Plan B Forum

Congratulations to Bolivarian Socialism: Venezuela's Maduro Announces The Two Day Work Week

The President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, has just announced the achievement of a great goal of John Maynard Keynes, the institution of the 15 hour or so work week. No doubt further victories are just over the horizon and true socialism will arrive real soon now.

Of course, there is a slight fly in the ointment of this story. Keynes though the 15 hour work week he talked about in Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren would be because we were all so stinking rich that we wouldn’t bother to work more than that, being able to already afford everything we want.

Maduro and the Bolivarian socialists have achieved this goal in a rather different manner, by running the Venezuelan economy so badly that there simply isn’t enough electricity to power the bureaucracy for more than two days a week. But still, you know, celebrate the achievement of the goal, right?

It’s actually a two day week only for public sector workers:

Venezuela’s government Tuesday announced enforced leave for public sector workers three days a week, meaning they will only work just two days, in a bid to tackle an electricity shortage.

“There will be no work in the public sector on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, except for fundamental and necessary tasks,” Vice President Aristobulo Isturiz said on television.

Two comments rather flow from that. On the snark side that might mark an increase in the work load of the public sector employees. Who really thinks they do two solid days work in normal times? But rather more importantly why is there anyone in the bureaucracy doing anything at all that is not a “fundamental and necessary task”? That is what government is there for, isn’t it, fundamental and necessary tasks and fundamental and necessary tasks only?

The reason given for this announcement is that the rains have been bad:

Drought has reduced water levels at Venezuela’s main dam and hydroelectric plant in Guri to near-critical levels. The dam provides for about two-thirds of the nation’s energy needs.

And that is indeed the proximate cause of the problem. But it’s not the ultimate cause, not at all. The country is running out of everything because its economic management has been so appalling these past 15 years or so, something that people are hoping to change:

Venezuela’s elections council has agreed to give opposition leaders a document allowing them to begin the process of seeking a referendum to remove President Nicolás Maduro , who is facing criticism over a deepening economic crisis.

(And dude...up, coherent, and posting at 4am...that's either impressive or scary.)