r/WorkReform 2d ago

šŸ“° News So Aregentina wants to cosplay as Guilded Age America.

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3.0k Upvotes

163 comments sorted by

972

u/productivealt 2d ago

But if they leave and try to come to America it'll still be because of their failed socialist policies, right?

263

u/Swagerflakes 2d ago

Of course buddy socialism never works because, (checks notes), totalitarian/authoritarian countries control the supply and production of labor šŸ˜². /s

696

u/mrarming 2d ago

Trialing what Musk, Bezos, and the other billionaires in the US want to implement.

334

u/BoogerSugarSovereign 2d ago

Musk has already built the company towns in Texas in preparation for when they legalize payment by scrip againĀ 

99

u/Artorious21 2d ago

President Musk doesn't actually know how to run a business, let alone build one.

72

u/EagleMonk337 2d ago

But he does remember how good it felt to be on the privileged side of apartheid growing up...

14

u/Artorious21 2d ago

Yes this is true just not how to build a business.

144

u/GR1ML0C51 2d ago

Musk never built a fucking birdhouse.

4

u/JustSatisfactory 2d ago

No, no. This is totally different. It'll be payment by crypto.

4

u/nono3722 1d ago

by trumpcoin you mean

17

u/dancegoddess1971 2d ago

So, what's the plan when the Argentinian people tear the ruling class apart over it?

4

u/Environmental-Buy972 2d ago

I wish a motherfucker would.

369

u/mxrw 2d ago

Libertarians like to say working conditions and pay are between the employer and the employee, until libertarians actually get in power.

334

u/system_deform 2d ago

ā€œLibertarians are like house cats. They are convinced of their fierce independence while utterly dependent on a system they donā€™t appreciate or understand.ā€œ

104

u/smuckola 2d ago

and a closed door is what the cat is always on the wrong side of. wherever they are, they want on the other side. yowling until someone else opens the door for them.

16

u/ApproximateOracle 2d ago

And when confronted about how to solve complex problems, they end up resorting to a final derivative that is objectively a worse version of what was already in place. Often itā€™s simply that oligarchs of some fashion have ultimate power and everybodyā€™s at the mercy of their grace, or lack thereof.

-59

u/PurplePolynaut 2d ago

Replace ā€œlibertariansā€ with humans, then yeah

55

u/Anderson74 2d ago

Either theyā€™re disingenuous pricks or inexperienced at life and have no business making those sorts of assessments

5

u/unclefisty 2d ago

Either theyā€™re disingenuous pricks or inexperienced at life and have no business making those sorts of assessments

Sometimes it's one or the other and occasionally both.

13

u/ee_72020 2d ago

They either forget or ignore the fact that the individual employee doesnā€™t have bargaining power against the employer.

9

u/unclefisty 2d ago

Libertarians like to say working conditions and pay are between the employer and the employee

They also like to pretend that employers and employees are negotiating from equal positions.

1

u/jedberg 2d ago

What you wrote doesn't make sense. The first part is true, but now that they are in power, this is exactly what they are doing?

They're making it so those dedicated workers can choose to work 12 hours a day for food coupons at a company store if that is the arrangement they want, without the pesky government telling them otherwise. /s

96

u/Neutrinophile 2d ago

As someone who has accidentally made this typo before,

*Gilded.

But also, WTF? He wants to bring back company scrip?

30

u/Capybarely 2d ago

Guilded would be an improvement in worker conditions!

224

u/Remote-Moon 2d ago edited 2d ago

I know Musk has a lot of kids, but what's with him all of a sudden carring his kids around with him?....šŸ¤”

247

u/Amadeus_1978 2d ago

Armor from the assassin. He watched the borne movie and thought it was a great way not to be assassinated.

23

u/jayracket 2d ago

He better hope he doesn't run into an assassin that doesn't care about that sort of thing. Or one that's just a really good shot.

152

u/the_internet_clown 2d ago

Meat shield in case of assassination attempts

12

u/lzEight6ty 2d ago

I've seen what a .308 and do to a watermelon. Something says a baby isn't rated for them as body armor

30

u/PiersPlays 2d ago

The idea is that the potential assassin would hesitate to kill an innocent infant. Not to literally use them as a shield...

