The Briefing Room
General Category => World News => Topic started by: Hoodat on December 17, 2023, 10:06:36 pm
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Argentina's Javier Milei Unveils His 'Austerity Budget' to Crush Inflation and Crony Capitalism
streiff | 11:44 AM on December 17, 2023
Argentinian President Javier Milei has rolled out a program of austerity measures designed to bring Argentina's economy out of the death spiral that it is in. Once the wealthiest nation in South America, Argentina suffers from a Bidenesque annual inflation rate of 180%. Despite population increases, its economy has shrunk by almost half the years since 1980. Credit for businesses and consumers is nearly impossible to come by...thanks to the triple-digit inflation. Needless to say, there is virtually no foreign investment. Local businesses are hamstrung by regulations that seem designed to prevent business creation or growth. The public sector is bloated and even more unproductive than one would expect. This is all the legacy of Juan Peron's populist socialism that empowered government and discouraged the private sector.
After abolishing 12 of 21 government ministries on his first day in office (Javier Milei Takes Office in Argentina, and His First Move Immediately Triggers All the Right People), Milei is starting to work on the rot that has kept Argentina poor.
https://twitter.com/DanielDiMartino/status/1735662406066450655
https://redstate.com/streiff/2023/12/17/argentinas-javier-milei-unveils-his-austerity-budget-n2167643
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On Tuesday, Milei's Economy Minister announced a series of emergency economic measures. The goal is to balance Argentina's budget in 2024. The cut is the equivalent of the US reducing its $6.4 trillion budget by $1.4 trillion.
- All government employees hired in the last year will be fired. Caputo said this is to end "a habitual political practice of incorporating friends and family before the end of a presidential term."
- All government advertising will be suspended for a year. "There is no money for expenses which are not strictly necessary and far less to sustain with tax-payer funding media which were only created to sing the praises of the incumbent government," Caputo said.
- Reducing government ministries to nine and secretariats from 106 to 54 will cut senior political posts by over 50%, and the number of political posts will be cut by 34%.
- Transfers of money to provinces will stop except for the bare minimum. These transfers have previously been used to reward friends and buy political favors. Not mentioned is that the government jobs they supported will also go away along with the transfers.
- All public works contracts are canceled unless the project is already underway.
- Energy and transportation subsidies will be reduced. The transportation subsidies are essentially a jobs program.
- Current welfare programs will continue, but an emphasis will be on paying recipients directly rather than through a web of intermediaries. Payments for child care and food will be doubled.
- The Argentine peso is devalued by 54%.
. . .
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:yowsa: :yowsa:
Now, contrast that with our two choices going into 2024
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On Tuesday, Milei's Economy Minister announced a series of emergency economic measures. The goal is to balance Argentina's budget in 2024. The cut is the equivalent of the US reducing its $6.4 trillion budget by $1.4 trillion.
- All government employees hired in the last year will be fired. Caputo said this is to end "a habitual political practice of incorporating friends and family before the end of a presidential term."
- All government advertising will be suspended for a year. "There is no money for expenses which are not strictly necessary and far less to sustain with tax-payer funding media which were only created to sing the praises of the incumbent government," Caputo said.
- Reducing government ministries to nine and secretariats from 106 to 54 will cut senior political posts by over 50%, and the number of political posts will be cut by 34%.
- Transfers of money to provinces will stop except for the bare minimum. These transfers have previously been used to reward friends and buy political favors. Not mentioned is that the government jobs they supported will also go away along with the transfers.
- All public works contracts are canceled unless the project is already underway.
- Energy and transportation subsidies will be reduced. The transportation subsidies are essentially a jobs program.
- Current welfare programs will continue, but an emphasis will be on paying recipients directly rather than through a web of intermediaries. Payments for child care and food will be doubled.
- The Argentine peso is devalued by 54%.
. . .
WOW! I'm thinking this man is actually serious! If we could get our government to do one quarter of that what a difference it would make!
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WOW! I'm thinking this man is actually serious! If we could get our government to do one quarter of that what a difference it would make!
It would have to get pretty bad for us to go that direction
Every spending program has a constituency.
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He's the anti-Trump.
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It would have to get pretty bad for us to go that direction
Every spending program has a constituency.
:yowsa: The exact problem!
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He's the anti-Trump.
I’ve heard some people compare him Pinochet. Some of their economic policies might be similar, but that’s it
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Meet José Antonio Kast. He just announced that he is running for president of Chile next year. He is a right-wing nationalist who plans to crack down on crime, end socialism, and destroy wokeness. ...
https://twitter.com/EndWokeness/status/1741487189106602213
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https://twitter.com/bennyjohnson/status/1740885469804785797
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https://twitter.com/bennyjohnson/status/1740885469804785797
I love that guy and would kick in to get him a haircut!
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I love that guy and would kick in to get him a haircut!
And the flight attendant tells him to quickly return to his seat in the back of the plane.
