Do you fear a crash similar to 2001?

[lamarque]

Agreed. Indeed it is, but it has to be done. Just as with household finances, it cannot be avoided.

Funny, a former minister of Argentina said Trump is a peronista. Says everything, doesn´t it?



You fit in perfectly in the description of delusional individuals I mentioned. You are part of the problem in Argentina. Like so many, you´re anything but a pragmatist. An ideologue, really. Based on the countless ridiculous posts of yours I´ve had the misfortune of reading and cringing over over the years (just decided to sign up today) none of what you said can or should be taken seriously by anyone save for other paranoid countrymen like you. Nevermind how hard it is on the eyes to read so many posts ridden with abysmal English after all those years. You´d be better off leaving your conspiracy theories aside and bettering your English skills, even if a little. My native language is Spanish, before you make wrong assumptions. I´m open to have a discussion with anyone on anything. In fact, I´ve learned a lot from this forum, which is partly why I decided to start contributing. However, when common sense is out of the equation so am I, and you have undeniably shown you´ve a higher deficit in that than the one inherited from the corrupt politicians you love to defend in spite of the numerous evidence many members have shoved in your face on this forum. I´m extremely critical of this government, but you´re a carbon copy of the very Argentina this country needs to overcome. This is my first and only post to you because I didn´t come here to waste my time.

I couldn't agree more.

 

[sergio]

Pizza dream: congratulations on your excellent analysis. I think politicians understand the deficit issue very well; it's just not in their best interest to admit it! Politicians love power; they have to get elected to gain it. The problem is, what Trojan Horse can they build that will get them elected? Promise bounty, not hardship is the usual answer because it works. In the USA, Trump promised tax cuts; he delivered. How did he pay for it? By borrowing, not by cutting spending!!!! He took lessons from Argentina's politicians.

In my household, I manage the finances, my wife the household. Years ago we got into a period of deficit spending, so I sat with my wife at the kitchen table and told her she had to cut spending. No, she replied. You just have to make more money. End of civil conversation.

A week later, we sat again at the kitchen table, and I mentioned that she was spending a lot on clothing. Her reply? "But I thought you always wanted me looking good!". Silence from my side. Later I mentioned that our grocery bill was big; she asked that I eat less! Finally, I got my message thru. No spending, No, No, and No. She got it. I won, or so I thought. A few days later, I approached her and suggested we have sex. Her answer? No, no and no. I got it too!

Cutting is very tough. Having been in a bind myself more than once, I realized the answer is not necessarily trying to make more. Often it's out of your hands. The key is always to cut spending but that is sooo hard to do. I know from personal experience.

What should government cut? And how much?

 

[rickulivi]

There is usually no one large expense that you can cut and it balances your budget. It’s usually a bit everywhere and it hurts everyone and so all oppose cuts. It’s easier to keep spending, printing money and having inflation. Then the poor get poorer and no one really cares except the politicians who claim to help and only end up helping themselves. For comparison purposes, in the USA we are running $600 billion annual deficits and no one cares. And we just passed a massive tax cut that’s being paid for with more debt. The world is crazy except just the Germans who save and the Chinese that are getting very rich thanks to the foolishness of USA trade practices.

 

[sergio]

So what % of the budget needs to be cut? And what do we do with all the unemplpyed people who will be the victims?

 

[pizzadreams]

It´s sort of a catch 22. To give you guys some perspective regarding just how critical the situation is, take a look at these numbers:

30% of the population is poor
20 million are tied to some type of government social program/assistance

35% are public employees. A significant amount of them leeching off the system and barely doing something productive if anything. Up north in some provinces, that number reaches almost 70%. You read that right.
40% work under the table

Finally, 12m are actually in a registered job (trabajo "en blanco") so roughly 30% of the population. What does this mean? That whoever is in this situation cannot keep up anymore with the unjust tax structure. In order for things to change, there has to be no less than a complete overhaul of the system: extremely archaic labor laws which make it near impossible to fire someone, forcing many to resort to low paid, under the table jobs; dismantling of deeply corrupt labor unions, replacing them with democratic and transparent ones; upend the justice system which is completely broken and inefficient; and last, but not least, KEEPING PUBLIC FINANCES IN CHECK. Of course, none of this will happen.

Argentina is way more chaotic than many of you think. If only we knew the whole picture...

 

[pizzadreams]

Fiscal deficit since 1961

A true chronic disease and one that materializes every time you see argentines on holiday spending as if they come from Switzerland. What does this show? That what happens at the government level is nothing but a reflection of argentines on a personal level

 

[pizzadreams]

That chart shows Argentina has had a fiscal deficit every year since 1961, except in the 2003-2008 period when demand for commodities (soy) was at an all time high and hence so were revenues

 

[toongeorges]

Germany once had hyperinflation. They got rid of it by a government who became financial conservative and is now booking budget surpluses. In Germany, the trauma of inlation led to financial responsibility, why is this not possible in Argentina? Maybe Germans are more honest or integer to do what needs to be done?

 

[toongeorges]

A few days later, I approached her and suggested we have sex. Her answer? No, no and no. I got it too!

You could sit at the kitchen table and explain her how much sex the money she is wasting could buy.

 

[toongeorges]

Fiscal deficit since 1961

A true chronic disease and one that materializes every time you see argentines on holiday spending as if they come from Switzerland. What does this show? That what happens at the government level is nothing but a reflection of argentines on a personal level

I would call the spending of Argentinians smart behaviour instead of a chronic disease in the context of high inflation. Why would people hold on to their pesos if they are worth more today than tomorrow?