Venezuela Jobless Rate Falls to Eight-Year Low

[Judi Lynn]

Venezuela Jobless Rate Falls to Eight-Year Low (Update2)

By Theresa Bradley

Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuela's unemployment rate fell to its lowest in almost eight years in November as oil-fueled government spending spurred economic growth and a boom in consumer purchasing.

The jobless rate dropped to 8.8 percent last month from 10.9 percent a year ago, the country's national statistics agency, known as the INE, said in a statement. The rate is Venezuela's lowest since January 1999, the first month for which the data is available. Unemployment was 8.9 percent in October.

Venezuela's economy swelled 10.2 percent in the past year on government oil revenue, driving a consumer spending boom that helped create 424,000 jobs in November. President Hugo Chavez's government plans to pour nearly half its budget into social and job creation programs next year, and aims to slash unemployment to 7 percent next month, INE President Elias Eljuri said in today's release.

``The economy is growing and that creates jobs, but what's up for debate is their quality,'' said Abelardo Daza, an economist at the Caracas consulting firm Lextrategy. Daza expects holiday spending to boost labor demand and help unemployment approach the government's 7 percent target, before rising again in January.
(snip/...)

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=apNoX_fxT.wk&refer=news

[TheFarseer]

1. What?!?!? money for job creation????

What about tax breaks for US Corporations? Wouldn't that create even more jobs? :sarcasm:

[IndianaGreen]

2. Bomb the commie bastards!

What if more countries were to invest in their people, rather than their portfolios? We can't have that!

:-)

Viva Chavez! Down with Mister Danger!

[Pavulon]

5. Why would we bomb them?

his army will kill/overthrow him eventually. Seems to be the routine.

[EFerrari]

12. Depends on how much the White House is offering.

You know, that's the routine.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

14. That appears to be your hope, but it doesn't seem likely. n/t

[LostinVA]

3. Why, that damned Commie Chavez!

How dare he help the jobless!

[Pavulon]

4. Dino Dollars

Venezuela continues to be highly dependent on the petroleum sector, accounting for roughly one-third of GDP, around 80% of export earnings, and over half of government operating revenues. Government revenue also has been bolstered by increased tax collection, which has surpassed its 2005 collection goal by almost 50%. Tax revenue is the primary source of non-oil revenue, which accounts for 53% of the 2006 budget. A disastrous two-month national oil strike, from December 2002 to February 2003, temporarily halted economic activity. The economy remained in depression in 2003, declining by 9.2% after an 8.9% fall in 2002.

It all revolves around black stuff in the ground. Do you own a durable good from that country?

But good for the people.

[frylock]

6. when will people learn; socialism does not work!

It's been proven time and again by the CIA.

[muntrv]

7. A South American leader good doing things for his people.

Do I smell a CIA backed coup?

[HysteryDiagnosis]

10. He needs a visit from someone who does what this guy used

to do.
http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Economic-Hit-John-Perkins/dp/0452287081/sr=8-1/qid=1166664238/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-0913466-7734234?ie=UTF8&s=books
http://ec2.images-amazon.com/images/P/0452287081.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_OU01_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_V58509623_.jpg

John Perkins started and stopped writing Confessions of an Economic Hit Man four times over 20 years. He says he was threatened and bribed in an effort to kill the project, but after 9/11 he finally decided to go through with this expose of his former professional life. Perkins, a former chief economist at Boston strategic-consulting firm Chas. T. Main, says he was an "economic hit man" for 10 years, helping U.S. intelligence agencies and multinationals cajole and blackmail foreign leaders into serving U.S. foreign policy and awarding lucrative contracts to American business. "Economic hit men (EHMs) are highly paid professionals who cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars," Perkins writes. Confessions of an Economic Hit Man is an extraordinary and gripping tale of intrigue and dark machinations. Think John Le Carré, except it's a true story.

Perkins writes that his economic projections cooked the books Enron-style to convince foreign governments to accept billions of dollars of loans from the World Bank and other institutions to build dams, airports, electric grids, and other infrastructure he knew they couldn't afford. The loans were given on condition that construction and engineering contracts went to U.S. companies. Often, the money would simply be transferred from one bank account in Washington, D.C., to another one in New York or San Francisco. The deals were smoothed over with bribes for foreign officials, but it was the taxpayers in the foreign countries who had to pay back the loans. When their governments couldn't do so, as was often the case, the U.S. or its henchmen at the World Bank or International Monetary Fund would step in and essentially place the country in trusteeship, dictating everything from its spending budget to security agreements and even its United Nations votes. It was, Perkins writes, a clever way for the U.S. to expand its "empire" at the expense of Third World citizens. While at times he seems a little overly focused on conspiracies, perhaps that's not surprising considering the life he's led. --Alex Roslin --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

[earlybelle]

11. I've read the book. I recommend that everyone who can read and understand

read this book.

