Cinco Pesos Poca Plata
My paternal grandfather grew up in Argentina. When I knew him in the 1960s and 70s, he was a bank VP in New York City. He would occasionally recite something in Spanish. The only thing I can recall is “Cinco pesos poca plata.” It’s even truer now than when he said it.
“Finalizing a $20 billion lifeline for Argentina using taxpayers’ funds during the government shutdown was an essential action for the agency, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday.
“His remarks came in response to a letter from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, who wrote to Bessent a week prior requesting an explanation as to why the Treasury Department was working on the Argentinian lifeline during a shutdown of the federal government that has restrained resources.
“We have been forced to prioritize mission-critical efforts necessary to the discharge of the President’s constitutional duties — including national security and global financial stability,” Bessent wrote to Warren, in a letter the senator shared exclusively with CNN.”
So that solved the problem, right?
“But on top of questions Trump has faced on the rationale for an economic rescue of the South American country, a looming concern is whether the efforts have been successful.
“While the Argentine peso initially rose following Bessent’s announcement, the currency set a fresh low earlier this week, suggesting more work could be needed to stabilize it.”
What Bessent et al. ignore is that a currency is worth exactly what people say it’s worth, not what the King of America or his toady says. The plan to generate an additional $20 billion loan is also doomed. Temporary bandaids don’t inspire investors.
Trump’s Argentina bailout is failing
“Finalizing a $20 billion lifeline for Argentina using taxpayers’ funds during the government shutdown was an essential action for the agency, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday.
“His remarks came in response to a letter from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, who wrote to Bessent a week prior requesting an explanation as to why the Treasury Department was working on the Argentinian lifeline during a shutdown of the federal government that has restrained resources.
“We have been forced to prioritize mission-critical efforts necessary to the discharge of the President’s constitutional duties — including national security and global financial stability,” Bessent wrote to Warren, in a letter the senator shared exclusively with CNN.”
So that solved the problem, right?
“But on top of questions Trump has faced on the rationale for an economic rescue of the South American country, a looming concern is whether the efforts have been successful.
“While the Argentine peso initially rose following Bessent’s announcement, the currency set a fresh low earlier this week, suggesting more work could be needed to stabilize it.”
What Bessent et al. ignore is that a currency is worth exactly what people say it’s worth, not what the King of America or his toady says. The plan to generate an additional $20 billion loan is also doomed. Temporary bandaids don’t inspire investors.
Trump’s Argentina bailout is failing
This is but one small slice of the massive transfer, the socializing, of public wealth to private pockets no one seems to be capable of noticing or if so willing to object to
All part of the plan: tear America down from the inside, profit on the side …
Didn’t Rhett Butler say that there was hard money earned building and empire but easy money tearing one down?
WWRS (What Would Rhett Say)
Frankly my dear