Argentina's purchasing power plunges to its lowest since the 2001 crisis

[antipodean]

Argentina Average Monthly Wage for registered employees in the private sector

Wages in Argentina increased to 890683.54 ARS/Month in March from 805705.19 ARS/Month in February of 2024. This page provides - Argentina Wage Index - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

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In December 2023 the average wage was ARS 573.000 per month.
The official dollar was 788,25 and the dollar MEP was 995.
This made the average wage in December 2023 USD 725 (official) and USD 575 (MEP).
That means it has increased, in dollars, by more than 114% between December 2023 and December 2024.

Has anyone's salary here risen this much in dollars? I'm certain except for maybe CEOs it generally hasn't.

My own net salary in pesos has increased by more than 240% (which in fairness represents only part of what I pay myself as I need it for operational purposes, but is nonetheless aligned with a mid-level role salary of my employees which are regulated by unions) was around US$500 in December of last year and is now more than three times that amount in dollars. So yes, my salary and those of my employees for one has risen by more than any items on the list.

 

[antipodean]

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Is it any surprise that countries with higher wages also generally have higher prices?
Swissness aside, the large part of the CHF8 I pay for a coffee in Zurich has to do with the wages of the person pushing the button and passing me the cup and very little to do with the bean. And that barista no doubt grumbles about their own perceived lack of purchasing power needing to spend around CHF 4000 a month just to get by with the basics in Zurich, even though they are earning more than a doctor in most parts of the world. The same goes for Argentina, combined with its "Argentiness" (high tax burden, speculation, lack of competition, corruption, currency distortions etc) only the overall cost of living is nowhere near to that of Zurich, even if the price of a cup of coffee in some Buenos Aires cafés may be coming alarmingly close to it!

But it seems some expats simply wish for the "good old days" where the Argentines who prepare their food were damned to earn a pittance in pesos so that the dollarized gentry could eat out at Kansas three times a week for little more than the price of a McDonalds meal "back home".
Or perhaps it is just a blatant double standard caused by idealogical hatred .... if under president X wages (and thus prices) grow = good, it's all about the wages; but if under president Milei wages (and thus prices) grow = bad, it's all about the prices... as if the two things don't have any relation to each other?

 

[LuckyLuke]

Is it any surprise that countries with higher wages also generally have higher prices?
Swissness aside, the large part of the CHF8 I pay for a coffee in Zurich has to do with the wages of the person pushing the button and passing me the cup and very little to do with the bean. And that barista no doubt grumbles about their own perceived lack of purchasing power needing to spend around CHF 4000 a month just to get by with the basics in Zurich, even though they are earning more than a doctor in most parts of the world. The same goes for Argentina, combined with its "Argentiness" (high tax burden, speculation, lack of competition, corruption, currency distortions etc) only the overall cost of living is nowhere near to that of Zurich, even if the price of a cup of coffee in some Buenos Aires cafés may be coming alarmingly close to it!

But it seems some expats simply wish for the "good old days" where the Argentines who prepare their food were damned to earn a pittance in pesos so that the dollarized gentry could eat out at Kansas three times a week for little more than the price of a McDonalds meal "back home".
Or perhaps it is just a blatant double standard caused by idealogical hatred .... if under president X wages (and thus prices) grow = good, it's all about the wages; but if under president Milei wages (and thus prices) grow = bad, it's all about the prices... as if the two things don't have any relation to each other?

I concur, wages in abstract don't mean anything. Costs in relation to wages, produce an affordability quotient. Incumbent government policies will favor different labor sectors more than others and these distortions will shift some of the slices of that affordability pie. Regardless, expats who took advantage of Argentines hedging against a falling peso are now caught with their pants down because they haven't hedged against a falling dollar.