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the rate of increase of inflation is slowing. all the previous inflation is still there, in the form of higher prices. salaries are not going up to match. So it means things are still bad, still getting worse, just doing it at a slightly slower pace. Hurray!

export taxes are a pretty sad revenue stream to depend on. But the rich people in Argentina have successfully resisted tax reform for decades, and they pull milei's strings today, too. Argentina makes most of its revenue from IVA tax which is highly regressive, and from export taxes on major ag...

Austerity was a failure in Greece. It caused a bigger depression, and took longer for the economy to bounce back, as opposed to other european countries which instead, came back quicker. In general, austerity, as an economic solution, has failed to work. Its a classic case of ideology insisting...

In the last 17 years, I have seen prices relative to dollars go up, and go down. I have not seen a "crash", nor have I seen prices in pesos go down. I cant imagine we will see peso prices fall. Instead, we can only hope incomes will go up, which is what has happened in the past.

I have been a fan of the "electronic tango" style of music for over 15 years now. This is a style that was originated in the late 90s, early 2000s, and its basically tango music with a very light frosting of modern instrumentation. I have traditional friends who swear its heresy, but most of...

all sandwiches are that much now. 3 migas are over 5000 at the cheap places now. But some things havent gone up anywhere near as much. In February, some kioscos were selling monster energy drinks for 3000 and a can of coke for 2000. Today, monster is 3000, sometimes 2500, and a can of coke is...

The thing is, nothing milei has done has had any effect on the practical reality of Argentina prices for imported goods being basically double the dollar cost outside of Argentina. There is no reason to expect this to change. So anything imported will track the exchange rate, not “ inflation”...

since everything is priced in pesos, if the peso becomes less valuable against the dollar (the traditional meaning of a collapse) then most things will be MORE expensive for Argentines, particularly anything imported. Unless this is somehow accompanied by huge pay increases, I cannot see how...

In December I did go see Clan Caiman and Axel Krieger play live at Artlab Pro, which is on Rosetti, near Dorrego. It was great. I have written a lot about both, so you can see what I think in past posts. Axel is going to be playing a series of shows in February at Congo Club in Palermo. The...

Obviously nobody declares it, so no firm numbers exist, general consensus is after $ 32 billion ( not all in cash) was taken in by milei from his tax holiday, there remains a bit over $200 Billion in big head hundred dollar bills hidden away in Argentina. He doesnt really have a current plan...

especially if he is cutting his "fixes" in half after one year. by my calculations, that means it will take him twice as long to "resolve" things.

So this says Milei’s theories of economics have not worked, so he has to restrict the dollar / peso relationship even more? Only allow 1% moves rather than 2% ? Both of which are much closer to zero than the 100% free trade he promised. And for this he is lauded as “succeeding”?

obviously we can differ about whether "hating socialists" is a credential. vamos a ver. He seems to have gotten very wealthy by running health insurance companies, which means government payments for medicaid and medicare, and then donating to Trump. Given that most of the Ambassadors job is...

I actually met him and talked to him. He was a nice guy, and actually tried to learn about Argentina and do a good job. My guess is that he had personal interactions with Cristina that were amiable. As mentioned, there are other people negotiating tax disclosures and money laundering protocols...

If you want quality beef go to really good carnicerias, and expect to pay. Piaf, Converso, and Corte have never let me down, and I am sure there are others at that level. The places that have really fancy “ grass fed “ like Don Julio have captive ranches raising their beef, but even then, breed...

This is vague and incomplete. So far the government has not changed the requirement that correo charge duty and hold packages. This only refers to a cut, but not elimination of the tax on paying an expeditor to import something for you, which is running an average of 150% of the foreign purchase...

Last time I was in Uruguay, 2 or 3 years ago, my tiny rental car got passed by not one but two Lamborghinis with Argentine plates. One was purple. I am pretty sure they didnt buy those in Argentina. But the only Argentines who can do things like buy Lamborghinis abroad are the rich ones...

I agree with you there. And I do think that the tax system overwhelmingly favors the wealthy owners, who pay very little, as opposed to employees. I dont think the problem is that companies refuse to sell at a loss- I think the issue is the overvalued peso, the impediments to importing and...

He lives in Hawaii. I read a lot of his stuff in the 70s, it wasnt really about being an expat, it was just novels with scenic backdrops.

You think that if you make Addidas, under license, you can just lower Addidas prices on your own? I kinda think the contract with Addidas would be strict on pricing. Addidas does not want authorized made in Argentina shoes showing up in Brazil at below list price. My guess is their contracts...