Atlas Shrugs in Venezuela

In this article from The Statesman.com we find, once again, that socialism is a failure no matter where it is tried. According to author Eunice Moscoso, educated citizens of Venezuela are fleeing their collapsing country as fast as they can pack their belongings and buy a ticket out.

It is a continuing embarrassment to the left, and one they refuse to acknowledge, that socialist countries are unable to attract the very people on whom such a system would rely. The maxim, "from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs", is an advertisement to most people that the government considers them to be a milk cow. And the message is, "prepare to be milked dry". No sane, productive and responsible person wishes to see himself this way. No one who is worth anything would turn themselves into a slave to every other person in society.

Unlike most migration patterns in the Americas, departing Venezuelans are not motivated primarily by current economic frustration. Instead, they are fleeing government policies that they fear could threaten private property ownership, restrict economic opportunities, lead to job losses and provoke regional conflicts, according to analysts, polls and interviews with people leaving.

Manuel Corao, who runs a newspaper serving the Venezuelan community in Miami, estimates that about three Venezuelans a day arrive in the Miami area intending to stay.

"They fear the Chávez government; they fear communism and the dictatorship. It's terrible," said Corao, who came from Venezuela 11 years ago.

The Venezuelan Embassy in Washington declined requests for an interview.

Chávez came to power in 1999 and was re-elected in 2000 and 2006. His administration has promoted socialist policies with an emphasis on anti-American rhetoric and is close to the Castro regime in Cuba. Last year, Chávez nationalized the petroleum, communications and electricity sectors. He has indicated he intends to continue to centralize power.

The domestic economy is plagued by high inflation and a shortage of goods, including basic foods.

In 2007, inflation was about 22 percent. Over the past year, prices have increased by more than a third on such staples as sugar, rice, black beans, pasta, bread and milk.

In Caracas, Alejandra Gonzalez said she was leaving Venezuela because she feared for her 2-year-old daughter.

"We have a house, jobs, cars here, but we don't have what we need, that is peace and opportunities," she said. "I don't know if my apartment will be taken away from me in the future or not. There is legal insecurity here."

And so Venezuela under Hugo Chavez is suffering from all of the maladies that socialism brings about whenever it is put in place, including a "brain drain" of its best and brightest who refuse to be part of such a system. And since there is no Berlin wall around Venezuela at present, people will continue to flee to other parts of the world where they are still able to function as humans instead of being used like cattle.