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>> The first step was when Hugo Chávez's socialist government started spending more money on the poor, with everything from two-cent gasoline to free housing.
by johnrob 11y ago
>> The first step was when Hugo Chávez's socialist government started spending more money on the poor, with everything from two-cent gasoline to free housing.
That sounds exactly like the kind of thing we (HN crowd) have been dreaming about. Hopefully we don't end up reading a similar comment down the road about the US!
- nitrogen 11y agoI think it's pretty clear that any US policies will be more sophisticated than "create insane price subsidies on a product produced by a dying state-owned company". What really matters is not "money on the poor", but economic diversity and sustainability. Let's not latch on to political catchphrases designed to short circuit critical discussion. When people suggest things like basic income on HN, there is always discussion of how to fund it sustainably.
- chadnickbok 11y agoI think there's a marked difference between conversations about basic income and "two-cent gasoline". In this case, direct market manipulation of specific goods paid for by a budget entirely reliant on the price of oil being at historical highs doesn't seem like good policy, even to those who'd vote for Bernie Sanders!
- marcosdumay 11y agoI don't remember ever reading a post on HN of somebody wanting an entirely state owned economy. Also, you are accusing the "just give them money, and stop babysitting adults" crowd of supporting cronist populist micromanaged social programs.