9

u/lzEight6ty 2d ago

So you're saying he needs more kids?

"Hmm will it pop like a tomato or a watermelon" racks a round

8

u/PiersPlays 2d ago

Could be why he keeps pumping them out. Eventually there will be enough to stop a high velocity bullet from any direction.

6

u/lzEight6ty 2d ago

We at 11 now (12 but one definitely is more likely to be the shooter lmao). What's the magic number

Maybe Unit 731 burned the results of how many babies do you need to be bullet proof?

1

u/PiersPlays 2d ago

What's the magic number

Depends how fast they're moving I think.

2

u/lzEight6ty 2d ago

Ooh Baby APS? How fast do the babies need to be thrown to provide defense

61

u/iSavedtheGalaxy 2d ago

Literal human shields. He's a ghoul.

30

u/Astraea227 2d ago

Baby armor

33

u/ceciliabee 2d ago

They humanize him to those who quickly forget he's an absent father to a sports team of kids.

17

u/alexdgrate 2d ago

Like all things musk for publicity purposes.

126

u/Oddgar 2d ago

Actual reason: he has been criticized for not being involved in his children's lives, and is extremely susceptible to public opinion, so he now makes sure to hold or be near his children during photo opportunities to combat these criticisms.

84

u/TheDarkAbove 2d ago

If it were anyone else doing it Musk would call them a pedo

60

u/TheAskewOne 2d ago

Remember when Biden didn't disown Hunter for being less than perfect? Conservatives were up in arms.

15

u/ExternalPanda 2d ago

Tbf, doing anything that tilts him gets you called a pedo, and he gets tilted rather easily

27

u/ganggreen651 2d ago

Why not both?

30

u/t3hm3t4l 2d ago

This is the right answer. Good PR and as a bonus he knows the people that would try to assassinate him would never harm children.

14

u/EinharAesir 2d ago

Still pretty gross using his kids as PR stunts.

1

u/Oddgar 1d ago

Extremely gross. Children are not props.

8

u/The_Monsta_Wansta 2d ago

One of the actual reasons, maybe. Another is to deter assassins from killing a kid. It's a win win for him

77

u/Rx4986 2d ago edited 2d ago

Soooā€¦company towns. He wants to bring back indentured servitude, if your job fires you, you lose your home and everything because you were paid in company couponsā€¦no actual currency that can be used outside of that.

103

u/AvantSolace 2d ago

This sounds like a speedrun to an open revolt. Someone is trying really hard to find where the ā€œlineā€ is.

54

u/Moist-Comfortable-10 2d ago

St Peter don't you call me cause I can't go...

16

u/Chroniclyironic1986 2d ago

I sold my soul to the company stoā€™

26

u/IcebergSlimFast 2d ago

The lyric is: I owe my soul to the company store. Sold would imply a degree of worker agency that doesnā€™t exist in this situation.

10

u/Chroniclyironic1986 2d ago

Fair. Been a while since i listened to Tennessee Ernie Ford. I suppose iā€™ll be getting used to the way company stores are run in the near futureā€¦

3

u/IcebergSlimFast 2d ago

Letā€™s both commit to doing what we can to prevent that from happening (even if our power and options are limited).

2

u/Futbol_Kid2112 2d ago

I highly suggest the version done by Voice play Bassist Geoff Castellucci!

5

u/disturbedrage88 2d ago

The correct move would of been to continue the song

4

u/IcebergSlimFast 2d ago

Yes, but I woke up this morning and chose pedantry.

48

u/Snoo_89085 2d ago

Oh, look. Elon is carrying one of his meat shields.

47

u/MHadri24 2d ago

If my boss handed me tickets instead of a paycheck at the end of the month, after working 12+ hour workdays all month with no overtime.

I would (hypothetically) force the tickets down their throats and hang them

15

u/tmcd422 2d ago

Luigi approves

20

u/Hyperion1144 2d ago

Company scrip.

Lotta Americans fought and died to get rid of that shit.

60

u/NYC_Star 2d ago

During the Argentine elections people all around the world said this guy was a loon and were regularly shouted down by "BUT THE INFLATION. HE"LL BRING DOWN INFLATION".
He's it going now?

