More Freedom... not Less
Down with the state, down with inflation, down with poverty
"The only way out of poverty is with more freedom.”
~ Javier Milei
Joel Bowman with today’s Note From the End of the World: Buenos Aires, Argentina…
It was a sleepy ol’ week down here at the End of the World, dear reader.
While the rest of the planet got its knickers in a knot over President Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs (about which we’ll have plenty more to say in future Notes), life here in the Paris of the South continued on in more or less uneventful fashion.
That is to say… poverty continued to fall, the economy continued to grow and the iconic chainsaw, lately seen on stage in Mar-a-Lago, passing from President Milei’s hands into those of a certain centibillionaire charged with lopping the American Leviathan down to size, continued doing its work.
The latest figures from national statistics bureau, INDEC, showed a 15 point drop in overall poverty rates here on the Pampas, a stark reversal of misfortune for the poorest Argentines. From the The Buenos Aires Times:
Argentina’s poverty rate dropped to 38.1 percent of the population in the second half of last year – a decline of almost 15 points from the preceding half-year.
Extreme poverty, meanwhile, fell to 8.2 percent of the 47-million-strong population, down from 18.1 percent in the previous semester.
The data, released by the INDEC national statistics bureau on Monday, highlights a significant reversal in the national poverty rate, which had surged to 52.9 percent in the first six months of President Javier Milei’s government, following a sharp devaluation of the peso.
Overall, the number of those considered to be poor declined 14.8 percentage points from the middle to the end of last year – a massive advance despite the economy entering recession.
Deeper Cuts
As noted in these pages before, the sharp fall in poverty mirrors closely the precipitous drop in inflation, declared at the outset of Milei’s presidency to be Public Enemy #1. According to official statistics, inflation is down by ~90%, with the monthly rate cut from over 25% in December 2023 to a “mere” 2.4% in February of 2025.
For those keeping score at home who are more accustomed to the luxury of measuring inflation in annualized figures, that’s a decline in yearly inflation from 289% in April of 2024… to 66% in February.
And all this, even as the… ahem… “staffing adjustment” in the public sector continues apace. The following chart, also from INDEC, shows the number of public employees (measured in 1,000s) going back to early 2023. There were 341,000 “gnocchis” the month President Milei took office… 43,000 of whom have since been let go, with deeper cuts to come.
Hmm… less government + more freedom = economic growth and prosperity?
Amazing, no? Something about “Viva la libertad, carajo!”
To help us make sense of this novel and curious phenomenon, and to discuss the potential opportunities down here in Argentina, we’ll be hosting our second virtual summit this coming week.
The Crisis and Opportunity at the End of the World event will be held LIVE this Wednesday, April 9, at 3-5pm ET (United States Eastern Time)
If you haven’t yet registered for this FREE event, please feel free to do so right here:
And if you can’t make it on the day, don’t worry. As always, Notes members will automatically receive a complete audio-video recording of the event PLUS a full downloadable PDF transcript for their records.
NB: Space for the event is limited and preference will be given to paying subscribers.
And now for your Notes From the End of the Week…
Final Notes…
We’re almost down to our “last supper” here in Buenos Aires, with just over a week left before our travel-sized family hits the road again for our annual migration north for the summer.
As such, we’re doing the rounds at some of our beloved restaurants and seeing dear friends before we head off. On the menu today, a juicy ojo de bife (ribeye) and a healthy glass of bonarda at one of our favorite neighborhood parrillas, Lo de Jesús.
And stay tuned for more Notes From the End of the World…
Cheers,
Joel Bowman
P.S. It’s been about 15 months since we embarked on this little Notes journey and, thanks to the generosity of our dear members, we’ve been able to parlay our scribbles into something that threatens to become a full time endeavor.
In fact, we’re now read in all 50 US States and across 139 countries around the world. Consider us chuffed!
Here’s what a few dear Members have to say about their Notes experience…
If you’re not already a Notes Member, but would like to join our small and growing community of critical thinkers, freedom lovers and liberty cranks, you can do so for less than a cup of what Starbucks calls “coffee” right here…
It's always good to hear freedom is winning somewhere. For the life of me I cannot understand why anyone would choose lesser freedom and promises from government.
With a population of about 47 million people, Canada with a population of about 40 million people should be able to do the same as Argentina. Where are Our politicians? One has to ask . There is the pattern set out for all to see. Thanks for the notes today!