Bloomberg News drew fierce criticism for suggesting that Americans spend their paychecks quickly, purchase expensive items like homes and cars, and take out loans to pay for them, as means of coping with skyrocketing inflation.
The article, titled “For Americans Shocked by Inflation, Argentines Have Some Advice,” cites the nation of Argentina, whose annual inflation rate is typically about 50%, and suggests that Americans copy the strategies used by average Argentinians to cope with inflation in the U.S., which has risen to a nearly 40-year high at 6.8%.
“For many Americans, the sudden burst of inflation that has rocked the economy has been disorienting,” the article, written by Patrick Gillespie and Ignacio Olivera Doll, begins. “Consumer prices had been so stable for so long in the U.S. that the population finds itself a little rusty on basic inflationary-era tactics. So for some advice, we turned to people who have become experts in the art of surviving runaway inflation: Argentines.”
“Walk around Buenos Aires and you’ll hear conversations — between 18-year-old college students, 90-year-old retirees and everyone in between — about currency exchange rates, soaring prices and strategies for coping.”
“Of course, the 50% inflation they deal with in a typical year in Argentina — the product of decades of policy missteps that have destroyed confidence in the central bank — is far higher than the 6.8% rate that Americans are enduring. But many of the principles that shape the day-to-day habits of Argentine workers, consumers and savers are still broadly applicable in the U.S. today.”
The first strategy the article suggests is that Americans spend their paychecks quickly. In Argentina’s high-inflation economy, where money sitting in the bank rapidly loses value, consumers spend their paychecks on the things they need right away, purchasing weeks’ worth of food at grocery stores, even if most of it will sit in the freezer for weeks, Gillespie and Doll write. The authors do not go as far as to suggest that Americans go to the grocery store and begin hoarding their essentials, but they should “expedite plans to buy big-ticket items — appliances, bicycles, furniture.”
“If you have the money to pay for that sofa now, do it,” the authors argue.
The article goes on to suggest that Americans not hesitate to take out loans to make those big-ticket purchases. “If you can get a loan at a rate below inflation — something that’s possible for many Americans today — go for it. Inflation will make it easier to repay the loan in coming months and years,” the article reads.
Next, the article suggests that Americans seek pay raises. American’s real wages are declining due to inflation, as The Daily Wire previously reported and as the authors note, but their solution is simply to negotiate a wage increase.
“Argentina’s labor unions and companies negotiate annual pay raises for workers that factor in expected inflation. When prices rise more than anticipated, those agreements often get ripped up, and the two sides go back to the negotiating table to iron out new terms. It’s a powerful tool that American workers can take inspiration from, albeit one that would create angst for policy makers trying to prevent a wage-price spiral,” the article says.
The article also suggests that consumers buy cars and real estate, as well as inflation-linked bonds, to hedge their money against inflation.
The piece was lambasted by conservatives on Twitter.
Bloomberg next week –
“Some of the advice on how to cope with rising inflation includes: Stop using cash and switch to bartering.” https://t.co/TJXPyGhMZt
— Omri Ceren (@omriceren) December 12, 2021
Lol. The implication that the paycheck isn’t spent before it’s even deposited is flattering, but, yeah, no prob guys. https://t.co/ULmqDbREXM
— Caleb Howe (@CalebHowe) December 13, 2021
“You will own nothing and you will be happy” https://t.co/USdiv5zdQ0
— Carol Roth (@caroljsroth) December 12, 2021
ffs Argentina’s annual inflation rate is often 50%. US today at 6%. but sure @business let’s pretend they’re similar https://t.co/X2D6DqFQW4
— Eric Boehlert (@EricBoehlert) December 13, 2021
Did institutional investors who own trillions in assets write this headline? https://t.co/90Ndudv1el
— litquidity (@litcapital) December 12, 2021
advice: accelerate your downfall. https://t.co/E3cah6e1Un
— Logan Hall (@loganclarkhall) December 12, 2021
Good God https://t.co/nk1ipm3Rsn
— Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) December 13, 2021