Argentina in talks with IMF for $30 billion bailout

[sandensea]

4. Macri is a lot like Dubya. But you're describing de la Rua (another IMF fan) - not the Kirchner era.

From 2003 to 2015 GDP grew by two-thirds, business (including foreign) investment rose to record levels, around 6 million jobs were created (the equivalent of 48 million in the U.S.), the middle class doubled in size, and despite a 20% avg. inflation (normal in Argentina) real wages rose 72% - with not a penny in added foreign debt.

It would have been better still if Argentina's access to credit hadn't been boycotted.

And yet, under "Mr. Pro-Biz" Macri, businesses have cut back or shut down: 80% of new jobs under Macri have been in the informal sector.

Not everyone has felt the pain though: billions have been steered to his friends and supporters by way of tailor-made tax cuts, massive insider trading (as shown by Central Bank docs), and sweetheart contracts.

Now they're back to bailouts. And there's a real chance there may be no money with which to pay bondholders thanks to Macri's financial deregulation and resulting bad debts - $52 billion last year alone.

One can only hope this ends well; it didn't back when they did the same thing in 2001 and during the dictatorship in '81.