The Greatest Political Experiment of Our Age, Part II

Socialists don’t like the “invisible hand” — they prefer the claws of the state ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ April 23, 2024 The Greatest Political Experiment of Our Age, Part II “Socialists don’t like the ‘invisible hand,’ they prefer the claws of the state.” – Javier Milei [Reminder: In case you missed [our announcement]( The Essential Investor has merged with legacy contributors to Agora Financial. The new, larger, more inclusive project is called The Grey Swan Investment Fraternity. If you’re interested in the scope and benefits of our new endeavor, please see what prompted us to merge [here](. If you’ve been a member of The Essential Investor, keep an eye out for your new benefits.] Dear [Reader], April 23, 2024 – “After 3 months of hard work,” our friend Dr. Mark Skousen wrote in response to yesterday’s missive, “we finally confirmed the world's most sought after speaker, the new libertarian president of Argentina, Javier Milei.  “I consider his appearance as big as Trump showing up in 2015. “If you would like to invite your members to attend, we can offer the Grey Swan Fraternity a discount of $50 off the regular price using code AGORA50. Would that work?  “Hope to see you there. “Best, AEIOU, Mark” If you know Dr. Skousen at all, “AEIOU” is his signature sign off for e-mails, texts, missives… what have you. Among many other achievements, Mark is the impressively energetic producer of: FreedomFest "The World's Largest Gathering of Free Minds" July 10-13, 2024, Caesars Forum, Las Vegas [www.freedomfest.com]( If you want to see Milei speak or just attend FreedomFest for its litany of benefits, be sure to take Mark up on his offer. Use promo code AGORA50. We have attended FreedomFest nearly every year since its inception. We’ve even screened some of our documentary work at the Atlas Film Festival, hosted by JoAnne Skousen, every year during the conference. It’s a good time, especially if you’re interested in the world’s largest gathering of like-minded people. Below, we continue the saga of The Greatest Political Experiment of our Age, Narrated in full by our buddy, Joel. Enjoy ~ Addison (A good way to prepare for FreedomFest? Pre-order [Empire of Debt: We Came, We Saw, We Borrowed]( now available at [Amazon]( and[Barnes & Noble]( or if you prefer one of these sites:[Bookshop.org]( [Books-A-Million]( or [Target]( CONTINUED BELOW... >>ADVERTISEMENT<< 2024 – The Real Election Year Surprise In 2016, the October Election Surprise was Hillary Clinton’s email scandal… In 2020, the October Election Surprise was the suppression of all the dirty material on Hunter Biden’s “forgotten” laptop… Now, in 2024, we’re forecasting an October Election Surprise that almost no one sees coming — and this time it’ll be way more devastating than anything you’ve seen before. [Click here to learn about 2024’s real October Election Surprise »]( It’s not at all what you think. CONTINUED... The Greatest Political Experiment of Our Age, Part II Joel Bowman, [Notes From The End of the World]( ¡Saludos! from Buenos Aires, Argentina. When we left you yesterday, writing from our post down here at the End of the World, we were just embarking on the road to freedom... You can catch up on the story so far in Part I but, in a nutshell... after 75 years grinding under the yoke of Perónist-style collectivism, the long-suffering people of Argentina finally decided to do what most voters around the world only dream of... that is, they finally threw the boludos out. And they did so in grand, porteño style... electing to the highest office in the land a self-described “anarcho-capitalist” in Señor Javier Milei. The chainsaw-wielding ex-rock ‘n’ roll singer – who also happens to be an Austrian School economist...and a tantric sex coach – vowed to take his motosierra to the termite-ridden branches of the vast administrative state, to cut the bloated government back to size. He even promised during the campaign trail to burn the nation’s central bank to the ground if elected president... a move we referred to cautiously at the time as “a good start”... and one we patiently await still. The aforementioned road to freedom  We know of no modern democracy, certainly none of this size, that has voluntarily decided to so dramatically repeal the insatiable growth of the bureaucratic state. With so much to state to hack back, and hyperinflation already knocking on the door, el presidente wasted little time once on the job. Within 48 hours of taking office, Sr. Milei’s administration had... ● Slashed the number of government ministries from 18 to 9... ● Ended all state funding for media outlets... ● Halted all public infrastructure projects not already underway... ● Abolished entire divisions and subdivisions of the vast, administrative state... ● Ended all fuel and energy subsidies... ● Quashed meddlesome import/export regulations... ● And put tens of thousands of government workers, known here as “[gnocchis]( on notice. And that was just the beginning. Between the Decreto Nacional Urgencia (DNU - roughly similar to an executive order in the US) and the massive Ley Omnibus (a legislative reform act currently being negotiated in the nation’s congress), Milei’s administration proposed some 1,000 reforms aimed at defunding government programs and derogating state power back to the people. The legislative process itself is a matter of “inside soccer,” the minutiae of which falls beyond the scope of this necessarily pithy recap... but suffice to say, the changes have been felt from the Rio de la Plata to the foothills of the Andes, from Tierra del Fuego to the high plains of Salta, and beyond. Early results (for those of us who care about facts more than feelings) have been astounding... Argentina’s road to freedom began amid an economic crisis, with inflation soaring past 140 percent in October | Tomas Cuesta via Getty Images Milei’s Chainsaw, So Far… After taking his trademark motosierra to the rotten branches – shuttering ~50% of the federal government’s parasitic ministries and sacking tens of thousands of useless, bottom-feeding bureaucrats – Sr. Milei’s administration has so far... ● Delivered the first monthly budget surplus (of $589 million) in twelve years in January...followed by the second in February (of $.145 billion)... with another expected for March (to be announced shortly)... ● Reined in runaway inflation... from 25.1% m.o.m. in December...to 20.6% in January... to 13.2% in February... to 11% in March, and still falling... ● Announced a bill to criminalize seigniorage – printing money to fund government