Happy International Worker’s Day (May Day).  I took the day off from blogging in honor of the national day dedicated to workers worldwide.  Are you a worker too, Dear Reader?  Well then, why are you reading this blog?  It’s too much work.  Go on, relax and have some fun for a change.  You deserve it.

On the same day Venezuela officially nationalized its oil industry, Venezuela President Hugo Chávez announced that the country would raise its minimum wage by 20% and will work to decrease the standard work week from 44 to 36 by 2010. I wonder what these changes will do to Venezuela’s annual inflation rate, which currently stands at about 16%?  Or its productivity rate, which has decreased annually by about 2.2% during the Chávez years?  What do I know?  I don’t have a degree in military arts and science from the Venezuela Academy of Military Sciences, and I didn’t drop out of Simón Bolivar University while I was doing my master’s degree in political science.  I’m sure that everything will be just fine as Venezuela moves closer to becoming a worker’s paradise.  Mmm, OK, whatever.  Check back in about ten years.

Sr. Presidente Chávez, go on, take a break.  Give it a rest.

[table id=21 /]

[wpgmza id=”9″]

[table id=8 /]