The New York Times article on Argentina

From a sustainable economic recovery standpoint, Macri is the best thing that has happened to Argentina in decades. Unfortunately, he inherited an economic hole that is abysmally deep - far deeper than he thought. Inflation is the result of many factors, but a considerable portion of the current high inflation is due to the medicine that the Argentine economy must take to heal.

The increase in transportation and utility costs have been enormous contributors to the current inflation. But let's break that down. Take gas. The average gas bill in BA has skyrocketed during Macri's tenure. Previously, a 3-bedroom apartment in San Telmo got a gas bill for the equivalent of $10US...and that's for 2 months in winter!!!

This means consumers were paying below the cost of production. Who made up the difference? Under Argentina's socialist regimes, the Argentine government made up the difference by printing money and forcing the gas companies into bare bones operations. That's why gas pipes rupture in Centro. That's why gas lines get cut in buildings and remain unrepaired for years. That's why customer service is awful.

Think of what it takes to run gas distribution. First, you either have to buy gas from a neighbor country or pump it out of the ground in your own territory. This is incredibly expensive. Then the gas goes through a processor, which removes the impurities. Then it goes through a fracionator, which separates the gas into various components, like propane, butane, ethan and methane (gas in your home is mostly methane). Then the gas gets shipped into cities and towns for distribution. In the city, it goes to a distribution center and from there, using complex pipes and pumps and meters, it goes to your home. There is an army of employees to keep it all working and provide customer service.

This is enormously expensive and it requires millions upon millions of dollars in annual upkeep and improvement. According to my reading and people I have talked to, gas companies in Argentina were given less than bare bones subsidies from the state. So they were running on life support for years.

Macri sought to catch this up. To have consumers pay closer to the cost of production, like every other developed country in the world. That way, the gas companies could maintain their infrastructure and invest for the future. Now imagine this policy across the water business, the electricity business, public transportation. That's what Macri sought - a balanced economic relationship between service providers and consumers. To make the consumer pay for the cost of production. To take the state out as benefactor of the public service business, like every other developed nation. Over the long term, Argentina would have enjoyed a higher standard of living and a healthier economy. His policy was absolutely spot on. But the implementation has proven too painful for Argentines to bear. The hole dug by years of corrupt socialist policy is too deep. Now, Argentines will likely reverse Macri's appropriate economic policies via votes at the ballot box.

I haven't even mentioned corruption at these state-financed enterprises. But you all know the drill....
 
What religion REQUIRES child bearing? I'm not aware of any such religion, not even Islam.

Patriarchal societies that don’t recognize women’s rights and treat them like property and don’t punish rape and forced marriage nor allow birth control or abortion = required child bearing.
 
Patriarchal societies that don’t recognize women’s rights and treat them like property and don’t punish rape and forced marriage nor allow birth control or abortion = required child bearing.

Birth rate in Israel is 2.9 children per woman.
Birth rate in Saudi Arabia is 2.4 children per woman
Birth rate in Iceland is 1.9 children per woman
Birth rate in Qatar is 1.8 children per woman
Birth rate in Finland is 1.78 children per woman
Birth rate in Denmark is 1.75 children per woman.
Birth rate in the United Arab Emirates is 1.72 children per woman
Birth rate in Brazil is 1.7 children per woman.
Birth rate in Iran is 1.6 children per woman.

By your explanation either the Scandinavian countries are highly patriarchal and do not recognize women's rights or the likes of Brazil, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Iran are not patriarchal and do recognize women's rights. So which one is it?

SOURCE
 
From a sustainable economic recovery standpoint, Macri is the best thing that has happened to Argentina in decades. Unfortunately, he inherited an economic hole that is abysmally deep - far deeper than he thought. Inflation is the result of many factors, but a considerable portion of the current high inflation is due to the medicine that the Argentine economy must take to heal.

The increase in transportation and utility costs have been enormous contributors to the current inflation. But let's break that down. Take gas. The average gas bill in BA has skyrocketed during Macri's tenure. Previously, a 3-bedroom apartment in San Telmo got a gas bill for the equivalent of $10US...and that's for 2 months in winter!!!

This means consumers were paying below the cost of production. Who made up the difference? Under Argentina's socialist regimes, the Argentine government made up the difference by printing money and forcing the gas companies into bare bones operations. That's why gas pipes rupture in Centro. That's why gas lines get cut in buildings and remain unrepaired for years. That's why customer service is awful.

Think of what it takes to run gas distribution. First, you either have to buy gas from a neighbor country or pump it out of the ground in your own territory. This is incredibly expensive. Then the gas goes through a processor, which removes the impurities. Then it goes through a fracionator, which separates the gas into various components, like propane, butane, ethan and methane (gas in your home is mostly methane). Then the gas gets shipped into cities and towns for distribution. In the city, it goes to a distribution center and from there, using complex pipes and pumps and meters, it goes to your home. There is an army of employees to keep it all working and provide customer service.

This is enormously expensive and it requires millions upon millions of dollars in annual upkeep and improvement. According to my reading and people I have talked to, gas companies in Argentina were given less than bare bones subsidies from the state. So they were running on life support for years.

Macri sought to catch this up. To have consumers pay closer to the cost of production, like every other developed country in the world. That way, the gas companies could maintain their infrastructure and invest for the future. Now imagine this policy across the water business, the electricity business, public transportation. That's what Macri sought - a balanced economic relationship between service providers and consumers. To make the consumer pay for the cost of production. To take the state out as benefactor of the public service business, like every other developed nation. Over the long term, Argentina would have enjoyed a higher standard of living and a healthier economy. His policy was absolutely spot on. But the implementation has proven too painful for Argentines to bear. The hole dug by years of corrupt socialist policy is too deep. Now, Argentines will likely reverse Macri's appropriate economic policies via votes at the ballot box.

I haven't even mentioned corruption at these state-financed enterprises. But you all know the drill....


Please advise us all the Donald where did the 200 billion dollars that Macri borrowed under his presidency go? I greatly appreciate that you can put in a nutshell where this money has been invested and what benefits it has given to Argentina . Best regards
 
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Please advise us all the Donald where did the 200 billion dollars that Macri borrowed under his presidency go? I greatly appreciate that you can put in a nutshell where this money has been invested and what benefits it has given to Argentina . Best regards
That's a good question.

We don't have exact info at our fingertips. But we can get within a reasonable range. First, about $4B was borrowed to pay off the hedge funds, who won a judgement against Cristina's common thievery. Second, a little over $100B of debt was already outstanding when Macri took office. That debt was in default, due to the adverse judgement in the hedge fund case mentioned above. Macri had to roll that debt over and a few billion more in back interest was due. Third, a large chunk is due to Argentina's consistent trade deficit, and this balance grows every month.

Last, much of the recently issued debt has financed domestic spending programs, which contribute to Argentina's fiscal deficit. Remember, Cristina implemented huge domestic spending programs, many of which were corrupt and inefficient. They were financed by the government printing press, because Argentina couldn't issue debt in foreign markets - investors viewed Cristina as a common thief. Cristina's profligate socialist domestic spending fueled inflation and destroyed the currency in international markets. When Macri took office, he couldn't bring those spending programs to a screeching halt. He has slowed them down considerably, hence the price increases in basic services, transportation, reduction in federal employees, etc... All these programs of restraint are designed to slow federal spending. But you can't just full stop those - any more than you can full stop a train. You have to slow it down gradually. To summarize this last point, Macri had to continue some deficit spending, but whereas Cristina financed it all by printing money, Macri has borrowed, in an effort to control inflation.
 
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