PrintApril 14, 2010
Argentina grabs private pension funds
In a move sure to be observed by other cash-pressed governments, Argentina has seized control of privately-managed pension funds. Ambrose Evans-Pritchard writes in the UK Telegraph:
Here is a warning to us all. The Argentine state is taking control of the country's privately-managed pension funds in a drastic move to raise cash. [...]Here is a link from La Nacion and another from El Pais for Spanish speakers....... over $29bn of Argentine civic savings are to be used as a funding kitty for the populist antics of President Cristina Kirchner. This has been dressed up as an anti-corruption and efficiency move. Aren't they always?
Americans are already being softened up for a Value Added Tax, being told it is "inevitable." The fact is that America's federal government has expanded its take from the rest of the economy, and will soon be grabbing more of its citizens' wealth. Is a grab of pension funds inconceivable here? Or is that part of the change that Obama promised?
Hat tip: Bryan Demko
