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Rory Hester's avatar

So.... I’m currently working in Argentina. In fact I’m in a taxi in terrible traffic on my way to immigration to get my work Visa. Been here for 5-days, but work here pretty regularly. I have lots of Argentinian friends and coworkers. So here are some observations and anecdotes.

The blue dollar rate is about 700 right now. Double the official rate of 350. And things are already fairly inexpensive.

The blue dollar has become so prevalent that businesses are will post prices in dollars and accept them openly. Before it was more hidden.

My project manager who is a good friend and most of the engineers support the new libertarian dude because as guys with good jobs they are the ones footing the taxes for the unemployed.

When I say good jobs... that’s relative. They make way less that I do in the US even though they are my bosses.

The justification for voting for Milei even though anyone knows he is crazy (his nick name) is that the smart politicians have fucked things up so badly, so better new mistakes than old mistakes.

The steak here is overrated.

People seem a tiny bit more stressed, less happy than I’ve seen in past.

LNG powered taxis are very popular here. They all have compressed gas tanks in trunks and have vehicles modified.

The cooler weather in BA is welcome compared to the heat in the US.

There is a housing shortage for rentals right now. The Government passed a law saying that landlords can only raise rent once a year. Given the 150% anticipated inflation rate, many landlords are reluctant to rent, or have to ask for higher prices to anticipate the future rates... people instead do a lot of short term contracts.

So many Russians have applied for asylum here due to the war and fear of being drafted.

Argentinians either buy dollars and store them in safes or spend their money asap. Putting pesos in a bank is like throwing money away.

The largest bill is 1000, which is basically a dollar fifty. It make’s carrying money hard. If wads if cash.

Houses are sold in cash only. Literally. People bring bags of cash.

Great Pizza.

I love Argentina and it’s heartbreaking to see such a great country suffer from compounded mistakes.

There is no way to get out of current situation without a lot of pain. So government’s keep kicking can down road.

Sorry for any grammatical mistakes. I’m on phone.

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John from FL's avatar

Remember the personal success formula that went around a few years ago -- get at least a high school education, work full time, and marry before having children? Generated a lot of discussion.

There is a similar formula for countries: Property rights, the rule of law and a market economy. Those three are foundational. You can put all sorts of tax-and-redistribute policies on top of this foundation, but without those three, there isn't enough productivity and growth to redistribute much. And if redistribution goes so far as to weaken property rights, the foundation starts to crumble.

I'm not an expert (heck, barely a novice !) on Argentina. But I suspect the underlying issue is the foundational items aren't present. And those are cultural more than something the IMF can impose. I wish I could be optimistic.

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