[Judi Lynn]

8. Info. DU'ers might find interesting, if it's new to them:

Perseverance paying off in Venezuela
Despite being vilified by his political opposition at home and the Bush administration in the US, President Hugo Chavez has reversed years of Washington-influenced economic policies in Venezuela, spurring strong economic recovery.
Venezuela: Saturday, July 03 - 2004 at 09:19

~snip~
The new constitution elevated the importance of social development in Venezuela. While going great lengths to protect private property, it also emphasized the preeminent role of the state in the economy and subordinated the role of foreign investors, especially in the crucial oil sector. The new constitution abruptly changed Venezuela's existing economic order, which had been molded by the Washington Consensus and administered by the IMF.

Central to the heightened role of the state in the economy has been the reassertion of government control over Venezuela's largest company, PdVSA. Including its indirect impact on the economy, PdVSA accounts for 40 percent of Venezuela's production-based gross domestic product. It also produces over 80 percent of the country's export receipts and over 50 percent of fiscal revenue.

The management of state-owned PdVSA enjoyed, for many years, considerable autonomy from the government. Using this autonomy, management focused on keeping company assets and revenue offshore to avoid mandated tax and royalty payments to the government. Unfavorable transfer pricing and huge economically questionable investments in offshore downstream operations, including refineries and gas stations in the U.S., siphoned enormous resources out of Venezuela.

PdVSA had developed its own self-serving style of management cronyism. By directly appointing executives, Chavez began to dismantle this cronyism. Following the PdVSA strike in late 2002 and the mass firing of PdVSA employees in early 2003, the company's new boss, Ali Rodriguez, began to refocus PdVSA investment on Venezuela. Rodriguez also began to dismantle tax and royalty avoidance schemes and began the process of renegotiating foreign investment contracts.

Not only had the Chavez government become a threat to U.S. energy security and foreign policy goals, it also threatened the credibility of economic liberalization already under fire throughout South America. The Bush administration became deeply involved in undermining Chavez. Washington found willing accomplices in Venezuela among opposition political organizations and former PdVSA employees.
(snip)

Though strongly contradicting the Washington Consensus, the Chavez government is proving that social development and firm state influence in the economy can produce strong economic growth. Other countries in South America are beginning to implement economic policies similar to Venezuela's. Such developments are natural, as the Washington Consensus has proven to be economically disastrous for South America.
(snip/)

http://www.ameinfo.com/42051.html

[Judi Lynn]

9. Chávez rides wave of Venezuela's economic growth

Chávez rides wave of Venezuela's economic growth
By Simon Romero / The New York TimesPublished: December 3, 2006

CARACAS: To understand why Hugo Chávez seemed assured of victory in the presidential election on Sunday - strengthening his mandate for what he calls a socialist revolution - consider the vigor here of that most capitalist of institutions: the stock exchange.

Housed in El Rosal, an upscale district with new skyscrapers and hotels, the Caracas stock exchange was the site of frenzied trading last week. Its main index climbed to a record high of 46,741, topping off a 129.2 percent rise this year that has made it one of the best performing markets in the world. On Friday, the index climbed 8 percent for its biggest daily gain in four years.

"For all of Chávez's faults, his government has been extremely pragmatic in economic terms," said José Guerra, a former chief of economic research at Venezuela's central bank.

"State-supported capitalism isn't just surviving under Chávez. It is thriving."
(snip)

As a result, markets still consider Venezuelan bonds about as safe an investment as bonds issued by Brazil, a neighboring industrial powerhouse.
(snip/)

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/12/03/news/venez.php

[Pastiche423]

13. Anyone wonder why he was re-elected?

And yet, in our country, we haven't had an elected president since before the 2000 selection.

[Judi Lynn]

15. Now THAT'S scary! Last Presidential election which produced an actual

elected President was 1996!



Real scary, kids. Whooo. Scary.

[Vidar]

16. Kudos to Venezuela & Chavez.

[David__77]

17. I hope they industrialize.

Social programs can only go so far. The long-term solution is to found industrial enterprises that can serve as the foundation for a developed economy. Oil is a good way to get there, but the country must be prepared for less oil-friendly times.