Zero Hedge: Protests have erupted in Buenos Aires over the past 90 days and continue to build inside the capital as residents battle with their center-left government over sizeable amendments to social programs.
Cuts to subsidies in the energy sector based on household income already began in June.
Other subsidies, including the country’s notorious welfare program, are also on the chopping block, triggering thousands of angry residents to take to the streets.
State-sponsored aid for civilians has soared in the past 20 years, leaving 22 million Argentinians dependent on some form of government assistance.
In the first quarter of 2022, the national employment rate was 43 percent, according to government figures.
The country’s state funded programs extend to nearly every aspect of the economy, from wages to utilities, education, and health care.
Argentina already spends an estimated 800 million pesos per day—a sum of more than US$6 million—on state benefit programs.
Concurrently, inflation in the South American nation hit 58 percent in May and soared above 60 percent in July. By comparison, national inflation was just over 14 percent in 2015.
Harry Lorenzo, chief finance officer of Income Based Research, told The Epoch Times the spending habits of Argentina’s government are at the root of the escalating problem.
“The Argentine government has been grappling with a collapsing economy for some time now. The main reason for this is the government’s unsustainable spending, which has been funded in part by generous welfare programs,” Lorenzo explained. more here
57 weeks to flatten the Middle Class! Bwahahahahahahahahahah!
Wow, who would have thought that theirs and eventually our government would run out of money to pay their welfare recipients?
…Considering the delicacy of Argentinian sensibilities over the whole Falklandw/Maldives thing, would it be in bad taste to offer a quote by Margaret Thatcher of all people that speaks directly to their (and OUR) situation?
God, I hope so.
https://youtu.be/U-x2yEmUFXA
Don’t cry for the leftwing Argentine gov’t.
What government hands out, they can take it back, or stop handing it out altogether.
The only solution that ever worked for the vast majority of people is free enterprise, which at its core relies on individual talent and the freedom to use the talent outside of government constraints.
cheryl – who would have thought that theirs and eventually our government would run out of money to pay their welfare recipients?
Margaret Thatcher did: “The trouble with Socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.”
When the “ebt” cards quit working…
fasten your seat belt…..!!!!!!!
This is what happens when you get people dependent upon the gov’t and then take it away.
Buy the votes, get the power, raise taxes to pay for the buy. Rinse, repeat. Until, the workers finally say, no more of my labor to pay for the lazy slobs in and out of government. Then we find out what a peso is actually worth… nothing! Terrible things await when the workers drop OUR tools. Coming soon to a recent ex-republic near you.
If only they implemented socialism the right way
Don’t worry it’ll work for us. They just didn’t do it right.
“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—for ever.”
In Latin America, all politics is populist. In a country of fully-domesticated citizens, when the government runs out of money for subsidies and other free stuff, the sheeple get mean and resentful and the government is changed. It’s all very democratic, but sometimes the complication of an election is … postponed.
Argentina has been riding the pendulum since the mid-40’s and the rise of the peronistas. Never a lesson learned. In Latin America, hope springs eternal for ousted leftist dictators and their cronies.
They should learn to code.
They’ll be at our Rio Grande border before you know it.