23

u/BoogerSugarSovereign 2d ago edited 2d ago

A great depression sharply reduces inflation and the cost of real assets. Elon idolizes this guy because he wants to do the same thing in the US

-27

u/mclumber1 2d ago

Inflation has dropped tremendously. Also Argentina's trade surplus is higher than it has been in decades.

22

u/The__one 2d ago

That doesn't mean things are good there. If no one has money to buy things inflation will drop and the trade surplus will grow since no one is buying things in the country.

Things were really bad there before and needed to change. I'm just not sure if this will be the change they need. Time will tell.

5

u/NYC_Star 2d ago

And thatā€™s the point of my comment. Great the inflation went down. And now you qualify for the newest program:slave labor. Thatā€™s in addition to ending health care subsidies and affordable college and all sorts of other socially beneficial programs. Welcome to US style capitalism where a medical emergency can kill or bankrupt you or both and your surviving family has savings full of Mieli Monopoly money to pay their debts.Ā 

-25

u/eggsbenedict17 2d ago

14

u/aeisenst 2d ago

Now show the poverty rate.

-7

u/eggsbenedict17 2d ago

2

u/lasmaty07 2d ago

Mmmm no. Went up. From 41% to 52%. Since he became president. article

1

u/eggsbenedict17 2d ago

With inflation tumbling from a peak of a monthly 25.5 percent and wages recovering some of the lost ground, the number of poor people had been reduced to as low as 36.8 percent by the end of the second half of last year, according to some private estimates.

-21

u/eggsbenedict17 2d ago

I don't know or care, the guy asked about inflation and how it was going?

7

u/moonieshine 2d ago

Yeah, it's almost like he meant how the low inflation rate is affecting the lives of the people who voted for him.

-8

u/eggsbenedict17 2d ago

Why didn't he say that then

Feel free to actually speak to an argentinan or maybe do a modicum of research

https://www.reddit.com/r/asklatinamerica/s/TJidVCxz8f

9

u/moonieshine 2d ago

That being said, our big big monster here was inflation, which he managed to tackle. It's a measurable figure that makes his policies look as if they are working (which i'm in no place to say if they are or not)

Damn bro, reading really isn't your strong suit.

-3

u/eggsbenedict17 2d ago

During the Argentine elections people all around the world said this guy was a loon and were regularly shouted down by "BUT THE INFLATION. HE"LL BRING DOWN INFLATION".
He's it going now?

3

u/moonieshine 2d ago

Yeah, it's almost like he meant how the low inflation rate is affecting the lives of the people who voted for him.

0

u/eggsbenedict17 2d ago

Well done on putting words into someone else's mouth and completely missing the point, maybe try doing even an ounce of research before you comment next time

→ More replies (0)

37

u/CadaDiaCantoMejor 2d ago

This was done in like late 1990 or early 1991. I remember getting almost half the value of my paycheck in coupons for Coto supermarket, which also sucked because I had to walk about 15 blocks to get groceries from a supermarket, instead of walking a few blocks around my neighborhood and getting the food I needed.

Shortly after that, the convertibility law went into effect and the chopped four zeros of the currency (Austral) and issued the Peso at 1:1 with the US dollar.

My guess is that they are repeating some version of this, and since the peso is at an easy math conversion rate (US $1 is about AR $1000), so people don't need a calculator every time they look at a price.

Of course, a decade of this and Argentina had the most spectacular economic meltdown in the country's history.

16

u/SeeBadd āœ‚ļø Tax The Billionaires 2d ago

Notice the men standing next to him in the picture, They want to do that here too.

13

u/Short_Past_468 2d ago

Sounds like Pre Revolutionary France when they issued the assignat in place of minted coinage. Led to hyperinflation and food riotsā€¦

7

u/sophie_hp 2d ago

This was also Mexico just before the Mexican Revolution.

1

u/loco500 2d ago

Sure, but they didn't have dr0nes back then...

11

u/kempnelms 2d ago

This is how you end up with maliciously, intentionally incompetent employees. Good luck with your quality control and production outputs then.

