| Everybody is telling us that we should buy gold but | | | | this situation. The purchasing power of gold compared |
| Venezuela is the perfect example why we should buy | | | | to goods such as food, energy and shelter remains the |
| gold. The message sent from that far country is highly | | | | same or it has risen a little bit. |
| important so we should really try to pay attention to it. | | | | What we have to realize that our government could |
| This year the president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez | | | | do the same thing at one point of another. |
| devalued the bolivar by half. This move doubled the | | | | Governments have boosted spending in an attempt to |
| cost of the important goods and reduced by half the | | | | repair a falling popularity in the face of an election. The |
| purchasing power of the Venezuelan people. This | | | | consequence of their actions is that the national |
| would also have reduced the savings of people by | | | | currency has been losing power. We can now buy |
| half. | | | | considerably less medicine, food, energy and anything |
| Chavez has justified his decision by saying that this is | | | | else you can come to think of than it did a couple of |
| a method of boosting the productive economy, to | | | | years before. |
| reduce imports that aren't strictly necessary and to | | | | Of course we cannot compare our government with |
| stimulate exports. A simple analysis will prove that this | | | | the Chavez government as I seriously doubt that |
| would be the effect that they will get. People will feel | | | | anyone would want to ban singing in the bath or in the |
| discouraged to work when they see that their wages | | | | shower. Chavez's explanation for this type of |
| and their power to purchase basic products can be | | | | measure that he tried to enforce was that people |
| cut in half like that. | | | | should not be distracted from the "basic business of |
| Anybody that has converted their savings into gold, or | | | | washing". |
| at least part of them are now protected against the | | | | I believe that we are far from becoming the next |
| decisions taken by the president. This means that | | | | Venezuela but we should definitely learn from their |
| people's earning have been preserved in the face of | | | | unfortunate experience and try to secure our future. |