On Friday, President Trump celebrated some good news from the U.S. economy. In the last week, a different message is coming from Cuba and Venezuela.
We are watching three countries going in different economic directions: the U.S., Cuba, and Venezuela. It is a classic case of free markets versus socialism.
Down in Cuba, the message has not changed over the years, as the new president reminded us:
Cuba’s economy grew less than expected in the first half of 2018 and an ongoing liquidity crisis will force fresh belt tightening, President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on Sunday.
He is proposing constitutional changes. However, Cuban perestroika won’t work any better than the one we saw in the USSR.
Venezuela is more than falling apart: “Venezuela could eventually have 1 million percent inflation.”
What does that inflation level mean? It means this: “Venezuela’s currency has lost 99.9997 percent of its value in the past 6½ years. To put that in perspective, $333,333 worth of bolivars in 2012 would be worth $1 today.”
A failed state? I think so!
As I recall, a “bolivar,” the currency, was 4.29 to a U.S. dollar back in the 1980s. It used to be a middle-class country!
On the other hand, we had great news in the U.S.
It was a good day for the U.S. economy; for workers; and, yes, for President Trump. It is not the same down in Cuba and Venezuela.
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