President Hugo Chavez has consistently ruled out reducing state subsidies to gasoline, which now costs 11 cents a litre ( 34 cents U.S. per U.S. gallon), arguing a rise would fuel inflation and would be unacceptable for the millions of Venezuelans now living below the poverty line.
(not to mention the rich with their gas guzzling SUV's)
Cheers, Ken Hanly
Charles Brown wrote:
> >>> Wojtek Sokolowski <sokol at jhu.edu> 03/07/00 05:07PM >>>
> Baran & Sweezy correctly identified auto industry as the
> heart of monopoly capitalism.
>
> **********
> CB: Yes, the Economics Commission of the Communist Party did too. Sort of the top of the economic food chain in the U.S. Is this still true ?
>
> *********
>
> BTW, I recall reading in some transportation professional journal (forgot
> the reference) that US is teh only developed country that subsidizes its
> autmobile transportation "system" from general taxes (if I remember the
> figures, that subsidy is about 40% of the operating costs).
>
> ***********
>
> CB: This subsidy would be a STATE-MONOPOLY capitalist structure par excellent. State-monopoly capitalism means "socialism" for the monopoly coporations.
>
> CB