boondoggles and vote-buying scams... and to jail crooked politicians found doing so to fund the Treasury for political purposes... ● Eliminated at least 9 separate fiduciary funds (slush funds for corrupt politicians)... ● Deregulated health insurance... ● Confirmed he will indeed dollarize the economy, as proposed during the presidential campaign (the central bank has accumulated ~US$12 billion of reserves under Milei’s watch thus far)... International capital markets responded to Milei’s fiscal and monetary reforms down here on the Pampas with a massive vote of confidence, pushing Argentine stocks higher and sending the risk index (as measured by JP Morgan) to its lowest levels in 30-months. Year-to-date, Argentine bonds have rallied by as much as 30%. Meanwhile, the man they call “El Leon” (The Lion) shows little signs of fatigue. Along with sweeping economic reforms, the “anti-woke” presidente has let the chainsaw loose on the vast and thorny bramble of cultural Marxism that strangles the nation’s institutions, from state-sponsored media to the fetid swamp of collectivist ideology running through the academies. Argentina’s radically sensible president also banned “gender inclusive language” in all official government documents and communications. The statewide proscription pertains to all “inclusive language and everything related to the gender perspective throughout the national public administration,” according Manuel Adornis, spokesperson for the Casa Rosada (Argentina’s answer to the White House). Milei’s government also axed the Ministry of Women, Gender and Diversity and the National Institute Against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism, which the president described as “effectively useless” and “serving no purpose.” Similarly, the state’s Propaganda Ministry, officially known as TELAM, was also shuttered. And good riddance! Last year alone, the publicly-funded agency of pandering presstitutes suffered 20 billion pesos ($23 million) in losses, while hemorrhaging readership share to private competition. Those who called the closure an “attack on freedom of the press,” had trouble explaining why private news outlets were left untouched. Of course, there are many challenges still ahead for Sr. Milei, and no shortage of enemies in the entrenched political caste who have had their snorkeled snouts deep in the trough. Milei has been frank about this reality from the start. “There is no money,” he told supporters at his inauguration in front of the Congreso building downtown a few short months ago. There will likely be years of pain ahead, he acknowledged, a hangover from the exorbitant money-printing undertaken by the previous administrations (which saw local peso inflation soar to an eye-watering ~290% per annum this year...) But for now, people are determined to stay the course with their new president. Javier, LIVE! When we went to hear him speak at a small conference a couple of weeks ago, here in the capital, the interviewer asked why voters had such confidence in his administration. Milei answered plainly, matter-of-factly: “Because I tell them the truth, and they are not used to politicians telling the truth.” So even as necessary austerity measures bite, as inflation (while slowing faster even than expected) continues to attrit purchasing power, and the population is weaned from a multi-generational, womb-to-tomb addiction to collectivist ideology, El Señor’s popularity continues to rise. “It is important to note,” Milei observed on stage, a few feet in front of us, “that when we began this administration, only 20% of the Argentine people believed the economy was going to improve over the next twelve months. By mid January, that rate had gone up to 30%. By mid-February, it was 40%. Mid March, it was at 50%. And now, a clear majority of Argentines are confident that we are headed in the right direction, that the situation a year from now will be improved.” It’s almost as if telling the truth... and delivering on promises... earns the respect of voters. Hmm... For Argentines down here at the End of the World, the road to freedom is still long and perilous... and there will no doubt be plenty of mudslides, washouts and sinkholes along the way. But now that the “freedom genie” is out of the bottle... now that citizens have hope where they once had despair... now that the world is witnessing the early fruits of the Greatest Political Experiment of Our Time... we see not only the End of the World, but a brand new beginning, too. ~ Joel Bowman  So it goes, Addison Wiggin, The Wiggin Sessions P.S. “When we started our humble Notes From the End of the World project,” Joel followed up, “it was more of an avocation, a labor of love, than anything else. We enjoy writing about freedom... and we love living in Argentina, so it seemed a natural fit. Besides, we already had a day job. “Little did we know... what started as an unlikely political experiment down here at the fin del mundo soon took on a life of its own... “After years of Covid lockdowns, climate bullying and woke politics, freedom movements are beginning to pop up all over the world... and the libertarian revolution is gaining momentum. “Today, our Notes is number #26 in World Politics on Substack, a crazy thought given that we only started it a few months ago. And yet, the message of free minds, free markets and free people continues to grow... “If you’re interested in following along with our Notes From the End of the World project, please feel free to join our growing community of whacky libertarians, independent thinkers and out of step freedom lovers, right here: [Join Notes From the End of the World Today]( It’s free. (We include Joel’s commentary because of the financial, economic, and political predicament of the United States at this point in our collective history. You can read the story of the U.S. dollar, economic booms and busts, and political history of the Empire of Debt, in progression, from [Demise of the Dollar]( through [Financial Reckoning Day]( and on to [Empire of DebtÂ]( all three books are available in their third post-pandemic editions.) (Or… simply pre-order [Empire of Debt: We Came, We Saw, We Borrowed]( now available at [Amazon]( and[Barnes & Noble]( or if you prefer one of these sites:[Bookshop.org]( [Books-A-Million]( or [Target]( Please send your comments, reactions, opprobrium, vitriol and praise to: addison@greyswanfraternity.com. The Daily Missive from The Wiggin Sessions is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. We do not rent or share your email address. 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