PUTTING OUT FIRE (WITH GASOLINE): Venezuela hikes its minimum wage again.

Venezuela’s repeated wage hikes haven’t kept up with the country’s runaway inflation. In January 2017, Maduro raised the monthly minimum wage 50% to 104,358 bolivars. At the time, that was worth $31.17, according to the unofficial exchange rate that millions of Venezuelans follow closely.

In other words, despite all the increases, the new minimum wage will be worth less than a fifth of what it was worth a year ago.

Corruption, mismanagement and price freezes have caused Venezuela’s economy to collapse. To try to appease voters, Maduro has raised the minimum wage several times in the past few years. Critics say the hikes amount to printing money and only exacerbate Venezuela’s hyperinflation.

“Critics.” No, that’s what reality says.