Argentina just outlawed the buying and selling of gold by it’s citizens.  “So what?” you may ask.  There are many who believe that our economy is unsustainable (the numbers certainly lead to that conclusion), something about you can’t spend far more than you earn forever, and that at some point the whole thing will implode.  Many who believe that feel that the economic collapse will look very similar to Argentina’s collapse back in 2000-2001, and that Argentina has provided a good blueprint for what may follow if our economy does go over the cliff.

Obama said the U.S. and Argentina share a range of common interests and concerns, including about the global economy.  Obama has been reported as saying “Argentina suffered a devastating default on its debt in 2001 but has experienced nearly a decade of strong economic growth since then.”  Hmmm, let’s see…

Keep in mind that I use Ferfal (as opposed to the media) as my point of reference on what life in Argentina is really like.

–          In 2008, President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner nationalized nearly $30 billion (US) in private pension holdings by transferring them to the social security system.

–          Within the last 12 months she (her administration) has imposed severe restrictions on buying and selling US dollars.  People were doing this because the dollar holds it’s value better than Argentina’s currency (yikes!).  They still are, but there is now a black market which you must do it in.  (insert ferfal link)

–          This year there have been several tax hikes, federal restrictions on wage increases, and nationalized (seized) the oil company YPF which Spanish company Repsol had a 51% stake

–          Their congress has passed an anti-terrorism law that has been criticized for using very vague and imprecise terminology (hmmm…that doesn’t sound familiar at all).

And now they are no longer able to buy and sell gold.  This didn’t happen in an instant, it built over time, much like boiling a frog.  One should also note that a federal financial disclosure in 2009 showed that the President and her late husband’s personal assets increased by 700% since 2003.  Meanwhile the common folk aren’t even allowed to try and preserve their “wealth” by putting it in US dollars or precious metals, assuming they could even afford to in the first place.

The rich get richer, especially during economic crisis.