Don’t Cry for Argentina, Cry for Venezuela

Argentina last week failed once again to elect a statesman who can make the country great again.

It has been more than 100 years since Argentina was ranked one of the richest countries in the world due its agricultural prowess. But it’s been downhill since Juan Peron and his fellow Peronists ruled the South American country. There have been attempts to reverse the downward trend, such as the election of Carlos Menem (1989-1999) and more recently Mauricio Macri (2015-2019).

Unfortunately, both Menem and Macri failed to overcome the big spending policies of the Peronists and made the mistake of financing the growing deficits through inflation.

Now the Peronists will be back in power in November. The disaster continues.

But it can’t be worse than Venezuela. Speaking of which…

In 1968-69, Dave Phillips and I were Christian missionary companions in Venezuela and later Colombia as part of the newly formed Colombia-Venezuela mission… And we’ve been friends ever since.

Dave Phillips and Mark Skousen serve as missionaries together in Venezuela in 1968.

Dave is the founder and president of Phillips Estate Planning Specialists, Inc., in Arizona, and comes every year to FreedomFest to speak on estate planning and insurance. (Go to his website www.epmez.com.)

Fifty years ago, Venezuela was the richest country in South America and ranked #10 in terms of economic freedom. Colombia was one of the poorest nations in South America, suffering from crime and illegal drug smuggling.

Now it’s a reversal of fortune. According to the latest Heritage Foundation’s Economic Freedom Index, Colombia is now the #1 freest country in South America, and one of the richest, and Venezuela is the least free and one of the poorest (#32, dead last, even worse than Cuba, #31).

Who would have guessed? Can’t any of the Latin leaders learn from the Chile model?

Mark Skousen

Mark Skousen, Ph. D., is a professional economist, investment expert, university professor, and author of more than 25 books. He earned his Ph. D. in monetary economics at George Washington University in 1977. He has taught economics and finance at Columbia Business School, Columbia University, Grantham University, Barnard College, Mercy College, Rollins College, and is a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University. He also has been a consultant to IBM, Hutchinson Technology, and other Fortune 500 companies. Since 1980, Skousen has been editor in chief of Forecasts & Strategies, a popular award-winning investment newsletter. He also is editor of four trading services, Skousen TNT Trader, Skousen Five Star Trader, Skousen Home Run Trader, and Skousen Fast Money Alert. He is a former analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency, a columnist to Forbes magazine (1997-2001), and past president of the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) in New York. He has written articles for The Wall Street Journal, Liberty, Reason, Human Events, the Daily Caller, Christian Science Monitor, and The Journal of Economic Perspectives. He has appeared on ABC News, CNBC Power Lunch, CNN, Fox News, and C-SPAN Book TV. In 2008-09, he was a regular contributor to Larry Kudlow & Co. on CNBC. His economic bestsellers include “Economics on Trial” (Irwin, 1991), “Puzzles and Paradoxes on Economics” (Edward Elgar, 1997), “The Making of Modern Economics” (M. E. Sharpe, 2001, 2009), “The Big Three in Economics” (M. E. Sharpe, 2007), “EconoPower” (Wiley, 2008), and “Economic Logic” (2000, 2010). In 2009, “The Making of Modern Economics” won the Choice Book Award for Outstanding Academic Title. His financial bestsellers include “The Complete Guide to Financial Privacy” (Simon & Schuster, 1983), “High Finance on a Low Budget” (Bantam, 1981), co-authored with his wife Jo Ann, “Scrooge Investing” (Little Brown, 1995; McGraw Hill, 1999), and “Investing in One Lesson” (Regnery, 2007). In honor of his work in economics, finance, and management, Grantham University renamed its business school “The Mark Skousen School of Business.” Dr. Skousen has lived in eight nations, and has traveled and lectured throughout the United States and 70 countries. He grew up in Portland, Ore. He and his wife, Jo Ann, and five children have lived in Washington, D.C.; Nassau, the Bahamas; London, England; Orlando, Fla.; and New York. For more information about Mark’s services, go to http://www.markskousen.com/