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Category: Libertarian Leanings Libertarian Leanings
Published: 15 May 2016 15 May 2016

By Peter Burrows 5/14/16 elburropete@gmail.com  www.silvercityburro.com  

It's ironic that Bernie Sanders, who calls himself a socialist, rails incessantly against income inequality. Ironic because income inequality in socialist countries is gargantuan, far, far more than in free enterprise countries.

Bernie has been bitching about the wealthiest family in America, the Waltons, who are the children of Sam Walton, founder of Walmart. Hey, Bernie: Sam Walton built the world's largest retail chain by offering the best prices, by helping all his shoppers live better, especially the poorest, whom you claim to care about. Not a nickel of the Walton's money was stolen from anybody.

Contrast that with the wealthiest family in Cuba, the Castros. Some years ago, Fortune Magazine estimated Fidel's worth at $900 million, but I personally don't give their estimate much credence. It was mostly guess-work. What isn't guess-work are documents leaked from London-based HSBC's Swiss branch in February 2015 that revealed 29 Cubans with 70 accounts worth $83.8 million, with the largest account being $48.5 million.(1)

None of the clients were Castros, but it strains credulity to think Fidel and Raoul and all their children don't also have many millions stashed away. And remember, this is from only ONE bank. In fact, it has been alleged that the Castros have their own bank for their accounts. (2)

Of course, Bernie will say that's a bad example as Cuba is a socialist dictatorship and Bernie is a democratic socialist, an elected socialist, like Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. Ooops! Bad example.

The Castros are poor cousins compared to socialists who have better stuff to steal than sugar, such as the afore mentioned Hugo Chavez, the late socialist leader of oil-endowed Venezuela. (I first wrote Gǣoil-richGǥ Venezuela, but having oil doesn't make a nation rich if socialists are in charge.) Chavez died in 2013, but not before running the nation into the ground in his 14 years in charge.

Things are no better under his successor, fellow-socialist Nickolas Maduro. Today, Venezuela rations toilet paper, food, electricity, and just about everything. People are hunting stray dogs and cats, not to adopt, but TO EAT.(3)

However, there are a few Venezuelans who don't have to stand in line for anything or worry about eating their pets. One of them is Hugo Chavez's daughter, Maria, who reportedly has $4.2 billion in American and Andorran banks. (4) Gosh, I wonder how she got all that money. Probably wrote some books like J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, which were made into movies and made Ms. Rowling a billionaire. Of course. Maria must have done something like that.

Chavez had two other daughters, and the three of them were estimated to have cost Venezuela $3.6 million a day. (5) ThatG