You can live on $6 pesos a day

[El chabon]

How are you getting that food back from mercado central which is as you know, anything but central?

Of course it CAN be done. But I think we can all agree that holding up what people below the poverty line live on is probably not the standard no?

This has nothing to do with expats. It's the fact that this number is absolutely ludicrous and 100% out of touch with reality.

How Argentines do it

1 or 2 trips a month to mercado central and buy bulk. The rest of the stuff they need the buy at local stores, but is not that much

 

[allcraz]

Nicoenarg, let's face it. The average Argentine's idea of good nutrition is very different. Many of them have no idea about basic food groups. I asked a student once if she knew what kind of food had carbs and what kind had proteins. She had no idea. I didn't even go into fats, calcium, vitamins, minerals etc... So first, there would have to be education regarding nutrition. Did you read my post? I did not say that I think this situation is ok or fine or positive. I only stated the facts, that the INDEC said it can be done and it can. The INDEC does not say it can be done nutritionally, and I am not on the INDEC's side. I DO think, however, that the article I just posted above raises an interesting twist to the argument. It's 99 centavos more and not from Mercado Central.

And I wanted to add that meat, beans, rice, fruit, and vegetables are on the INDEC's list. I wouldn't eat that combo every day (although millions around the world do), but if I were on a 6 peso a day budget and was able to do so, I think I would be doing pretty well for myself. Now going and getting them to spend their money on beans, veggies, and fruit is a whole different story. No one can control what anyone buys to feed themselves.

 

[mrporoto]

It's not a yeah or nay but who wants to have that sort of financial restriction imposed on them?Nobody!You can get a meal in the student restaurant for $4,according to what I am told, but we aren't all students.

 

[bomber]

160 pesos buys you a lot of food in Mercado Central:
http://www.alcentral.com.ar/precios-minoristas.html

If you live on the poverty line you probably won't be shopping in disco.

Of course they wouldn't, they'd be buying at the cheapest markets around, and those who think no one can survive on that amount have obviously not been to many places in Africa, or even off the grid in Sth America, where people "survive" on much less.

I did say "survive", not flourish.

 

[Sockhopper]

So has anyone seen this yet? This is $6.99 a day per person. It looks like Carrefour has put out suggested purchases for a two week period which would be considered nutritious. Still no yogurt. And no fish (but heck even I don't eat fish here!) It even breaks it down into a daily menu. Looks a lot like what's on my suegra's fridge when she goes to the nutritionist and gets a diet plan.

http://www.infobae.com/notas/664581...ta-de-productos-para-comer-a-699-por-dia.html

I'm very impressed by Carrefour's menu, its nutrition and the fact that a commercial grocery store would do this for poor people. I wonder why supermarkets in North America don't do this considering all our single-parent families without money who feed their kids hot dogs day-in, day-out for dinner and lunch because they're not helped to know about nutrition or cooking! And considering all the ghettos in the US where not a single store sells ANY fresh produce, the idea being that the underclass can live on fast food, Coke, and potato chips, well this is deplorable and shocking the first times I saw it in Buffalo and Detroit.

Some of the meals on the Carrefour menu are exactly what my husband cook when we want something less fancy at home in Canada or Europe. I'm sure that the grapefruit smoothie and pasta on Carrefour's menu isn't as rich or nutritious a meal as ours but thank god that people can eat something that's healthy and looks pretty good. Some middle-class people earning $CAD 85,000 I've met in Canada eat quick-make popcorn as a dinner! They tend to think that eating better would be snobbish, too good for them! And too much work anyway.

What would WE do if in our state of arrogance our economies were to collapse badly - shoot ourselves dead to not suffer the indignity and new identity of suddenly being dirt poor?

 

[jp]

Of course it CAN be done. But I think we can all agree that holding up what people below the poverty line live on is probably not the standard no?

My understanding is that INDEC's calculation of the value of the canasta basica defines where they draw the poverty line.

 

[trennod]

Thats a good effort by Carrefour. Interested to know if those prices are genuine.
I guess it is purely food though as well and is obviously a very very basic diet.

 

[jazrgz]

Did you read my post? I did not say that I think this situation is ok or fine or positive. I only stated the facts, that the INDEC said it can be done and it can. The INDEC does not say it can be done nutritionally, and I am not on the INDEC's side.

Wrong...the INDEC is saying that 6 bucks a day is for a typical family to be able to afford the canasta basica familiar...now, the canasta basica familiar is set so that it has to include absolutately (there´s like a 50 item list) every single item that would cover all neccesary nutritional items. it has to include every single food type so that all 4 members of the family have covered all of their nutritional needs.....clearly 6 bucks does not come even close to it...again, it does not say, hey, the will survive by eating whatever for 6 bucks..it is mandatory that the canasta covers all a human being needs..
About the carrefour article...it´s cool, and it´s for 6,99 per person...the only problem is that it says the menu lasts for half a month...so, it would actually cost almost 14 bucks per person per month....and it does not include all needed food types

 

[bomber]

I wonder what Carrefour got from the government for producing that shopping list? Or is Cristina a major shareholder?

 

[jp]

Wrong...the INDEC is saying that 6 bucks a day is for a typical family to be able to afford the canasta basica familiar...

I don't think thats what INDEC are saying at all.

You can read what they say about the Canasta Basica here: http://www.indec.mecon.ar/principal.asp?id_tema=84

The canasta basica is intended to establish an absolute measure by which to measure poverty. Families which can not afford the canasta basica by definition live below the poverty line.