MOORE: Give the Oil to the People

Stephen Moore: Unleash Prosperity Hotline – We noted yesterday that under the left’s hero, Nicolas Maduro, 80% of Venezuela's citizens have fallen into poverty, and nearly half are in extreme poverty. Oil production has crashed, and none of the revenues have enriched the citizens.

Maduro no doubt is in line to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

To help alleviate poverty and get the oil industry up and running, the newly elected government should reprivatize the oil industry. Chevron and ConocoPhillips spent billions of dollars to discover and develop the oil fields, and some of the ownership and operation should be returned to them as rightful owners. That’s for the courts to sort out.

The rest should go to the 30 million Venezuelan citizens, with each being assigned an equal ownership share of half the profits on the country’s estimated 300 billion barrels of on and offshore oil resources. We think this is an exaggeration, but even if it’s only half that amount. It’s one of the most valuable assets in the world.

If profits are at or around $5 to $10 per barrel, this plan would ensure oil production and give every resident/citizen a personal asset valued at up to $100,000.