MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
In Argentina, 55% of all registered workers are employed by government
Public sector jobs have soared in recent years in Argentina, and from a relation of 42 every 100 registered workers, white and blue-collar, back in 2012, it has jumped to 55 currently. This means that in the 2012/2017 period, the creation of government-paid jobs was larger than the overall employment in the Argentine economy. Read full article
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Disclaimer & comment rulesAt one time some councils in the UK had “cycling coordinators” and the like. 10 years of austerity policies got rid of them.
Jul 27th, 2020 - 06:01 pm - Link - Report abuse 0It can’t be a sustainable situation for Argentina.
Where is an Enrique or like to explain what’s happening here, in case we don’t understand and misinterpret things, and think its bad news.
Don't see how even Reekie, a fanatical supporter of the Fernandez couple, can defend this...
Jul 27th, 2020 - 07:00 pm - Link - Report abuse 0But perhaps he'll try.
Pugol-H Jack
Jul 28th, 2020 - 04:03 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Numerous times I've mentioned my admiration for my Argentine cousins, but I would never trust them because their society is completely corrupt.
The entire Argentine economy is one gigantic Ponzi scheme with the national pastime consists of avoiding taxes. The labor unions are organized mafias and the transportation workers heavily involved in organized looting with embezzlement a normal practice within the justice department. (I was involved in a table grape exporting venture in San Juan Argentina during the '90s and although we made a profit, we quickly withdrew because of the corruption was unbelievably outrageous.)
The practice of the hiring a massive number of its own citizens to placate unrest has resulted in a bloated bureaucracy — that even exceed the gross excess of Italy.
One telling indication is forming a new limited liability company in Chile can be accomplished within a week. In Argentina it takes over a year, unless you bribe officials over months of waiting...
Meanwhile, the country's credit rating is hilarious and completely untenable.
¡Saludos!
Chicureo , Pugol-H
Jul 28th, 2020 - 08:31 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Sounds like a pretty unhealthy business environment for honest entrepreneurs....
Our government expenses here too, are obscene. They are all bloated well beyond their needs.
Public servants number 11,4 million….1,1 million in the Federal Government, with average salaries ranging from 2 to 3 times that of their counterparts in the private sector....not to mention the benefits /privileges of some small groups (top employees in the Executive, politicians in Congress, and in the Supreme Court).
The States and Municipalities, also notoriously bloated, employ 10,3 million...the sum of the combined Federal, State, and Municipal payrolls reached R$ 928 billion in 2019, and represented approximately 13,0% of the GDP (R$ 7,3 trillion).
The federal public servants, although far less in number (9,6% of the total), consumed roughly 35% of the total, or R$ 326 billion, equal to 21% of the total of federal taxes collected in 2019 - R$ 1,57 trillion.
Just to get an idea, Congress (594 stooges) cost us R$ 11,2 billion in 2019, and the Supreme Court Justices, R$ 741 million (the SC structure employs 2,310 employees, or 211 per judge).
Then there are the unions, over 15,000 of them (can you believe it ??), all sponging off the workers and doing absolutely nothing for them, in return.
Anyone who dares to suggest that these absurd distortions need to be corrected, is shot down (not literally), or ignored. Their lust for money is the one thing that brings them all together, left, centre or right, radicals, conservatives...
Of course, we can't forget the corruption, which consumes 10s of billions/year......it's a miracle Brazil survives all this plunder, official and under the counter.
Jack Pugol-H
Jul 28th, 2020 - 10:15 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Yes, it's sad because Brazil is a sleeping giant with incredible potential. As I've mentioned, the exporting company my family is associated with did extensive vineyard drip irrigation consulting in the São Francisco valley and it had amazing possibilities.
The two major cities of the valley are separated by the river, where the city Petrolina to the south is mildly corruptly governed Pernambuco province — and the city Juazeiro by a highly corruptly governed socialist anti-business Bahia province.
For me it was amazing that there were no traditional seasonal growing periods with irrigation. Other than just some rain in the first trimester of the year, there are no harsh weather threatening the bud break, the flowering, or the maturation. “The maturity of the grape comes faster and it's possible to harvest up to two and a half times a year. You'll also find grapes in different stages of maturity. It's like seeing spring, summer, fall at the same time.”
So, you'd think the business development would have quickly grown, but instead the businesses all suffered from high taxes, government bureaucracy and outrageous poor labor productivity. When you factor the corruption and anti-business environment and you understand why the area's growth is stagnated.
https://www.winetouristmagazine.com/wt-blog/2016/9/19/literally-the-hottest-wine-region-in-the-world-so-francisco-valley-brazil
At the moment, I've pulled a cork of '12 Viña Arboleda Cabernet Reserva Limitada that's outstanding. (Although not as good as the Caballo Loco...)
¡Saludos!
