jb5 said:
Why does such a large portion of the population work en negro? Is this the preference of the employer or employee?
Percentage is diminishing, was 50% a few years ago, now it turns around 35%.
Of course there's a kind of vicious circle (higher the taxes, higher the fraud, less money coming in, etc.).
It's difficult to point out a specific reason, there are many :
A- The famous "
viveza criolla"
- Historical culture of Argentina since the 18th century & before : before the Virreinato de la Plata was created, Buenos Aires had to survive economically, hence the underground economy that developped with nearby Portuguese colonies like Colonia del Sacramento for instance. Maybe is this one of the roots for the
viveza criolla.
- The important Italian immigration and subsequent imports of certain aspect of the peninsula "folklore" (
Combinazione, etc.).
B- The cyclical crisis :
Let's not forget that right after the ultimate crisis started (late 2001/early 2002), the whole monetary system went down here.
It was all about the
Truco (exchanges : I'm a mechanic and I need a mason, you're a mason and your step-brother needs a mechanic, your step-brother runs a butcher shop and I'm marrying my daughter in a few months, etc...). Bad habits are hard to get rid of !
C- Level of taxes :
Good and bad argument at the same time. "Social taxes" here are likely much more than in the US but much less than in many EU countries (18 years ago I started a messenger's company in Paris : always had like 7 employees = thanks for the difficult nights at the end of the month when clients don't pay).
In fact, if there was a real political willingness to fight corruption, that would be a huge benefit for all (better acceptance from those who already pay to do so, "firm" incitation for others to start paying = then we could talk about disminishing the taxes).
Level of taxes is also a bad argument in my view because if bosses somehow have the choice to pay
en blanco or
en negro, low class employees don't, they'll take whatever job they can find just to eat (and to feed their kids). One of the persons I appreciate the most here is a 22 years old girl from a villa (sincere appreciation, "nothing hidden behind the bushes"). Smart but uneducated, fully trustable (when I leave for Uruguay I leave her in my house). I had the chance (no "bad" curiosity at all) to spend a New Year's Eve with her & her family in her villa, it was warming & nice. Right now she needs to feed her 3 1/2 years old daughter, buy her some decent clothes, she even thinks about sending her to a private school = result is that she accepted working from 5am to do
limpieza for 8 pesos an hour,
en negro of course. Does she have a choice ?!
If one talks about
trabajo en negro, one needs to take a look at the
ghosts (people you see in the street but that you will rarely meet for real).
Level of poverty in Argentina is of course very high, therefore the main point here is how to combine economical development &
redistribucion de la riqueza.
Impossible bet ? I don't think so. Look at what did Lula (he ended up his mandate with +80% of approval... Not bad for an ex-
obrero).
