Oh Boy, Venezuelan Military Tasked With Improving Food Chain

In a country wracked by massive price inflation, made worse by price controls that have all but halted most above ground businesses, the Venezuelan president has not decided to lift the price controls and stop the mad central bank money printing, but instead to call in the military.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has granted sweeping political powers to Defense Minister Gen. Vladimir Padrino Lopez. In a public announcement on July 11, the president said that all government ministries would be subordinated to the defense minister and the president and that Padrino Lopez would be charged with a government initiative "to improve food supply throughout the country." The president also gave the defense minister the power to make decisions at the municipal, regional and business levels.

This is confusion on steroids about the ability of a central power to manage a complex economy. As Hayek taught us in the Road to Serfdom, it can't be done,

With the military involved, the likelihood of a crackdown on black markets becomes a very real possibility, which would make everyday life even more difficult Venezuelans.

-RW