Socialism

Discussion in 'Off-Topic' started by super71, Mar 12, 2019.

  1. super71

    super71 I need me some PIE!

  2. Geressen

    Geressen Forum Royalty

    lying and being disingenuous in order to make stuff fit your narrative again Super?

    most European nations consider themselves democratic socialist and do not have dictators but you always have to bring up chavismo or juche despite the fact that the latter was mostly influenced by a mixture of ww2 japanese imperialism and cold war stalinism and the former hs giant corporations being corrupt but somehow managing untill the oil price crashed.

    so your argument is: we need to keep using a system that is unfair because the US cannot become democratic socialist because : there are OTHER forms of socialism which do not work.

    hilarious.
     
  3. JellyBerry

    JellyBerry Forum Royalty

    Hi, Venezuelan here. Living in Valencia, a city within a state that's two hours away from the capital.

    Venezuela's fallen victim to the hands of corrupt individuals that have done nothing but bring down... everything. Anyone with half a brain could've seen the 90+ (some states and areas within them are still struggling) hours blackout coming. Why? Because it's a service that has been declining for years and the money that should've been dedicated to improving it went elsewhere. Heck, it's been more than a year since I (or anyone) last paid for electricity. We simply don't have the option to pay for it. That means there's even less money going into it. Not that it would matter anyway, considering how things normally roll around here.

    What I don't get is why people use Venezuela as an example of what socialism looks like. Mind you, I don't advocate for it. But when it comes to my country, I don't believe socialism has led it to its current state. It's very clear what people and entities siding with the government have done in the past 20 years. So why does socialism get the blame? Why is it not people getting persecuted for their actions (most of the time)? Is it because the words "21st-century socialism" get thrown around a lot? If so, when Maduro says that the US hacked into an analog system to start an electric war do people outside my country actually believe him?

    It bothers me at times because it misrepresents the actual struggle that's going on within the country. I understand looking into it takes time and it's much easier to simply dismiss it as a general thing, but yeah... I don't know.

    Feel free to ask any questions.
     
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  4. Geressen

    Geressen Forum Royalty

    I got a couple
    1. if you could control the actions of other countries what would you make them do so the situation in venezuela improves.
    2. now that the currency there has collapsed further are scalpers still a problem? seems like it's not worth the money anymore or did you all change currency?
    3. are you getting everything you need? what is the most trouble you had to go through to get food or other neccesities?
     
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  5. JellyBerry

    JellyBerry Forum Royalty


    1. I honestly don't know. Most countries that have looked into it have formed their opinion and chosen to support our opposition by standing up for human rights, revoking documents, and freezing assets, bank accounts, and such. I don't think I have enough of an understanding of what countries can and cannot do to ensure anything happens in this type of situation. For example, you'll often see people here asking for the US to intervene with military force, but it's obviously not something they can just do on a whim. The type of intervention I'd advocate for is that if somehow the current wave of events were to lead to "democratic elections," which is one of the demands from the supporting countries, said countries should oversee the process to ensure the outcome isn't rigged.

    I sincerely wish I had more knowledge of international affairs to offer a perspective other than that of a Venezuelan resident. But I feel other countries have already done a lot considering the responsibility lies with us. The fact that many other countries know things for what they are already put a lot of pressure on our government and their actions.

    So overall, stay informed, see things for what they are. If you're in a position to support any of your government's actions (as long as they're smart), do so. If you're in a position to donate to any legitimate charities, go for it. If you're in a position to outsource any kind of job to talents residing here, go for it. Don't lose interest, else things will be swept under the rug as they have before.

    2. Most people have moved onto multi-platform trading for "easy profit." The current ratio is $1=3300/3500 BsS. However, you can also buy $1 in PayPal for 2500/2600 BsS. Most people doing this run online shops or import products from the US though.

    Scalping is a lot less profitable than it used to be, at least for the average person. A few months prior, the dollar was doubling in price almost daily. Nowadays, it's not as volatile. It usually peaks by Wednesday and goes back down by Friday. The only times where it goes up drastically is right after major events that lead to shifts in our economy. Recently, the government created an "alternative" where people can sell their USD but no one uses it because not only do they take about 8 days to pay you, they also charge you a 10% commission.

    Basically, yeah. There's literally no way you can lead a normal life where you eat three decent meals a day if you don't have a job that pays in dollars. For example, my "main" job pays me $117 a month, which is enough to cover living expenses and food while avoiding luxury. I live alone, however, and have no responsibilities other than myself (I had a friend take my dog to the US so he could get proper care). For perspective, a family sized pizza in papa johns costs about $23 and 2 kg worth of chicken costs about $6-7. You get to pay for them in Venezuelan currency, but everything is under dollar value. Yes, I know it's ridiculous, but it's just the way it is.

    Most professionals, businesses, and people offering services charge USD or their equivalent. Services where you don't need to buy anything usually have very fair pricing depending on what's needed. Services that require you to pay for additional items, like say, having your car fixed after something broke down, are usually far more expensive because people inflate the costs of the items to gain profit.

    It's a mad world, yo.

    3. I don't earn minimum wage salary or anything around these numbers, so my perspective probably isn't helpful. No, I'm not rich, but I'm certainly doing better than a lot of people. The only limitations I've faced are these associated with being a business owner or trying to pursue other things. I have been detained about two times for taking part in political activities as well. I thankfully haven't had to struggle to get food. In fact, there's food everywhere, it's just not affordable. Minimum wage salary is roughly $7 dollars a month. Just a two-roll package of toilet paper is $2.

    I can tell you that I'm glad I don't have any conditions or illnesses that require me to get constant medical care or medicine. Hospitals and private clinics are in awful condition and have very little resources available to them. Every single doctor that's still here asks to be paid in USD. For example, my friend's aunt recently passed away from cancer. Mind you, it was one of these situations where people think they're healthy, feel a tiny bit of pain, attribute it to something else, and then hell breaks loose. So by the time they found out, it was already too late.

    By the end of last year, the pain got much worse. As it turns out, liquid had begun to fill her lungs (pleura or whatever). Finding a pulmonologist was tough. When they did find one, they had to pay him $10 for each appointment (there were several). They had to pay $400 for the draining procedure. Luckily, her aunt's insurance covered the hospitalization. But the draining lasted longer than they initially thought and caused extra expenses. So by the time they finished draining her aunt's lungs, they had already spent about $800.

    I'm pretty sure that probably sounds cheap for most people out of the country, but please remember what the average person here earns on a monthly basis. They also had to pay for several tests (they had to drive to other cities or states for them) which ranged from $60 to $150 before she could receive chemo. When the oncologist greenlighted the treatment they struggled to find the necessary stuff for the cocktails and likely overpaid for them.

    Her aunt passed away before she received chemotherapy due to several complications (she had like 4544654 other types of cancer that never showed any symptoms). It all happened within a two-month period.

    That was the struggle of a family that I know is doing better money wise than many others. I told you that story for two reasons. The first is that most people simply can't afford to be sick, and the second is that those that can, can't find the things they need to act swiftly.

    There are many other must-have things you can't easily find in here that have given way to markets that shouldn't exist and granted power to people that shouldn't have it, but yeah, I'd be typing for days.

    Fun fact: I finished this post on my phone because there was a blackout while I was typing it on my PC.
     
    Last edited: Mar 15, 2019
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