Adding: As to what our actual priorities are, I can't help but recognize the "New New Orleans" a bit in this unrelated LGM post.
The coverage of Hugo Chavez’s death has been almost universally terrible. But this piece from Associated Press business reporter Pamela Simpson takes the cake:
Chavez invested Venezuela’s oil wealth into social programs including state-run food markets, cash benefits for poor families, free health clinics and education programs. But those gains were meager compared with the spectacular construction projects that oil riches spurred in glittering Middle Eastern cities, including the world’s tallest building in Dubai and plans for branches of the Louvre and Guggenheim museums in Abu Dhabi.The true sign of national greatness–absurdly large skyscrapers and nice things for rich people. This sums up much about the business community’s beliefs in 2013. Health care and education for the poor is a waste of money. Glitter and income inequality, that’s the ticket.
1 comment:
Agreed. Don't start with what he did that more or less kind of worked. (Half those free health clinics ran out of money and closed. Still though, more now than there were pre-Chavez.) On the other hand, you could very well start with chronic food shortages, 30 percent annual inflation, the worst violent crime rate in the world, media suppression or political support for Iran and Syria.
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