A tango in America’s future?

[Bill Bonner’s Diary]( A Tango in America’s Future? By Bill Bonner Friday, May 29, 2020 – Week 11 of the Quarantine [Bill Bonner] SAN MARTIN, ARGENTINA – Yesterday, we saw how the feds are in the process of [cronifying the American working class]( by bribing the great mass of “average” voters who decide elections. And here’s the latest from The Washington Post: To help speed the delivery of up to $1,200 in economic impact payments to individuals made available under the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the Treasury Department last week began mailing prepaid debit cards to 4 million Americans. The prepaid debit cards allow recipients to make purchases online and at any retail location where Visa is accepted. Recipients can also receive cash from in-network ATMs and transfer funds to their personal bank accounts without a fee. (Fees may apply if an out-of-network ATM is used.) Eric Green and his wife, who live in Arlington, Va., received a card in the mail last week. But they, like so many others, thought it was a con… And they were right. But it is a much slicker con than they realized. Instead of depending on themselves… and on the honest give and take of a productive and healthy economy… the feds are teaching Americans to turn to the government, where they can get fast cash – without working. Recommended Link [Is Washington on the verge of a massive announcement?]( [image]( This top financial expert just returned from a private meeting with members of the Senate Financial Services Committee… And he’s got his hands on a major announcement. He says, “In 3 decades, I’ve NEVER seen anything like this. Every retiree and investor in America should be alert.” [Click here to watch the full briefing]( -- Idle People Let’s look at unemployment compensation. Before the crisis, there were 70 million American workers earning less than $1,000 a week. But now, between state programs and a $600 federal bonus, many people who’ve lost their jobs are getting more than they earned while working. Many are getting twice as much. [In an era of disease, this “new cure” could be one of the most powerful medical technologies of our time.]( “You get what you pay for,” as Milton Friedman used to say. Pay people not to work… and guess what… you’ll get a lot of idle people. This, of course, will delay a recovery, because workers will not rush back to jobs that pay less than what they get for being unemployed. But the feds have a solution for that, too – bribe them to return to work. Yes, that is the proposal of White House economic advisor, Larry Kudlow. He suggests a $450 bonus for people willing to give up $1,000 a month and return to the mill. Recommended Link [Multi-Millionaire Biotech Investor Makes Shocking New Prediction]( [image]( His biotech picks have soared 432% … He’s helped give people the chance to make profits of “$74,300 before breakfast”… “$32,000 in 40 days”… and a “54,000% annualized gain.” And now, this multi-millionaire biotech investor is releasing a shocking new prediction: Thanks to an unheard of move by the federal government… [The biggest gains are yet to come]( -- Neither Toil Nor Spin For a look at where this leads, we turn again to the pampas… where the gauchos are pioneers in Financial Fantasyland. “Hey…,” explains our neighbor, Ramón, “that’s the secret of Peronism [the leading political ideology in Argentina for the last 70 years]. Keep people poor. Keep them dependent on the government. And then… go broke.” Here in the Calchaquí Valley, we see how it works. Many people here neither toil nor spin. This is partly because there are no jobs, and partly because they don’t have to toil or spin. Instead, they get money from the government. It’s not much, but in a place where living costs are very low – no rent, no utilities, no auto loans, and low food costs – a little bit of cash goes a long way. “Well, it’s not that little,” our neighbor goes on. “I pay my farm foreman about 40,000 pesos [about $285 at the most recent black market rate] per month. It’s the rate set by the government. He’s a good worker and has been with me for 20 years. “But he has a sister who lives up in the mountains. She has five or six children – one of them has something wrong with him. She gets more in welfare than her brother does for working. [Amazing 17-Second Video Reveals Key to Tech Fortune…]( “It’s a disaster. People who used to be independent and hard-working – taking care of goats, cows, and sheep and planting their corn and potatoes – now do almost nothing. They used to spin the wool from their sheep or llamas and knit beautiful ponchos and sweaters, for example. Now, a lot of young people don’t even know how to do it. “And they expect the government to come and look after them. If they have a medical problem, they want the government to send an ambulance. Even way up in the mountains. They get free food… [the local government hands out sacks of lentil beans]… and they get money every month that they can use to buy whatever they want. That’s how these originarios can afford to not work. “It wasn’t like that before. It was give and take. They worked. They got paid. And if they had a problem… they’d go to the landowner, and he’d try to work it out. We’d take them to the city to see doctors. We’d give their children scholarships. They looked after us; we looked after them. “People said it was ‘paternalistic.’ And maybe it was. But we respected each other and looked out for each other.” Recommended Link [Market Wizard: “I want to reveal everything…”]( [image]( For the first time ever, Larry Benedict – a real-life Market Wizard – revealed his proprietary secrets in a [live interview](. If you’d like to learn Larry’s method… And where he thinks you should put your money right now… Claim $1,500 off a [charter membership]( to his new service – The Opportunistic Trader – today, while the doors remain open. Larry believes anyone can generate $200,000 or more using his methods… [Click here today, while there’s still time]( -- Uber Dollars And now, the Argentine economy is a wreck. Inflation is running at 50%. When we arrived in March, on the “black” market, we could get 90 pesos for each of our U.S. dollars. Now, the rate has gone as high as 140 – its value has been cut in half in just three months. Today, in Buenos Aires, locked down because of the coronavirus… you can order food to be delivered. And dollars, too… a few clicks on your phone and the black-market currency traders will bring it to your door. They call it “Uber Dollars,” or something like that. Naturally, the Argentines can’t pay their dollar-denominated foreign debt. A week ago, they defaulted for the ninth time in history… and the third time this century. But how did Argentina get to be such a mess? Peronism Pays Former Argentine president Juan Perón was sent to Italy before World War II to observe military tactics in Alpine settings. He seems to have taken more of an interest in politics, especially those of Mussolini and Hitler. And when he returned to Argentina in 1941, had the TSA rifled through his luggage, they would have found elements of both. Later, it would be called “Peronism.” Ideas, like viruses, work their way through a population… infecting almost everyone, especially in dense urban areas. To simplify, in 1941, Argentina was rich. Most of the money was earned by the old elite landowners, who exported beef and grains to the rest of the world. But the votes were in Buenos Aires, where millions of recent immigrants were susceptible to the ideas Perón brought back with him from Italy. Many of the voters quickly succumbed to “Peronism.” And to this day, the Argentines have never developed a herd immunity to it. The formula is simple enough: Rob the rich… give to the poor… get elected. Labor unions were important in Buenos Aires. Perón became their champion. As Minister of Labor, Perón settled strikes by giving workers a pay rise. Then, elected president in 1946, (he defeated Robustiano Patrón Costas, whose sugar refinery [we described on Monday]( and whose grand piano now sits in our living room), he continued the giveaways. Real hourly wages rose 27% in 1947 and another 24% in 1948. Minimum wages, government-directed pensions (you could begin collecting at 55 years of age), vacations, limits on firings… it was a fat time for the Argentine working man. Not only that, the government took control of farm exports… and of key industries, such as the railroads. Prices were controlled to keep the urban voters happy. America’s Future But investment dried up. The railroads, for example (built by English companies), lacked maintenance, lost money, and were mostly abandoned. The more the government interfered in the economy, the worse it did… and the lower went tax revenues. So how did Perón pay for all the giveaways? And how did almost every government since then stick with the program? Oh, Dear Reader… You’re disappointing us. Think again… you know… yes, you do… Printing money, of course! Promise, promise, promise… deficit, deficit, deficit… borrow, borrow, borrow… print, print, print… …then, blame the rich when bills come due… print more money… and go broke every 10 years or so. And how did this work out for the sweating masses? In 1920, Argentina was the seventh-richest country in the world – with incomes higher than those of France, Italy, or Spain. A hundred years later, it ranks No. 38 in terms of median income, just below Belarus in Eastern Europe. This is the past for Argentina. And the future for America? Tango? Mate? And