From today's NY Times

[Philsword]

With all my respect, it is useless to talk about the lack of sustainability of this model when the other models are sinking and this model has been used succesfully by the US to rise after the depresion and by Argentina to rise after 2001 crisis.

I think that the Argentinian example evidences that the mesures that politician are taking in the US will produce more crisis.

Regards

That's the mistake you are making looking at sustainability from only a few years of performance. You really have to look at these things over a longer period. You can't really call the Kirchner economic policies a success or failure until they have had their full run. However, I think the vast majority of economists around the world would conclude that the current Kirchner model is not sustainable in the long term which is what counts. I believe the only reason it has lasted this long is very favorable economic conditions i.e. high commodity prices and trade with Brazil. Perhaps the government will soon miraculously bring inflation and run away government spending under control. But unless the policies of the current government are radically revised this happy result would seem unlikely. Given this I believe its only a matter of time before the current governments economic model collapses.

 

[Lucas]

I don't know for sure if the original post is the same or not, can't access the NYT web page, anyway here is a source to reflect on this...

The New York Times advises Obama to draw inspiration from Argentina

United States, September 2, 2011
________________________________________________________

The New York Times published an editorial which highlights the achievements of Argentina after the 2001 crisis and calls U.S. president Barack Obama and Congress to draw on the South American country.

The newspaper said that while Argentina does not seem to be one of the countries in offer lessons on managing the economic woes of its many dictatorships and market experiments, acknowledges that following the 2001 crisis, the country has gotten an economic U-turn, “an achievement largely unnoticed outside Latin America, but one that President Obama and Congress should look to for inspiration”.

And it adds: “Argentina is not without problems, but its recent economic record speaks for itself: the economy has grown by over 6 percent a year for seven of the last eight years, unemployment has been cut to under 8 percent today from over 20 percent in 2002, and the poverty level has fallen by almost half over the last decade. The streets of Buenos Aires are choked with cars as Argentines are on track to buy some 800,000 new vehicles this year; the wine mecca of Mendoza is full of high-end tasting rooms, hotels and restaurants offering regional haute cuisine; and plasma TVs and BlackBerrys have become household staples among the urban middle class”.

And it continues: “Argentina has regained its prosperity partly out of dumb luck: a commodity price boom has vastly benefitted this soy, corn and wheat producer. But it has also prospered thanks to smart economic measures. The government intervened to keep the value of its currency low, which boosts local industry by making Argentina’s exports cheaper abroad while keeping foreign imports expensive”.

Source

Some 'experts' of Argentina economic woes in this forum will not be very happy with this note, I'm so sorry but I can't help myself...

 

[steveinbsas]

The streets of Buenos Aires are choked with cars as Argentines are on track to buy some 800,000 new vehicles this year; the wine mecca of Mendoza is full of high-end tasting rooms, hotels and restaurants offering regional haute cuisine; and plasma TVs and BlackBerrys have become household staples among the urban middle class”.

At least now we know where the world dumped its excess supply of (crap) plasma TVs.

Which, of course, are all the better to watch North American (crap) TV.

 

[HenryNisental]

First: we DO NOT HAVE ANY CREDIBLE STATISTICS in this country.
The first thing the royal couple did as soon as they took power was to decapitate the THEN autonomous INDEC.
Then they created a new welfare program, so anybody collecting 220 pesos a month is removed from the rolls of the idling.
This is a govermente of lies, images, mirrors and the like.
Respect to the recuperation of the economy. they make it look as if they were the only two people working in this country in the last 8 years. We all stayed at home doing nothing and THEY ALONE lifted the whole country out of the depression. BS!!!.
All recessions ultimatily wear out and production restarts at the previous levels, as it was brilliantly discovered by the Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises in 1930.
And wait for next year,we will see that the party is over and we will have to foot the pending bills!!!

 

[steveinbsas]

All recessions ultimatily wear out and production restarts at the previous levels, as it was brilliantly discovered by the Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises in 1930.

For additional reading: Planned Chaos by Ludwig von Mises.

 

[Lucas]

As always since creation the detractors argument is, if they don't win at least fake a draw...

Sure Henry, it's because of that famous tail wind effect...

 

[steveinbsas]

As always since creation the detractors argument is, if they don't win at least fake a draw...

Sure Henry, it's because of the tail wind effect...

The Cheshire cats smiles and some posts just get curiouser and curiouser.

 

[Lucas]

 

[chris]

What has the government done to assure the long term growth of the economy and the elimination of poverty? From what I see they have just doled out money in subsidies without job training programs, without seriously improved education to help people deal with a changing world. The Kirchners made a big deal out of reviving the railways. Where are the public works projects? Where is the revitalized rail network? I wanted to travel to Pinamar by train -- the train has been suspended due to very poor operating conditions. Why is it that despite the growth of the tourist industry, few people speak English? Why isn't the government addressing this? How is it possible that the President of a major Latin American nation can not even speak the English language? Rather than create a whole class of people dependent on the government, why doesn't the government do something to deal with the root problems of poverty - lack of education, in particular? Secondly job creation through government programs such as the one I mention: development of the railways. That is just one example. There are a lot of projects that could be done.

 

[Lucas]

Well, you see, Argentines are waiting to be liberated and recolonized as some lucky countries in the middle east so they can have an English speaking president as well (ahem, governor I mean) once that is accomplished then it will be a good, dependable and trusted country, not the way it's now, if they want to succeed as a nation in the future, a English speaking head of state is essential as a hole in the head in this planet with its new world order plan.

On the railway front, there was a slight problem as well with anterior governments they decided that railways maintenance and expansion of the infrastructure wasn't a good idea or a good business either so they scrapped the majority of it, they were conned in thinking by some foreign powers that the argentines can live and progress from dealing from a financial homeland instead of producing and exporting something tangible as the Chinese do. The Icelanders did something similar not long ago and when that didn't work out as it happen in Iceland, the country with all the Argentines inside and the kitchen sink went kaput belly up, so Argentina is bit short nowadays on that particular item, among other things certainly.