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Speaking to the collectivists and commies at Davos:
Javier Milei sounds the alarm on the decline of the West to collectivism. "I'm here to tell you that the Western world is in danger. And it is in danger because those who are supposed to defend the values of the West are co-opted by a vision of the world that inexorably leads to socialism and thereby to poverty.
https://twitter.com/stillgray/status/1747661017591800238
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Speaking to the collectivists and commies at Davos:
Javier Milei sounds the alarm on the decline of the West to collectivism. "I'm here to tell you that the Western world is in danger. And it is in danger because those who are supposed to defend the values of the West are co-opted by a vision of the world that inexorably leads to socialism and thereby to poverty.
https://twitter.com/stillgray/status/1747661017591800238
He’s got one hell of a fight on his hands, but if he wins, the people of Argentina win
This is my 2024 write in candidate
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Milei's full speech to the WEF one-worlders.
https://twitter.com/EndWokeness/status/1747662634462159309
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I wish America had a President like that.
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I wish America had a President like that.
:yowsa: Me too!
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:yowsa: Me too!
Me three
But he got elected because the Argentina people had enough of poverty and inflation. How many years did they put up with it?
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I'm guessing they didn't try that WEF mumbo-jumbo on Javier. :silly:
https://twitter.com/OliLondonTV/status/1747701707650249214
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Free Mind
@FreeMind1295910
BREAKING: Argentine President Javier Milei has fulfilled another of his campaign promises.
Argentina achieved a balanced budget in January for the first time in over a decade.
It was done by cutting many agency budgets by over 50% in real terms.
12:47 PM · Feb 18, 2024
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Free Mind
@FreeMind1295910
BREAKING: Argentine President Javier Milei has fulfilled another of his campaign promises.
Argentina achieved a balanced budget in January for the first time in over a decade.
It was done by cutting many agency budgets by over 50% in real terms.
12:47 PM · Feb 18, 2024
How can we get this guy to come to the US and do that? We haven't had a balanced budget in 67 years.
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Free Mind
@FreeMind1295910
BREAKING: Argentine President Javier Milei has fulfilled another of his campaign promises.
Argentina achieved a balanced budget in January for the first time in over a decade.
It was done by cutting many agency budgets by over 50% in real terms.
12:47 PM · Feb 18, 2024
(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/82/a4/5c/82a45c826b959474e21057d2bb6b4ec1.gif)
And the Calvin Coolidge award goes to..... Javier Milei!
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How can we get this guy to come to the US and do that? We haven't had a balanced budget in 67 years.
67 years? ...hmmm.....according to stats we had a budget surplus in 1969, and from 1998 to 2001.
Those years fall under Nixon and Clinton, though some websites are indicating LBJ.
https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-us-federal-budget-deficit-3321439
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67 years? ...hmmm.....according to stats we had a budget surplus in 1969, and from 1998 to 2001.
Those years fall under Nixon and Clinton, though some websites are indicating LBJ.
https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-us-federal-budget-deficit-3321439
In 1969, the national debt increased by $6 billion. For the years 1998 thru 2001, it increased $113 billion, $130 billion, $18 billion, and $132 billion respectively. You have to go all the way back to 1957 to find a year where the debt went down.
Bottom line, if the debt goes up, then you spent more money than you brought in. Call it whatever you want, but that is not 'balanced'.
https://www.investopedia.com/us-national-debt-by-year-7499291
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The last time our federal government spent less the following year than it did the previous year was 1924 to 1925. One full century ago now.
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This will come to America
But, like Argentina, it's going to have to get bad enough were the elected don't have a choice but to cut
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Collin Rugg
@CollinRugg
NEW: President of Argentina Javier Milei will be introducing a bill to Congress to jail any Central Bank official who orders the Central Bank to print money to cover Argentina's deficits.
Epic 🔥
Milei will be defining seigniorage as a criminal offense with the objective of not being "able to issue money to finance the Treasury."
"The bill will define seigniorage as a criminal offense and in case the Central Bank finances the treasury, either directly or indirectly, the president of the Central Bank, the board of directors, the president of the Nation and the officials who vote for it would end up in jail," Milei said during an interview.
"We have a strong commitment in the fiscal area, zero deficit is not negotiable."
"If you have zero deficit, you do not take on more debt. By not taking on more debt, the debt – product ratio becomes constant or decreasing and the counterpart of that is that you become more solvent."
2:12 PM · Feb 24, 2024
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"We have a strong commitment in the fiscal area, zero deficit is not negotiable."
"If you have zero deficit, you do not take on more debt. By not taking on more debt, the debt – product ratio becomes constant or decreasing and the counterpart of that is that you become more solvent."
I want to have his baby!
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LATEST (April 4, 2024):
Argentina’s Javier ‘Chainsaw’ Milei Slashes 15 Thousand Taxpayer-Funded State Jobs, Fulfilling Campaign Promise – Unions Stage Protests
by Paul Serran
Apr. 4, 2024 10:00 amWhen he was elected President of Argentina, the libertarian economist and TV personality Javier Milei became responsible for tackling a very serious problem: how to turn around an economy destroyed by the Peronist socialists who drove almost 60% of the citizens below the poverty line. ...
