Musical Chairs

Day 2 - January 10, 2010      Argentina is exciting if you like hardball politics.  Yesterday the President of the Central Bank was fired, today he is back in power.  The economy is reverting to the bust part of the traditional Argentine boom - bust cycle.  The President, Cristina Kirchner, ordered the Bank president, to hand over $6.6 billion of foreign reserves to her to pay the huge debts she has run up as a left-leaning socialist.  He had the courage to say no and so she asked him to resign.  He said "No" again and she fired him.  Then last night a brave judge ordered him back into power, saying the President did not have the authority to fire him and sent it to Congress to decide.  Now the Vice President of the country is siding with the Bank and the President calls it a conspiracy.  Last year she was fighting with the farmers over a huge tax increase she wanted to pay for her spending spree.  The farmers went on strike, blocking the roads and preventing the  famous Argentine beef from getting to market.  Now, in an exciting act two, the business class is fighting to save their capital from the voracious Mrs. Kirchner.  Sound familiar?  This is what we would have had if Hillary had won.  Well, I guess this is what we do have with Obama nomics except it is not as transparent.  How much difference is there really between a government that does not believe in private property and one that says it believes but forces you into government health care and cap and trade taxes?  Meanwhile, people move from job to job and musical chairs goes on until someone stops playing.     Fortunately most people in Argentina just laugh at the politicians and keep on working.  People like Don Felipe Ruttini, who came from Italy in 1895 and planted grapes.  We visited his winery, La Bodega Rural and saw his original planting of Cabernet Sauvignon.  The tour included his 1925 Chevrolet pick up truck and a 1935 Chevy extended bed truck.  We both smiled and said Roger Bumps and Dick Parkhill would love to restore these great trucks.  That is when American industry built things to last.  We had a great lunch of Trucha, grilled fresh trout from the Rio Mendoza.  Gail made such a hit with the gauchos that they surrounded her so I could take their picture.  Ah, the politicians keep stealing the money and the workers just keep on working.  And what great wine and food they make here.