5,000 Venezuelans Line Up To Buy Oil At 2:00 AM For A Penny A Liter
Venezuelans started lining up at 2:00 AM for essentially free motor oil. By 11:00 AM the line was estimated at 5,000.
In a two-day government sale, Venezuelans Line Up for Motor Oil as Hyperinflation Soars
Thousands of Venezuelans began lining up before dawn Friday outside a Caracas stadium, hoping to get a hold of a prized item: motor oil.
“I got here at 2 a.m.,” said Carolina Estrella, a 32-year-old office manager, in line to purchase 12 liters for her family’s three cars. National guard officers estimated about 5,000 people were in line by 11 a.m.
The two-day-only sale was announced by Venezuela’s state oil giant, Petroleos de Venezuela SA, Thursday and at 300,000 bolivars per liter, the price is a steal compared to the 25 million bolivars ($8) charged for any imported kind at a car shops around Caracas.
There is always a shortage of goods and long lines when government sets a price below market cost.
Socialism has huge costs.
Disclosure: None.
It endlessly amazes me that there are still governments and marketplaces that do things like this. Free market economies are so used to the prosperity and productivity inherent in their economy model, that these failed systems look silly in comparison.