Socialism and the Damage Done

[VINO]

I used the title Socialism and the Damage Done as sort of a parody of Neil Young's song about heroin which is another infamously tough cycle to break. The user rarely seeks help until they hit rock bottom, when the money's all gone and friends & family avoid them like the plague. Trust is the hardest thing to get back because people will always look at them as the same person who made all those bad decisions and caused so much pain.

It is a tough bridge to cross when you ask people to suffer while enriching yourself or your friends. They literally had his friends on video going through their safe deposit boxes. Nothing happened as it never does here.

Besides the blatant stealing when you cut back across a bunch of different programs but increase it on intelligence gathering going up 52% makes many feel uneasy.

CEPA: Milei splashed cash on intelligence, slashed social budget in 2025

Report by CEPA think tank reveals cutbacks in sensitive areas; Sharp real-terms cuts to health, science, social development and public works last year, while intelligence funding jumped 52%.

www.batimes.com.ar

 

[Cheap Bastard]

Makes sense. I am hopeful for Argentina but my belief is that the hole is so deep and citizens will eventually tire of the endless sacrifices, especially when their President keeps getting caught in scandals. Sooner or later another charlatan will come along promising lots of goodies and voters will fall for it, and the cycle repeats itself. I wish it were otherwise but that is the history of democratic socialism.

But hey Milei thinks he is a superhero! That is all that matters. 🤣

Ironic that he Is launching in English because I heard he can't speak one word of English.

Milei launches English social media accounts with bizarre superhero animation - Buenos Aires Herald

The Argentine president published a video of a character called ‘General Ancap,’ who announced the new accounts and stated that Milei is a ‘real life hero’

buenosairesherald.com

 

[James Bond]

Awesome song! @James Bond how long did you live in Argentina? I am seeing that plenty of people have left Argentina. I am surprised as I thought Milei was making progress. The school tuition is a complaint I hear often. A friend has two kids and she is paying $2000 a month for both. I just don't know how the typical family with kids makes it here. What was the straw that broke the camels back with you leaving?

Lived in BA for a little over 10 years. Got excited when Milei won but just didn't think life would get easier for me or my girlfriend. Started the move in middle of 2024. I'm glad that they have slowed down inflation but I just thought that prices would go up in dollar terms and my savings are in dollars and Euros. That is exactly what has happened.

My girlfriend has an EU passport and so do I. I can work remotely but she couldn't and there weren't any good opportunities in Argentina for her. People don't want to talk about how the salaries in Argentina are dogshit low. The prices on everything have gone up. I have gone through cycles where it wasn't extremely cheap but it is not sustainable to have prices as high as they are with salaries as low as they are.

I realize that some things were too low. Utilities were very cheap. Same as transportation. But keep in mind my girlfriend was paying about $250 USD per month for her kid. It has jumped up to $1k a month. Healthcare premiums kept going up. General cost of living kept going up and still had to deal with the negatives of Argentina with nothing working.

BA is a fun city and I miss parts of it. But all my mates that were living there have either moved out or some are planning to this year.

Thank you Betsy, I was actually quite surprised that Milei would sacrifice his honor and respect for a few dollars. For awhile he held the world's attention as a crusader and a fresh face in South America, rooting out bureaucracy and corruption. The world was his oyster. Now he's just another bent politician in the eyes of foreigners, basically damaged goods. Articles about him in my newsfeed went from fascination to clickbait. Most of you locals saw this coming, but I did not.

All these politicians are the same. Milei's reputation fell. Even in Argentina about half in the country hate him. Look at the support on Twitter and other platforms and it has fallen. It is only a matter of time to me before people throw in the white flag. Many social programs are getting cut (which his sister got busted stealing from these programs). And now they are increasing the intelligence budget by 50%+.

I hope I am wrong and things turn around for the better. Inflation numbers are positive and that will buy some time but not as hopeful as some are.