Elena @ Four Seasons

[wineguy999]

Here you go chief, one of many: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/09/economy/cpi-revisions-inflation

The salient part being: “We have to make decisions in real time,” Fed Governor Christopher Waller said late last year. “Whatever data is released, that’s the data I have to use. The problem with data is it gets revised.”

Facts getting in the way of TDS is not my concern.

​

Chief, my backside. If you don't want to address what I asked for, just say so.

 

[FrankPintor]

Here you go chief, one of many: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/09/economy/cpi-revisions-inflation

The salient part being: “We have to make decisions in real time,” Fed Governor Christopher Waller said late last year. “Whatever data is released, that’s the data I have to use. The problem with data is it gets revised.”

Facts getting in the way of TDS is not my concern.

​

You're not planning to stay here long, then? Only asking, since you obviously didn't leave your baggage behind.

 

[sergio]

Is NYC a fair comparison with respect to CABA in terms of cost? Coming from London I’d always expect NYC to be ludicrously expensive but how does it stack up in terms of pricing relative to salary? That’s the correct metric most of the time

NYC, like London, is very expensive because of its enormous prestige financially and culturally. As agreeable as BA can be, it is not a major financial or cultural center compared to New York or London. BA is not an international city in any true sense - and this may be part of its charm (I preferred it in the years before expats discovered it). Because of this, it's unrealistic to compare prices in New York with Buenos Aires. New York is far more expensive than BA for rents (even outside Manhattan) but prices for many other items are not all that far from those of BA. Furnishing a home with decent furniture, buying a car, home appliances, electronics etc are all cheaper in New York. Most New Yorkers do not dine out every evening, nor do Porteños. Cost of restaurant food should not be the only way of measuring COL. The very fact that supermarket prices in New York are either cheaper or not that much more expensive than BA prices is significant. Argentine wages are pathetic compared to what people earn in New York City. It simply makes no sense that Argentine produced food costs so much. Aside from Steve I wonder how many expats have a true idea of how most Argentines live.

 

[sergio]

Donald Trump has been in office 206 days.

Joe Biden was the putative president for the four years preceding Trump.

Inflation is caused by excessive dollar issuance.

If the recent 2.7% CPI annualized inflation numbers are fake (probably) as you claim, they were produced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics whose commissioner, Ms. Erika McEntarfer, was hired by President Joe Biden in July 2023. President Trump recently fired Ms. McEntarfer for producing false data and he replaced her with Mr. E.J. Antoni; who is brilliant and who will report the true statistics which impact retirees on Social Security.

Thanks in large part to Erika McEntarfer's (again, hired by Joe Biden) specious inflation data, the likely 2026 Social Security COLA will be a measly 2.6% and for which you should thank Joe Biden; not Donald Trump. It's not complicated.

I don't think the impact of tariffs has been felt yet in the US. As capricious as the US President can be, he can't be blamed for the consequences of years of money printing and overspending. Maybe in a year's time this accusation can be made against him if inflation gets worse. What I can't figure out is why people who blame the US President for what they say is a bad US economy never seem to say anything about T's counterpart in Argentina. Why does he get off the hook?

 

[RichardAlem]

You're not planning to stay here long, then? Only asking, since you obviously didn't leave your baggage behind.

Well since you asked, when I first came to Argentina, Raúl Alfonsín was the president.

 

[RichardAlem]

Please post certificate for your claim of "specious" inflation data. Let us all in your source.

You asked. Here you go: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/09/economy/cpi-revisions-inflation

 

[Ries]

So, still crickets on anything Milei has done to make anything better.

 

[antipodean]

So, still crickets on anything Milei has done to make anything better.

Better for who exactly?
I don't think discussing prices at a Four Season's hotel restaurant anywhere in the world is a measure of the average local lifestyle. Although in fairness the FS Buenos Aires represents very good value compared to their other properties elsewhere in the world - the likes of which I am currently seeing quite a few of my Argentine acquaintances enjoying in far flung corners of the globe flooding my IG feeds.

Mid-term elections in just over two months (26OCT) will be the moment of truth to see if for the average Argentine things are actually improving or not, after all hunger will usually drive change while satisfied bellies will usually seek to maintain the status-quo. Price comparisons with New York or London or the Four Seasons or Dominos are entirely irrelevant for local voters, while they are may be relevant for globalised expats who at the very least have the luxury of choosing (or having chose) where in the world they live and spend their money.

