Chavez Takes a Page From the Rahm Emanuel "Crisis" Playbook

Never let a crisis go to waste.

Venezuela is suffering an energy crisis. Which gives Hugo another excuse to take a potshot at the shopping malls that just irritate the crap out of him.

Chavez on Friday said his government is determined to keep Guri Dam from falling to a critical level where the turbines start to fail in the next several months. He has also imposed rationing measures that include penalty fees for energy overuse, shorter workdays for many public employees and reduced hours for shopping malls.

Several South American countries are overdependent on hydroelectric energy, including Brazil (I think about 60% of their grid is powered by the system on the Rio Plate). I don't blame them per se, it's cheap. But a sound energy policy does not place too many eggs in one unreliable basket.

Unless of course your sound energy policy is to drive coal companies out of business and say you're replacing it with magical green technology.

In which case I suppose we had better get ready for these kinds of emergency measures here in the United States.

ALSO: How about a little currency devaluation to go along with those blackouts? (tipped by commenter appropriately named "Socialistas")

posted by Dave In Texas at 03:21 PM

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