Javier Milei's Economic Reforms Are Already Paying Off in Argentina

Murray Rothbard

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Since Javier Milei became president in December, monthly inflation has rapidly dropped from 25 percent to stabilize around 3.5 percent. A lot of the current price increases are driven by former state subsidies that have been removed or reduced.

January was the first month since 2008 that the Argentine state posted a surplus; no month since has yet shown a deficit. Milei's deregulations also seem to be showing some good effects. After rent control was lifted in January, rents dropped by 40 percent in real terms, and the supply of rental properties in Buenos Aires has increased by over 300 percent. The economy is growing more than expected, and a tax cut for big investments has led to several major investments in oil, gas, and mining being launched or planned.

Beyond its issues with currency controls and an overly large welfare system, Argentina is also one of the hardest countries in the world in which to run a business. When the World Bank last calculated all the taxes an average Argentine business would have to pay if they did everything by the book, the total came to 106 percent of profits."Thirty percent of the businesses in Argentina are completely informal," he says. "And it's not just small shops and Uber drivers. In Buenos Aires and other major cities, you can find entire shopping malls that don't formally exist and are only open at night."

[Full article at Reason.com]
 
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We haven't seen the reduction of 40 % in rental prices. At least not in my building with 170 units?
Just poppycock .
They provide zonaprop data that measures rent increases in ARS for the first 9 months of 2024 (51.5%) against inflation in ARS for the same period (124.7%): https://www.zonaprop.com.ar/noticias/zpindex/caba-alquiler/
I tend to agree that after last year's jump peso-based rents did not rise nearly as much as other categories (food, services, etc..).
 
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From the above quote from Zonaprop one could say rentals went up LESS than inflation..!
 
That's what "dropped by 40 percent in real terms" means.
If everyone received increases in their income at the rate of inflation, that would be true. Unfortunately, that is far from the case up to now.

That's not to say that I disagree with what Milei is doing. I think it is all very painful but absolutely necessary if this country has any chance at all of getting back on its feet. But if I or my wife or millions of others needed to rent right now, the cost would be significantly higher in real terms for us today than it would have been on December 10, because millions of salaries have not come close to keeping up with inflation.

I don't agree with the extreme doom and gloom of many of the posters here (and I live and pass a lot of time in areas that, while not entirely destitute, are much poorer than where most of the posters here live), but I also think the OP, in this post and others, has painted a much rosier picture of progress than is suggested by reality up to now. But there has been progress. I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle, and judging by strength that Milei still shows in the polls, it would seem that the majority of Argentines agree.

You would think that all the cuts and with a 52% poverty rate they'd have run him out of office by now, but amazingly, the people have shown remarkable restraint and patience to go along with the resilience that I've always noted. Hopefully for them, this time it won't all be for nothing.
 
That's what "dropped by 40 percent in real terms" means.
But what about against the dollar?
  1. Rentals in pesos went up 51.1% in the first 9 months of 2024
  2. Dollar blue went up 25 % in same period
  3. So need 25 % more dollars to pay rent

Note: Dollar blue 01/30/24 was $1195/ $1215 . Dollar blue in 09/29/24 was 1225/1245
If dollar values for October 2024 are used perhaps may need 50% more dollars
 
But what about against the dollar?
  1. Rentals in pesos went up 51.1% in the first 9 months of 2024
  2. Dollar blue went up 25 % in same period
  3. So need 25 % more dollars to pay rent

Note: Dollar blue 01/30/24 was $1195/ $1215 . Dollar blue in 09/29/24 was 1225/1245
If dollar values for October 2024 are used perhaps may need 50% more dollars
La belle époque of Argentina being cheap in dollar terms is gone, that's true. For the time being most of argentines receive their salaries in pesos.
 
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