 

[Ries]

Better for who exactly?
I don't think discussing prices at a Four Season's hotel restaurant anywhere in the world is a measure of the average local lifestyle. Although in fairness the FS Buenos Aires represents very good value compared to their other properties elsewhere in the world - the likes of which I am currently seeing quite a few of my Argentine acquaintances enjoying in far flung corners of the globe flooding my IG feeds.

Mid-term elections in just over two months (26OCT) will be the moment of truth to see if for the average Argentine things are actually improving or not, after all hunger will usually drive change while satisfied bellies will usually seek to maintain the status-quo. Price comparisons with New York or London or the Four Seasons or Dominos are entirely irrelevant for local voters, while they are may be relevant for globalised expats who at the very least have the luxury of choosing (or having chose) where in the world they live and spend their money.

name something better for anybody.
in my daily life, pretty much all prices are up. expensas, utilities, food, colectivos, consumer goods, etc. At the Kiosko, or the Chino, or the cheapo parilla with the 10,000 peso chori w/papas.
I have never been to the 4 seasons.

I spend more money every month than I did pre-milei.
As does everybody I know.
And everyone I know who earns in pesos has seen their cost of living go way up without salaries going up to match.
I know lots of people who freelance, and are getting less work.
I know people who were fired or laid off.
I know people whos work load doubled due to other people being laid off.
I know schools, museums, cinemas, and other partially govt funded public services being closed or downsized.
I know govt offices taking longer, making more mistakes, and cutting services due to cuts.
I know stores closing, factories shutting down, and selections being cut.
I know rents going way up, and friends moving back with parents, adding more roommates, or moving to cheaper towns.

none of these things seem better to me.

About the only "improvements" I have heard is that its slightly easier to import certain things, although still with the 50% to 100% upcharge for taxes, tariffs, and handling.
And the 5% or so wealthiest argentines got to bring in foreign savings in dollars without being taxed as high as they used to be.

What is better?

 

[antipodean]

name something better for anybody.
in my daily life, pretty much all prices are up. expensas, utilities, food, colectivos, consumer goods, etc. At the Kiosko, or the Chino, or the cheapo parilla with the 10,000 peso chori w/papas.
I have never been to the 4 seasons.

I spend more money every month than I did pre-milei.
As does everybody I know.
And everyone I know who earns in pesos has seen their cost of living go way up without salaries going up to match.
I know lots of people who freelance, and are getting less work.
I know people who were fired or laid off.
I know people whos work load doubled due to other people being laid off.
I know schools, museums, cinemas, and other partially govt funded public services being closed or downsized.
I know govt offices taking longer, making more mistakes, and cutting services due to cuts.
I know stores closing, factories shutting down, and selections being cut.
I know rents going way up, and friends moving back with parents, adding more roommates, or moving to cheaper towns.

none of these things seem better to me.

About the only "improvements" I have heard is that its slightly easier to import certain things, although still with the 50% to 100% upcharge for taxes, tariffs, and handling.
And the 5% or so wealthiest argentines got to bring in foreign savings in dollars without being taxed as high as they used to be.

What is better?

The problem with "I know people..." argument is that there are far more people you don't know, especially for a part-time and presumably retired resident, however I understand how ones own circles and encounters do affect ones own perceptions.
The other issue is that these challenges exist in that vast majority developed economies as well (rents going up, lay-offs, public service cuts, workload increases, fluctuations in demand) who have both left and right leaning governments and to make them out as a new or Argentine or a purely Milei/ Trump phenomenon is simply disingenuous.

As a business owner and employer, inflation is way down, money is able to flow again, (relative) price stability has returned, (my) sales are constant, visibility is beyond just next week allowing for things to be more planned and less improvised, (my) workers are doing much better than in recent years (although admittedly this means my labour costs are much higher) and qualitative performance has also improved... I am as a result more content than in the previous 8+ years, although will gladly say more still needs to be done to be completely "happy" with the situation or convinced it will last. I am also acutely aware that things are never as good or as bad for everyone at the same time - the Argentine economy is not, and never will be, a synchronised dance act. We live in a very unequal region and a rapidly less equal world - these realities need to be confronted and not simply politicised as slogans/ click-bait/ fantasy alternatives if there is any chance of a better future for the most people possible.