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[QUOTE=Canardly;433363]Actually shows me just how incompetent and naive are the people who run Argentina.
Any US politician could handle such a question easily, obfuscate effectively and look the camera straight in the eye.[/QUOTE]How about Bernanke being cornered by Ron Paul on inflation? I think they are a couple of videos on You Tube about that.
Always something to learn Sir!
Argentine Economy, I give it 6 months or less.
[URL]http://wallstcheatsheet.com/stocks/heres-why-argentina-must-be-dollarized-now.html/?ref=YF[/URL]
Exon.
A snippet from an interesting article about the Argentine economy, politics, and culture:
Argentina is really two different countries. First, there is Buenos Aires, which is a big city and contains by far the largest percentage of the country's population. In BA there is a bit of crime, and in certain parts of the city you are going to have more crime, but generally speaking, you would be surprised to know that you were in the beating heart of a crisis. Restaurants are full; the stores are open and full of very nice stuff. Second, there are the provinces, which are mostly rural and agriculturally oriented. Here the central government's authority is weak, and the people are relaxed. The quality of life is tremendous. This is not just the case for Americans, or people who are non-peso based; it's pretty much for everyone. Food in a place like Cafayate, where we live, is so cheap it's almost free. You can walk out of a store with a huge bag of fresh produce and it's going to set you back only a few bucks. A kilo of fine tenderloin will cost you maybe five dollars. Back here in the US a couple of days ago I paid $22 for less than a pound of steak. Then there's the cost of labor. In Argentina, we have an extremely competent maid who comes in for five hours a day, five days a week and does all the cleaning and laundry – drudge work that people in the Western world have learned to view as an unavoidable part of life – and the cost is all of about $40 a week.
So, despite the overarching reality that the government is dysfunctional and that this is currently being evidenced in the inflation, the quality of life in Argentina for anyone with a few bucks is very, very high.
The full article is at:
[URL]http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1370453660.php[/URL]
[QUOTE=Yujin;434023]A snippet from an interesting article about the Argentine economy, politics, and culture:
Argentina is really two different countries. First, there is Buenos Aires, which is a big city and contains by far the largest percentage of the country's population. In BA there is a bit of crime, and in certain parts of the city you are going to have more crime, but generally speaking, you would be surprised to know that you were in the beating heart of a crisis. Restaurants are full; the stores are open and full of very nice stuff. Second, there are the provinces, which are mostly rural and agriculturally oriented. Here the central government's authority is weak, and the people are relaxed. The quality of life is tremendous. This is not just the case for Americans, or people who are non-peso based; it's pretty much for everyone. Food in a place like Cafayate, where we live, is so cheap it's almost free. You can walk out of a store with a huge bag of fresh produce and it's going to set you back only a few bucks. A kilo of fine tenderloin will cost you maybe five dollars. Back here in the US a couple of days ago I paid $22 for less than a pound of steak. Then there's the cost of labor. In Argentina, we have an extremely competent maid who comes in for five hours a day, five days a week and does all the cleaning and laundry – drudge work that people in the Western world have learned to view as an unavoidable part of life – and the cost is all of about $40 a week.
So, despite the overarching reality that the government is dysfunctional and that this is currently being evidenced in the inflation, the quality of life in Argentina for anyone with a few bucks is very, very high.
The full article is at:
[URL]http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1370453660.php[/URL][/QUOTE]You seem to be in a time warp. Prices seem to be cheaper in the states for far superior products then here in Argentina! If you live on the west coast you get produce from Chile in the winter, just like we do here. Why does it cost twice as much here compared to California and Nevada? Why do the people in the states receive nice fresh produce and here its old and ready to throw away? I'm glad you found a competent maid. Most labor here is incompetent! That and it is no longer cheap! Five years ago you could pay a brick layer 75 pesos a day, now they want over 300! Then they build a wall that looks like a snake! A house in a nice area here is valued at twice what it would cost in the US (excluding areas like downtown Boston, new York, etc). And at least the house in the US would not blow away in a small storm! Argentina is a nice country, it has a lot of potential. But the government and most of its inhabitants need to pull their heads out of their a $$es and get a grip on the real world and not in this fantasy world where they believe that Argentina is among the best of the best!
100% in agreement with absolutely EVERYTHING that Gandolf says!
Apparently Argentina is 3 different countries. BA, the provinces and the fairytale land where the guy in that article lives!
Having said that, I read the whole article and the guy is pretty much spot on with the rest of his assessments:
[quote]A good way to think about Argentina is that it is an immigrant society, very much like the US, except that the dominating culture emerging from the melting pot was Italian. This is why Argentines tend to be famous for their dark good looks, vibrant culture, and excellent food. Unfortunately, they also inherited "Italian style" politics. I think that's a useful context for understanding the consistent dysfunctioning of the Argentine government.
This at least partially explains Argentina's long love affair with the Peróns. The country had one of the most successful economies in the world until Juan Peróand came into power and destroyed it. And, with some rare bright spots, it's gone through long periods of financial crisis ever since. Despite that, the Perónistas are still very much in charge.
