TrueBlueAmerican

CARACAS, VENEZUELA: President Hugo Chavez threatened on Sunday to seize control of businesses caught hoarding products, and set his sights on Empresas Polar - Venezuela's largest food producer and distributor.

If officials discover that companies sit on goods for months to later sell them at inflated prices, they "should be seized and taken under government control," Chavez said.

He called Polar a "clear example" of a business that could be taken over.

The Venezuelan leader's threats came as the country struggles with sporadic shortages of some basic foods, including sugar, cooking oil, milk, black beans, eggs and chicken.

Chavez threatens to seize control of Venezuela's largest food producer-Rest of World-World-The Times of India

The_Heretic

It probably means he suspects yet another corporate backed coup against him after fairly and freely winning the election.

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John McCain: "He's in Iraq... with a few centuries to kill."

BillCosby

It is their own fault of electing the wrong guy..........

Is this perfectly legal here??? Imagine standard oil hoarding oil causing shortages....

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Preventive war is not war!!!!Counter-terror is not terror

DRS112

You've gotta wonder if it's even happening though...especially with food? sitting on it for months and selling it for inflated prices? First off sitting on inventroy costs money. It's expensive. Not only does it cost money to store in a building, you have to pay people to maintain it and in addition you're paying interest on it the whole time...it's the dumbest idea ever.

Methinks he's just using it as an excuse to nationalize businesses...which so be it...but don't lie about it.

The_Heretic

It's nationalizing a business to keep a company from articifically and dishonestly driving up prices via hording?

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John McCain: "He's in Iraq... with a few centuries to kill."

DRS112

like I said...it doesn't make sense from a business standpoint that they would benefit from "hording". Not to mention I don't even think it is possible to do with food.

So basically I'm saying it's likely he pulled it out of his ass...

BillCosby

It seems you are saying/assuming that it was all horded..........

Wouldn't prices go up by simply limiting supply???

There is no need to pull it all off the market............

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Preventive war is not war!!!!Counter-terror is not terror

DRS112

Any "gains" by hording would be completely wiped out by the cost of hording...especially in something that it is impossible to have a monopoly on(or horde) like food. Why do you think Just in Time delivery is so popular?


But lets assume that it wasn't true that it cost money to hold supplies...what is better $100,000 in sales with a 10% margin or $1,000,000 in sales with a 5% margin?

BillCosby

I believe that about anything can be manipulated....

If I know how they did it or not.........

As I said I believe they would not have to do all that storage etc. Simply (artificially) restricting supply would accomplish it..

Suppliers, distributors, wholesalers can accomplish this especially in a smaller country were there may not be lots of sources/alternatives that are viable.......

The details are not given in the article so I/we do not know the details but I believe it could be done easy enough... If it is through beer distributors, growers associations or whatever.........

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Preventive war is not war!!!!Counter-terror is not terror

DRS112

Well it does specify hording...which would seem to imply holding already produced goods...food spoils...plus it can be easily produced without any huge startup costs...small local markets....

You're right...the details aren't given...that's the whole reason I doubted it to begin with...whether it's my govt. or another I have a bad habit of not trusting what they say.

But seriously...it would be very hard to do any of what you say without having a complete monopoly on the market...and a monopoly that is protected by the govt. at that...which would be nationalization.

BTW....how come CITGO gas isn't any cheaper?