falling” or “rising”?

From the article linked to in the first comment:
“The [Gini] index has fallen to 41 in 2008, from 48.1 in 2003 and 47 in 1999.”

From the article linked to in the second comment:
“… the Gini coefficient … increasing from 0.44 to 0.48 between 2000 and 2005.”

Assuming the first article simply multiplies the Gini by 100, then the two quotes show that it is either (a) jumping around a lot, or (b) an unreliable measure calculated by the government.

]]> Comment on Food Shortages In Venezuela by Dom http://hispanicpundit.com/2012/05/02/food-shortages-in-venezuela/#comment-317298 Dom Wed, 09 May 2012 17:20:58 +0000 http://hispanicpundit.com/2012/05/02/food-shortages-in-venezuela/#comment-317298 It's interesting to compare the fall of communism in the Soviet Union and in East Germany. In the latter case it was mostly successful from the start, minus a few hickups. I know that some are calling for a return to statism, but that seems to be a minority. I think the difference is that the East Germans still had the West Germans to see how capitalism works. In the SU, the population knew only to wait until the government takes care of you. It’s interesting to compare the fall of communism in the Soviet Union and in East Germany. In the latter case it was mostly successful from the start, minus a few hickups. I know that some are calling for a return to statism, but that seems to be a minority.

I think the difference is that the East Germans still had the West Germans to see how capitalism works. In the SU, the population knew only to wait until the government takes care of you.

]]> Comment on Food Shortages In Venezuela by HispanicPundit http://hispanicpundit.com/2012/05/02/food-shortages-in-venezuela/#comment-317239 HispanicPundit Tue, 08 May 2012 22:01:48 +0000 http://hispanicpundit.com/2012/05/02/food-shortages-in-venezuela/#comment-317239 Not gotten better if you consider it from the poors perspective, see <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2008/03/does-hugo-chavez-help-the-poor/2916/" rel="nofollow">here</a>. In addition to the above food shortages. Not gotten better if you consider it from the poors perspective, see here. In addition to the above food shortages.

]]> Comment on Food Shortages In Venezuela by Jon http://hispanicpundit.com/2012/05/02/food-shortages-in-venezuela/#comment-317162 Jon Tue, 08 May 2012 01:46:42 +0000 http://hispanicpundit.com/2012/05/02/food-shortages-in-venezuela/#comment-317162 But when the Soviet Union collapsed, privatization was implemented, and price controls were removed, millions of people died. Go to Gapminder and track Russia. Watch life expectancy and GDP through the fall. You'd be hard pressed to find a catastrophic downturn like that absent a war. Meanwhile in Venezuela, problems still exist, but things overall have gotten much better. Imagine what the apologists for neoliberalism would say if Venezuela went through anything like what Russia went through. http://venezuelanalysis.com/indicators But when the Soviet Union collapsed, privatization was implemented, and price controls were removed, millions of people died. Go to Gapminder and track Russia. Watch life expectancy and GDP through the fall. You’d be hard pressed to find a catastrophic downturn like that absent a war.

Meanwhile in Venezuela, problems still exist, but things overall have gotten much better. Imagine what the apologists for neoliberalism would say if Venezuela went through anything like what Russia went through.

http://venezuelanalysis.com/indicators

]]> Comment on Obama’s Nostalgianomics by tthan43 http://hispanicpundit.com/2012/01/26/obamas-nostalgianomics/#comment-314407 tthan43 Fri, 13 Apr 2012 02:32:58 +0000 http://hispanicpundit.com/2012/01/26/obamas-nostalgianomics/#comment-314407 Hello to all of you. I am a political blogger and post to many of the sites here in the U.S. I am also a Republican but have been, for many years a Democrat. When Barack Obama became president, I changes once I saw what he was about. I tell you these things for your own good. So many people in the U.S. are either in a state of serious denial or they just do not want to know the truth. First of all, I know that many Mexicans, whites and blacks will support Obama simple because he is black. Many others will support him because they believe he will give them everything they want. I guess those are valid reasons to the person they belong to. I do know this however, Obama is a devout Muslim and believes in Allah. He does not believe in God. He is anti-American, pro-socialist and practices the trick he learned by studying Saul Alinsky's book on organizing a society. If you vote for Obama, you are voting for a man who is without God, a man who will give you what you want, for a short time only. The man has lied from day one and has an administration that is bent on racial divide and hate. That is the way he will re-organize society...racial hatred and division in his attempt to make the US into a marxist nation. Do not fall for the deceits of this man. Do not vote for him. You are a part of the American society and I am sure you want the very same things I and millions of other Americans want....less taxes, better chances for ourselves and our children, health and hoped for prosperity. We do not want a country this is based on Islam and we do not want a president who is Islamc from birth. Hello to all of you. I am a political blogger and post to many of the sites here in the U.S. I am also a Republican but have been, for many years a Democrat. When Barack Obama became president, I changes once I saw what he was about. I tell you these things for your own good. So many people in the U.S. are either in a state of serious denial or they just do not want to know the truth. First of all, I know that many Mexicans, whites and blacks will support Obama simple because he is black. Many others will support him because they believe he will give them everything they want. I guess those are valid reasons to the person they belong to. I do know this however, Obama is a devout Muslim and believes in Allah. He does not believe in God. He is anti-American, pro-socialist and practices the trick he learned by studying Saul Alinsky’s book on organizing a society. If you vote for Obama, you are voting for a man who is without God, a man who will give you what you want, for a short time only. The man has lied from day one and has an administration that is bent on racial divide and hate. That is the way he will re-organize society…racial hatred and division in his attempt to make the US into a marxist nation. Do not fall for the deceits of this man. Do not vote for him. You are a part of the American society and I am sure you want the very same things I and millions of other Americans want….less taxes, better chances for ourselves and our children, health and hoped for prosperity. We do not want a country this is based on Islam and we do not want a president who is Islamc from birth.

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