If you look at the history of financial crises in Argentina, you will see there is almost no 10-year period when there isn't a financial crisis. As a result, the population has become extremely resilient in the face of financial crises. When you mention the faltering state of the economy, every Argentine you talk to will shrug and make a comment along the lines of, "No problem; this is Argentina, we're used to it." In other words, they have become fatalistic about such things.
But that doesn't mean they are complacent, because thanks to their long experiences with financial crises Argentines have become masters at dealing with things like inflation and ridiculous government policies. For the most part, the government is highly ineffective, and so the Argentines just ignore it. Reasonably intelligent people always figure out ways to work around whatever the latest decree the government comes up with, then they tell their family members and friends. The word spreads so that in no time at all, the populace at large has figured out how to deal with the government's latest misstep, as often as not turning it to their personal advantage. As a consequence, there is a very robust underground economy; if people can do business off the books, they do. Argentines pride themselves on their ability to outsmart the government."
"The current Argentine government is dominated by true believers – young people who have that idealistic notion of equality for all, and who believe that government mandates can fix anything that ails. They are hardcore socialists, leaning towards communism. But, as is the case in the United States, they really don't know what they are doing and so pursue policies that are incredibly shortsighted. They are uninformed as far as history and economics are concerned and blunder from one harebrained policy to another. There is literally nothing that they will not try.
It is like a textbook case in government gone mad.
They have stolen the retirement accounts, devalued the currency, and put capital controls in place. There are trade controls so that people can't import necessities into the country, but instead, have to manufacture them locally, with the government giving monopolies to their friends. They have price controls, which force the local supermarkets to not raise their prices. This will ultimately lead to shortages. And there are already shortages of certain items. They didn't like an opposition newspaper, so they nationalized the newsprint manufacturing industry. In fact, just about every single thing that you could do to screw up a country, they have done. It is comical to see the extremes they have gone to. For example, in Argentina, if you publish an inflation statistic that differs from of the official government numbers, you could be hit with a $100,000 fine. I had never heard of this anywhere else – except maybe in communist Russia. They are really completely out of control and the country is spinning off into la-la-land.[/quote]
DaveW & Gandolf50, the article was written by a member of Casey Research. They own property in Argentina and pimp Argentina to their readers. I wouldn't take their word on Argentina or any other investment. Overseas investment, overseas living and regular travel writers all seem to follow the same methodology. They write fantasy to sell the dream. Facts would be detrimental to their bottom line.
[QUOTE=Dccpa;434077]They write fantasy to sell the dream. Facts would be detrimental to their bottom line.[/QUOTE]They fit right in here then! Thats sort of what Cristina and Moreno do all day every day!
Lotsa news:
[URL]http://www.buenosairesherald.com/article/145585/big-economic-changes-on-the-way[/URL]
From a November 2012 to November 2013 perspective, streets are cleaner. Restaurants are full on weekday nights. Daddy Rulz has introduced me to two restaurants that have opened in the past year. Big construction projects in Downtown with streets shutdown.
Can someone here explain these sentences from the article Doggboy's link pointed to?
Economists agree that through circumstances, tourism is one of the major causes of the drop in reserves, a problem that. Could be solved by implementing a tourism dollar rate. The existence of a black market entices tourists to change their dollars. At higher rates, with most of that money not entering Argentina's economy.
The sentences seems to be about me, because certainly I use the black market for the higher exchange rate. But then there is that remark saying that those pesos I receive do not enter the Argentine economy. I don't get that. Every peso I receive I spend in Argentina. They sure aren't any good anyplace else. I leave many dollars here. Why is it my fault that there's a drop in Argentina's reserves?
Bob.
[QUOTE=AllIWantIsLove;436661]Can someone here explain these sentences from the article Doggboy's link pointed to?
Economists agree that through circumstances, tourism is one of the major causes of the drop in reserves, a problem that. Could be solved by implementing a tourism dollar rate. The existence of a black market entices tourists to change their dollars. At higher rates, with most of that money not entering Argentina's economy.
The sentences seems to be about me, because certainly I use the black market for the higher exchange rate. But then there is that remark saying that those pesos I receive do not enter the Argentine economy. I don't get that. Every peso I receive I spend in Argentina. They sure aren't any good anyplace else. I leave many dollars here. Why is it my fault that there's a drop in Argentina's reserves?
Bob.[/QUOTE]That it wasn't entering through the government reserves. It's obviously entering the economy but because 2 out of three people aren't [B]Stupid[/B] enough to buy their pesos at the official rate then the Argentine Government is missing 66% of their opportunity to steal 40% of the value off the top of the tourist dollars.
[QUOTE=AllIWantIsLove;436661] Could be solved by implementing a tourism dollar rate.
[/QUOTE]A tourism rate might work in a predominantly honest country. Argentina, on the other hand, has so much corruption and dishonesty that all a tourist rate would do is give another avenue of corruption, dishonesty, and thievery.
Tres3.