Cry, the Benighted Country

Though there will probably be a shortage of Kleenex with this crowd in charge;

Argentinean officials introduced a new bill to the Senate on August 5: the New Regulation of Production and Consumption Relations.

This legislation aims to replace the current governing Law of Supply by establishing limits on prices, production levels, and profit margins, and has already received harsh criticism from certain industries.

The Kirchner administration’s goal with this proposal is to “prevent abuse and the misappropriation of the value chain surplus.”

Argentina, which in the early 20th century was about as wealthy and developed as the United States, turned away from free enterprise and embraced varying degrees of fascism. AKA. The Road to Serfdom. They may not have arrived at complete Stalinist control yet, but this is a move in that direction. Consider;

Article 2 of the bill would grant the Commerce Secretariat the authority, when “strictly necessary,” to “establish profit margins, reference prices, and maximum and minimum price limits at any stage of the economic process.” It will also be granted the authority to dictate policies governing the trade and distribution of production, and command the continued production of certain items.

The same article allows the secretariat to assign “volumes of production, manufacture, sale, or offering of services.”

Under Section E, it is granted the power to request “all documentation regarding the commercial transactions of businesses or economic agents” and allows the agency to “order the annulment of concessions, privileges, tax regimes, or special credits.” It further grants the Commerce Secretariat the ability “to seize, appropriate, and even sell goods and services that are scarce or in violation, without prior expropriation proceedings.”

Fidel and Raul should be so powerful.