poverty! Stay tuned… Regards, [signature] Bill P.S. Here’s a photo of Robustiano Patrón Costas’ grand piano in our living room. --------------------------------------------------------------- Like what you’re reading? Send your thoughts to feedback@rogueeconomics.com. --------------------------------------------------------------- FEATURED READS [Military Funding Causes Surge in Rare Earths Prices]( Casey Research geologist Dave Forest has the scoop on gold… as well as other metals. He calls one group of these other metals “rare earths.” Dave believes they could be an excellent addition to gold investments… and says recent military interest has boosted prices. Read on for more... MAILBAG One dear reader believes the U.S. government’s only option is to continue funding the country... So here’s my take from a lifelong entrepreneur... I have been in business since 1975 and have experienced just about everything… even having my business blown apart by three back-to-back hurricanes. My businesses have soared and crashed a time or two, but I have never experienced anything like this. OK, so I figured we could withstand a couple of weeks with no revenues to flatten the curve. My business today is diversified both geographically and along industry lines so I thought I was well protected. But this total shutdown has finally managed to just blow it all up. At first I thought the Paycheck Protection Program was a godsend. After a two-week layoff of half our team, I brought everyone back as required under PPP. We spent the money exactly as required and created a bunch of temporary “make work” projects because our customers were all working from home and not making any purchases. Now, we have exhausted the PPP funds and business is just starting to very slowly creep back. Since the PPP funds are exhausted, we will once again lay off about half the team to try to preserve enough funds to stay in business. Our customers just are not buying yet because they don’t know what is coming and many of them have still not been able to reopen. Since our wonderful governments shut everything down in the first place, I believe they have no choice but to keep us funded or else everything just implodes. Small businesses gone, jobs gone, homes gone, taxpayers gone. My life and the lives of our employees... destroyed. There is just no end to the madness, all because of unnecessary, unending shutdowns due to crazy “expert” predictions and eager left-wing politicians who see this as an opportunity to seize more power. – Kent B. While another dear reader enjoyed Bill’s [adventure to the top of the](... Regardless of what you found on the top of the mesa, you’re right, you were a little reckless going up there by yourself. But also adventurous. The writing of your entire saga made me smile. Good job on the adventure, and on the writing. I’m new to your writing, coming from Tom Dyson’s Postcards, and I like it. Count me as a new fan. – Beth D. Yet another shares his take on the current U.S. political climate, after reader Teresa’s comment yesterday: Why don’t you acknowledge that the liberals are playing a dangerous economical game, and that they would rather see the country destroyed by locking their already-mismanaged states, than Trump winning another term (which he will in spite of all your guys dreams)? –Teresa B. Forgetting liberal policies for a moment (such as ongoing lockdowns in certain states), what exactly has our dear president done to improve the core of America’s economy? Reduce the country’s debt, which he railed about during his campaign? Nada. “Oh, but Powell/Navarro/Fauci are controlling him!” cry the loyalists. Maybe so, but he’s pretty economically stupid on his own, allowing for his own brand of destruction. Trump is a false savior. He thinks our economy works like his own corporate empire: Borrow ad nauseum and then declare bankruptcy. A lot. And screw everybody else. – John C. Is the government’s only option now to print more money, like Kent believes? Is Trump a false savior, as John says? Write us at feedback@rogueeconomics.com. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT… [America’s Top Options Trader Reveals His “3-Stock Retirement Blueprint”]( It’s the blueprint that changed master trader Jeff Clark’s life… And helped him retire at 42. All it takes is just 5 minutes a day… And no advanced stock market knowledge is required. He’ll show you how it works... He’ll share his track record… And he’ll even give you the names and tickers of the 3 stocks you can use to get started. [Learn more here.]( [image]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Get Instant Access Click to read these free reports and automatically sign up for daily research. 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