Yesterday (3), another step in this direction was taken, as Argentina announced that it had cut 15,000 taxpayer-funded state jobs. ...
Employees stormed some state companies in Buenos Aires and nearby cities, while the Association of State Workers, or ATE, brought a crowd of protesters to ministries. ...
Gateway Pundit (https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/04/argentinas-javier-chainsaw-milei-slashes-15-thousand-taxpayer/)
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:bkmk:
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WOW! I'm thinking this man is actually serious! If we could get our government to do one quarter of that what a difference it would make!
If we could get our government to do anything positive it would be nice. :shrug:
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MAGAs, take note
He ran on slashing government and won with 55% of the vote. He didn't shy away from cuts and reforms because he was afraid of upsetting the opposition
We are told here by some Trump supporters that we should avoid even talking about these issues for fear of enraging the Democrat Party.
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MAGAs, take note
He ran on slashing government and won with 55% of the vote. He didn't shy away from cuts and reforms because he was afraid of upsetting the opposition
We are told here by some Trump supporters that we should avoid even talking about these issues for fear of enraging the Democrat Party.
If Trump isn't going to make any attempt at tackling this issue, then what good is he?
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MAGAs, take note
He ran on slashing government and won with 55% of the vote. He didn't shy away from cuts and reforms because he was afraid of upsetting the opposition
We are told here by some Trump supporters that we should avoid even talking about these issues for fear of enraging the Democrat Party.
Exactly. Big difference in Orange phony bluster, and the real thing.
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Exactly. Big difference in Orange phony bluster, and the real thing.
The most impactful action that can be done to not only help repair the mess we are in but weaken the power of the left, MAGA tells us we can’t and shouldn’t do
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Donald Trump is no Javier Milei. Not even close.
Trump will not get elected in November because the election will be fixed. But if he does, he will continue to spend just like Biden, since he does not possess a single conservative bone in his body. He will be one of the biggest lame duck presidents in our history. Neither party will work with him because he will continue with his juvenile behavior and insult every person that does not subscribe to his wants. So zero cooperation will mean gridlock. And that will be just fine with him.
But back to reality, the 2024 election will be fixed, again by both parties, and again the Supreme Court does not lift a finger, and Trump goes back to Florida empty handed again.
Four more years of Biden, or another clown like Gavin Newsom, and the USA is further taken apart like busting up a puzzle. The policies of the bartender will continue to be pursued, and the USA becomes more and more of a joke, and a shadow of its former self.
The USA could use a Milei, but even if we had a Milei get elected, Congress would not work with him. I listened to the Milei interview with Tucker Carlson, and I thought he was brilliant. Just what Argentina needs. Just what the USA needs.
If Trump were smart, and he isn't, and he got elected, he would be wise to impose a hiring freeze until two conditions are met, a 30% reduction in budget, and a 30% reduction in staffing in all federal agencies excluding the military. No one need face termination, simply implement a hiring freeze, so that everyone retiring, leaving, dying, are not replaced. Those positions are red shirted. I dare say that number could be 40% or 50% and government services would not skip a beat.
Also, the end of a number of agencies as they are known today. End the FBI and fold it into Homeland. End the Dept of Education, for the reality is that education is a state thing, working with locals on school boards. There are like 450 agencies, and as a general rule, I say reduce the number to half, combining what can be logically combined.
Melei is exciting, and I hope he is highly successful. If so, I think he may inspire someone like himself to rise up in the USA. That person is NOT Trump! Trump is a phony. He portends to be something he is not. I am sorry, but since he kissed the posterior of the tech billionaire oligarchs in America, and reneged on his promise to end the H1-b Visa Program, he has zero credibility with me. Everything he will do will be via EO, all undone by the next Biden dummy.
A neighbor I have at my North Carolina home has multiple homes, one being in Argentina, which is his primary residence. He was excited about Milei, but he was somewhat numbed by the high inflation, and not overly worried about it. I thought that a bit odd. He loves Argentina, and 2 out of 3 of his children live there, making it their only home.
Like the USA, Argentina has a large European heritage of mixed nationalities. I can understand why he likes it so.
I am also excited about Milei and wish him the best in his efforts. A true champion of western capitalism.
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The dirty little secret is the reason why MAGAs are not interested in meaningful spending cuts it because they also want those government checks.
They’re not opposed to handouts. They just want to make sure those handouts go to them.
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The dirty little secret is the reason why MAGAs are not interested in meaningful spending cuts it because they also want those government checks.
They’re not opposed to handouts. They just want to make sure those handouts go to them.
I don't think that's it... I think it is in large part that they are alright with big government and expect it... A city mentality expects certain services that they can't even imagine being without - Something close to the same thing politically. People who are used to government services just expect them - So overturning them doesn't even come to mind.
It is a conditioning to which actual Conservatives are immune. Insulated by principle.
Some how there is a magical wall of confusion somewhere between balancing the checkbook on the kitchen table and governmental spending - The suspension of disbelief, applied through media and politicking, I'd suppose.