Game Day

Whatever the outcome today, Argentina is already winning...

Joel Bowman with today’s Note From the End of the World: Buenos Aires, Argentina…

The flags hang proudly in the windows… the faces are all painted celeste y blanco… and the pleasant aroma of sizzling asado wafts over the city…

It’s game day here in Argentina, when the defending champions take on the Old World for futbol’s greatest honor.

Naturally, the Internet is abuzz with scuttlebutt, conspiracy and hot takes, so we will refrain from adding our own to the pile… save to say that, whatever the outcome of the game today, Argentina is already winning.

When they last hoisted the trophy, back in 2022, the country was ruled by a wife-beating psychopath (in President Alberto Fernández) and his parasitoid Peronist puppeteer (Vice President-cum-convict, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner).

As the ghoulish pair siphoned off what little vitality was left in the hollowed-out, zombified economy, the country was fast on the road to rack and ruin. When they finally fled the crime scene, they left the nation with a primary deficit equal to 2.9% of GDP… and an overall fiscal deficit more than double that, at 6.1% of GDP.

The economy, a husk of its former self, riddled with bureaucratic termites and choking under the dead weight of the rotting State, was in free fall. The -1.9% decline in economic output in Fernandez’s final quarter implied a -7.4% calamity for the following year… provided nothing else went wrong.

Inflation, meanwhile, had gone into hyperdrive… and would reach an eye-watering 290% at its peak.

Misery… poverty… and despair.

Ah, but what a difference a few years can make!

After assuming the president’s office in late 2023, Javier Milei promptly committed to a “zero tolerance” policy against budget deficits. He has since bucked a historical trend that had seen this country record budget deficits in 113 of the previous 123 years.

As of this past month, Milei’s administration has delivered 30 consecutive monthly surpluses, proving (to the gnashing chagrin of spendthrift meddlers the world over) that governments really can spend less than they steal.

Go figure!

Thanks to this common sense discipline, the country is now back in the black, with both primary and fiscal balances firmly in positive territory (at +1.4% of GDP and +0.2% of GDP, respectively).

As a result of such unfashionably responsible financial stewardship, Argentina has also been able to make significant inroads in reducing its overall debt. According to IMF data, Argentina’s general government gross debt fell from 154.6% of GDP in 2023 to a projected 70.4% in 2026.

Don’t let them tell you it can’t be done, patient reader. This country is proof to the contrary (which is perhaps why demonstrable success here is met with a general media blackout in high debt and deep deficit nations abroad. Do you part to spread the word, by sharing today’s Note…

Inflation Falling

Meanwhile, thanks to sweeping free market reforms, Argentina went from went from economic basket case to one of the strongest performing economies in the western world last year, registering 4.4% GDP annual growth (more than double that of the US).

And that as the proverbial chainsaw cut deep into the bloated public sector, allowing the private sector to do what it does best: harness innovation, spur entrepreneurship, invest capital, and create real world value.

As for the secret weapon of the managerial class, the “sneaky tax” commonly known as inflation, that beast is being slain as we type. The very latest print (from earlier this week) shows that inflation on the Pampas fell to 1.9% for June, the lowest level in 10 months… and a 92.5% reduction on the runaway 25.5% monthly rate Milei inherited thanks to the money-printing monkeys running the circus before he assumed the presidency.

There’s still a long way to go, but you can see for yourself the monumental inflation reduction so far by clicking on this neat graph, below… (hat tip to Diego M. Macana Roa at the Escuela Austriaca de Economía)

Whatever the outcome of today’s match, Argentina’s future looks bright for the first time in a long time.

Of course, there’s more to life than mere stats, data and raw numbers, as we discussed in Thursday’s Note, The Peanut and the Professor. For all our past week’s musings, including a rare opportunity for us to include the word fopdoodle in a column (Misogynist Monsoons), see below…

But first! If you’re enjoying our work and would like to show your appreciation, please consider becoming a paid Notes Member. It’s only $1/week… and we do our best to make it worth every penny. Cheers!

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And now for your Notes From the End of the Week…

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Final Notes…

If the sum really is greater than the parts, and each new addition to the network a wealth of potential value, well… all the more reason to celebrate our growing Notes community!

Herewith, a selection of our favorite member comments from last week’s Notes. First up, commenting on last Sunday’s musing, Mountain of Debt:

Then there’s this, in response to our piece on the growing risk of Misogynist Monsoons…

And a reader offers an important addendum to Mencken’s wry dictum, from The Peanut and the Philosopher:

Thanks again to all our Notes members who bring their thoughts and comments to bear on our humble scribbles. We don’t always have time to respond individually, but we do read each and every comment.

If you’re not a member yet, but would like to join our garden party of cheerful skeptics, independent thinkers and irreverent head scratchers, you can have your say on the issues of the day by joining our Notes community right here…

We’ll see you in the comments section next week. Until then, enjoy your weekend…

…and stay tuned for more Notes From the End of the World…

Cheers,

Joel Bowman