Neo-socialist hipsters always point to places like Sweden and Denmark as examples of socialist successes. Protip: Don't do that (Liberal Sweden: Where Murder and Rape Are Easy To Do). You know who they always leave out? Venezuela. Because it's hard to spell. Also, because it's the worst... Thanks to socialism.

Don't take my word for it - just take a gander at how hundreds of Venezuelans spent their Thursday morning.

Venezuelan security forces fired teargas at protestors chanting "We want food!" near Caracas' presidential palace on Thursday, the latest street violence in the crisis-hit OPEC nation. The protest spilled out of long lines at shops in the area, witnesses said, after some people tried to hijack a food truck. "I've been here since eight in the morning. There's no more food in the shops and supermarkets," one woman told pro-opposition broadcaster Vivoplay. "We're hungry and tired."

Now, replace "We want food!" with "We want $15 minimum wage," or "We want healthcare!" Think that's a bit of a stretch? Incorrect. Here's why: Venezuelans are asking their government for food. Yes, this is a horrible thing. The people are starving. Why? Socialism. Because the government is in charge of taking care of people. The government is so large, its tentacles so far into people's everyday lives, the people of Venezuela have no other place to turn than to government.

Venezuela is a cautionary tale. It should serve as a dreadfully scary reminder of socialism and communism's ultimate goal: complete control of its people. Yes, I even used an adverb. Such are the stakes. Socialism starts subtly, as it already has in the USA. Pathetic, whiny people asking the government for things the government has no business providing. Our #FightFor15 whiners asking for a minimum wage; the pathetic ninnys demanding free healthcare, which has, incidentally, become more and more of an experiment in failure--by design; anyone who says word vomit like "the government makes things fair."

We use the slippery slope argument here a lot. Because nothing begins with a giant movement. Everything starts small. One day people who want things ask the government for them, and twenty or so years later, they're starving. Then asking the government to feed them.

Sad? Yes. Preventable in the United States? Only if we stop it.

Speaking of famous socialists...

NOT SUBSCRIBED TO THE PODCAST? FIX THAT! IT’S COMPLETELY FREE ON BOTH ITUNES HERE AND SOUNDCLOUD HERE.