Friday's podcast:
Title 42 the day after with George Rodriguez, South Texas
P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos. If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.
Friday, May 12, 2023
Friday's video: Title 42 the day after with George Rodriguez, South Texas
Friday's video:
Title 42 the day after with George Rodriguez, South Texas
P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos. If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.
Argentina's saddest tango involves their current economy
(My new American Thinker post)
If you love tango, and I do, you know that the lyrics are always about heartbreak and disillusionment. I'm sure that there is a happy tango out there, but the ones I'm familiar with are always sad songs. As my friend from Buenos Aires told me yesterday, that the inflation is one sad tango playing 24/7.
Let's check what's happening down there:
In times like these in Argentina, prices are one thing you cannot guarantee.
Ask Diego Barrera and Claudio Cayeta, who own a small aluminum and glass shop in the Buenos Aires neighbourhood of Palermo. The business partners spent two weeks last month navigating a virtual paralysis because of the volatile economic situation gripping the country, unable to source the material they needed, and as a result unable to quote prices to their customers.
“Our providers won’t give us anything because the [United States] dollar goes up every day, so they don’t want to lose money,” said Barrera, 43, whose stock has dwindled as the uncertainty around them climbs.
“I understand because the same thing happens to me,” he said. “I’ve already lost money on the prices that I quoted some of my customers.”
This reality has become alarmingly common in Argentina, with its economy unravelling at an accelerating rate. The rising value of the US dollar is actually a measure of the plummeting value of the Argentinian peso, which sank by as much as 25 percent on the black market over the month of April. On April 25 it hit a record low, grazing 500 pesos for one US dollar at the unofficial rate, the one that is most often used as a benchmark for average Argentinians because currency controls limit how much they can buy at the official exchange rate.
It's hard for us up here to imagine what living like that is like. Imagine your dollar bill sinking 25% in one month. Imagine your food prices jumping 10% compared to March or vegetables 15% or eggs 25%. Businesses can't buy raw materials because the currency is worthless. Bartering is back in style and payday brings little to celebrate about.
To make matters worse, the current left-of-center government has no clue how to fix the problem. Does that sound Bidenesque? They write "anti-inflation" laws, but it does nothing because government is the problem in Argentina.
Finally, I asked my friend from Buenos Aires if he was optimistic about the future. He said no, but then there is always a tango to share a glass of wine over. Sort of like a Hank Williams-inspired tango about a tear in my beer!
P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos.
A word about May 12
We remember May 12:
Cold War 1949: We recall something that happened back in 1949 or the day that the USSR lifted the blockade against West Berlin. The US and UK broke the blockade with a massive airlift of supplies to keep the citizens fed and warm. It was one of President Truman's finest moments. Of course, we also remember the story of the "candy bombers", the pilots who dropped candy to children behind the Iron Curtain. For more see my post: "Berlin 1948: Another sad day in the brutal history of communism".
Crime of the century?: On May 12, 1932, the police found the body of the missing Lindbergh baby. He was kidnapped on March 1st and many believe that the baby died that same night.
Hall of Fame: We remember Lawrence Berra who was born in St. Louis on this day in 1925. He died in 2015. Yogi Berra was a great player, a Hall of Famer and 3-time MVP. He made the AL All Star Team 15 times and played on 10 World Series champions. Did he really say all of those things? I don't know but they were great.
1970: We remember the late Ernie Banks' 500th home run. Banks is still one of the most popular players ever to wear a major league uniform: Hall of Fame 1977, 1958 & 1959 NL MVP, 512 HR, 1,636 RBI, 2,583 hits and twice led the NL in HR's.
Baseball: We remember Felipe Alou who was born in
The Dominican Republican on this day in 1935.As a player, Alou was one of the most consistent hitters in the National League: .286, 206 HR, 852 RBI & 2,101 hits. Alou led the NL twice in hits. He broke with the Braves in Milwaukee and then had some great years at Atlanta.
As a manager, Alou was 691-717 with the Expos and later the Giants.
P.S. You can listen to my show. If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.