JB, Chicureo
Jul 28th, 2020 - 11:41 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“Brazil is a sleeping giant with incredible potential”, Agreed
S. America is a sleeping giant with incredible potential, I think.
However both of you have said the word which every other S. American (of whatever nationality) that I have ever met, or talked to, has also mentioned “corruption”.
I don’t think things will ever really change down there until you can change that.
No idea how.
Just a view from afar.
How many are employed in the “Malvinas Industry” with alls its Committees, Commissions, Councils, Observatories, Secretariats &c &c on federal, provincial or municipal levels? Much expenses and no gain.
Jul 29th, 2020 - 07:03 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Pugol-H
Jul 29th, 2020 - 07:47 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I would imagine as you lived in Africa, you could understand why South America will never reach the same level that Europe or America has today. (In fact, we see those successful areas slowly sadly declining.)
Chicureo, Pugol-H
Jul 30th, 2020 - 09:24 pm - Link - Report abuse 0While coruption plagues most countries, to a greater/ lesser extent - the difference between S. America / Africa & Europe/USA is that in the latter, when discovered, the culprits usually go to prison.
It's notorious here, that in every single government, on all 3 levels, where public servants have access to public money (to sign contracts with the private sector), they always take their share in kickbacks, 'n bribery.
All you hear on the news are reports on : corruption by members of Congress ; COVID 19; organized & violent crime...you've gotta have a strong stomach to watch it .
Favorite pastimes of at least 50% of Congress 'n 3 of the 11 Supreme Court Justices, is to spend their time trying to obstruct justice...in, literally, any way they can...
Augusto Aras, the “Procurador Geral da República” (equivalent to the Attorney General in USA ?), appointed by Bolsonaro, is now showing his true colours....by demanding all confidential information being collected /processed by the various Federal task forces fighting corruption, share their information with all prosecutors, even if they aren't involved in the investigation....he claims that the 'secrecy' of such investigations leads to crimes...
Don't see how, as when a prosecutor presents a case to a judge, to decide whether it'll go forward or be dismissed, must present all the relevant proof....Aras' intention is clear as crystal.....to enable any prosecutor, all with unknown political preferences, to 'leak' confidential information to those being investigated for corruption.
When confronted by a group of senators to produce proof that the task forces were breaking the law, he admitted he had none, tt he was speaking 'in theory'...great !
Dias Toffoli , STF president, grants immunity to politicians accused of corruption, suspends ongoing investigations, and contradicts the Constition & previous decisions taken by the STF, all with the intent to protect his friends.
It stinks !!!
I suppose once corruption is endemic, everyone has an interest in concealing it.
Jul 31st, 2020 - 05:02 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I can understand how it happens, just can’t see an antidote.
Pugol-H
Jul 31st, 2020 - 08:28 pm - Link - Report abuse 0For starters, the antidote, which will never be given, would be to drastically reduce the number of Congressmen (and members of State and local legislatures), and have their numbers based on inhabitants by State....currently, SP has 3 senators, but then so do all the other States, even those that cannot support themselves with their own revenue....in practise, SP supports itself and 1/3 of Brazil, yet when it comes down to decisions which affect the country, the votes of all the shitty little States, like those in the NE, have the same weight...a political distortion.
Another measure would be to prohibit members of Congress - who are elected to legislate, nothing else - from occupying Ministries or any other administrative posts in government....which would have to be filled by people qualified in their respective fields and without any declared political ambition.
Sounds like utopia, but no harm in imagining it.
JB
Aug 01st, 2020 - 03:46 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Here in the UK there is a register of interests, where MPs have to declare anything such as being on the board of a company, where contracts are being handed out.
Maybe if all people in such positions where it can happen, were required to declare (confidentially of course to auditors), all accounts and assets, money in and out.
Anything found un-accounted for, or un-declared, is seized and the person prosecuted.
It would at least stop the obvious of people living in houses with lifestyles they cannot possibly afford on their salaries.
Pugol-H
Aug 02nd, 2020 - 08:54 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Many Congressmen in Brazil are liberal professionals (lawyers with law firms, engineers with construction companies, industrialists etc), most with interests in all sorts of companies ranging from public services (transport, garbage collection) to agriculture, education, health etc, but that does not seem to hinder them lobbying to favouring their companies or the economic segments they work in...it is very common to see legislation passed with the intent of favoring such companies....when accused of prevarication, they brush it aside as nonsense, deny it, and become offended at the mere suggestion that they used their influence to prevaricate....in the rare cases it won't go away, and if they are charged, they claim political immunity, their cases end up in the Supreme Court, where it takes 10-15 years (on average) to be ruled upon, when not simply dismissed. So, total impunity prevails...they become rich when not even wealthier, pay off judges....and enjoy our taxes.
Today, as I said above, Congress and parts of the SC are only interested in power and what it means for them. The 'people' are a distant notion which only becomes important at election time.
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