With more and more US store shelves looking uncomfortably empty as Susan Duclos had pointed out within this August 24th ANP story, and more and more on the left calling for some sort of mandatory vaxxes and 'vaccine passports', we have to take a look back just a few years to get a better picture of where America is being herded in the days, weeks and months ahead.
the first couple of stories that we'll use as sources will be from what are considered the 'mainstream media', this first source being NPR, reporting on what was happening in Venezuela just a few years ago as they went to socialism. Can you imagine spending your days, weeks and lives, living like this? Evidence shows America is quickly headed that way.
For Caracas housewife Anny Valero, today is grocery day — whether she likes it or not. Here's why: It's Monday, and if Valero doesn't go now, she'll have to wait four more days to buy food.
In Venezuela, government supermarkets sell price-controlled food, making them far cheaper than private stores. But Valero explains that people are allowed in state-run supermarkets just two days per week, based on their ID card numbers.
The system is designed to prevent shoppers from buying more than they need and then reselling goods on the black market at a huge markup.
Venezuela is rich in oil, but now poor in just about everything else.
Economic mismanagement combined with low oil prices and high inflation has created one of the world's most troubled economies (ANP: Think GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION!).
The government has stopped giving regular economic statistics, but many independent economists say inflation is now north of 100 percent annually. (ANP: Sound familiar as govt censors covid numbers!)
Anny Valero and Yossmy Benaventi came away from a recent shopping trip with sardines, diapers, detergent and a few other items.
They had to produce their son's birth certificate to prove the baby was theirs and that they really did need the diapers.
Rising anger over food shortages — plus byzantine rules about when and where people can buy things — have made grocery shopping in Venezuela a nightmare.
They will skip school and stay home alone in a Caracas slum, with the door locked. That's because Valero sometimes spends all day standing in line at grocery stores and can't pick up the girls after class. Valero brings along Jeremy, her 6-month-old son.
We are also joined by her husband, Yossmy Benaventi. He's skipping work at an auto repair shop to help look after the baby and ward off thieves who snatch people's grocery bags.
Anyone really think that can't happen here in America?
That NPR story continued, giving Americans a taste of things to come.
We stop at a state-run store. There are no lines outside, but that often means there's not much food left. Inside, the meat department is a barren landscape.
"There's just unplugged display cases, flies and a bad odor," Valero says.
She settles for three cans of sardines. She also finds diapers for Jeremy.
But checkout is like clearing customs in a hostile foreign country. The checkout clerk scrutinizes Valero's ID card and tells her to hold her index finger over a fingerprint scanner.
The clerk scans the merchandise and then informs Anny that, because of rationing, she can buy just two of the three cans of sardines.
"This is such a waste of time, and we have to do it every week," Valero says. "My husband risks losing his job because he's here with me shopping. And on top of that, we can only buy two of each item."
The final bill is the equivalent of less than a dollar. But that's part of Venezuela's scarcity problem. Economists say price controls make it unprofitable for farms and businesses to produce goods.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced Wednesday that the country will introduce a mandatory fingerprinting system in supermarkets. He asserted that the plan will keep people from buying too much of any single item. The president did not say when the measure would go into effect, the Associated Press reports.
The Socialist Venezuelan government has struggled with food shortages for over a year. Basic cooking items like oil and flour are scarce. The administration says that the shortages are a result of companies speculating and people smuggling food out of the country.
Critics argue that the new system—which was tried on a voluntary basis in government-run grocery stores this spring—is equivalent to rationing food.
Anyone who thinks the same thing can't happen here hasn't been paying attention.
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