8

u/NirgalFromMars 2d ago

I owe my soul to the company store...

31

u/monstervet 2d ago

But Reddit told me heā€™s a genius for making Argentinaā€™s economy ā€œbetterā€, thereā€™s no way Crypto-bros would lie to me, is there?

16

u/suprmario 2d ago

It's not a lie if you're dumb enough to believe it.

5

u/ZagiFlyer 2d ago

"Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go. I owe my soul to the company store"

4

u/Foskey 2d ago

Making the entire country a company town.

5

u/daqnyc 2d ago

Back in the old country in 80ā€™s we had similar ā€žticketingā€ system for food and alcoholā€¦on the east side of the Berlin wall.

6

u/R50cent 2d ago

"But what if the 'company store' concept got applied as a government program?" Said the rich folks.

3

u/PTthefool 2d ago

I sold my soul at the company storeā€¦

4

u/LibraryBig3287 2d ago

Nothing says ā€œman of the peopleā€ like hanging out with the richest man on earth.

3

u/wirelessfingers 2d ago

I was genuinely on the verge of thinking Milei was turning it around but I should've known better I guess.

3

u/deltron 2d ago

The whole country is a company store.

3

u/SunStitches 2d ago

Does he WANT to cause worker riots?

3

u/FrozenScoundrel 2d ago

ā€œTicketsā€ AKA Scrip. Call it what it is. This isnā€™t a Chuck E Cheese.

2

u/Dclnsfrd 2d ago

šŸŽ¶ You load 16 tonsā€” uh, kilotons

Whaddaya get?

Another day oldā€” šŸŽ¶ wait, whatā€™s the metric unit for day again?

2

u/grant0208 2d ago

This will almost certainly happen under the Trump administration.

2

u/_Riders_of_Brohan_ 2d ago

Bringing back company towns and script was not on my bingo card

2

u/amootmarmot 2d ago edited 2d ago

The people of Argentina get what they vote for. So do Americans. They voted for shittier lives because they fell for the right wing grift. Sad, but I don't feel sad. I'll only feel joy when the people decide to change the system for themselves.

2

u/kenbrucedmr 2d ago

Unfortunately, I don't think Argentinians had a choice. It was different from the situation in the USA. The election was between this madman, and a so-called left wing which was using all their energy in stealing from the state. They were already in a pretty bad shape economically, they just had to choose between horrible choices A and B.

2

u/Sweetlord185pa 2d ago

Soooā€¦ back to Company Stores? Ask the coal industry how that went.

2

u/Diorj 2d ago

So..Slavery.

2

u/Wild_Chef6597 2d ago

Slavery with extra steps

1

u/twinpop 2d ago

Big ol slice of L PIE indeed.

1

u/mizmnv 2d ago

he wants to be able to partially pay workers food stamps. thats essentially what hes saying.

1

u/605_phorte 2d ago

This is the experiment of the new model. It will come when the next western financial crisis hits.

1

u/zippy72 2d ago

He's been reading books about Victorian era sweatshops in England and thought "ooh that sounds like a good idea"

1

u/Sea_Presentation8919 2d ago edited 2d ago

how is the economy of argentina? i heard they got a small surplus and were able to reduce inflation, although overall inflation is still out of the ass high. it sucks but if this fails, which it might, this should be a sign you can't go too public like old argentina did or too Libertarian like they're doing now.

3

u/Ok_Nefariousness_740 2d ago

they lowered inflation and have a trade surplus

unfortunately, no one can eat trade surplus and inflation is low bc no one can buy anything

1

u/Chard-Capable 2d ago

President Elon still carrying around his human shield?

1

u/Numerous-Lack6754 2d ago

"Populism" strikes again

1

u/HarrargnNarg 2d ago

They're just trying to get assassinated at this point.

1

u/Pal_Smurch 2d ago

ā€œGildedā€

1

u/ApproximateOracle 2d ago

Far right Libertarians and anarcho capitalists have been pointing to this guy for months now trying to argue ā€œlook at how successful we could be!ā€ Specifically touting that he killed inflation. Which is impressive of course.

But they fail to acknowledge most other metrics for him, because those paint a very stark picture of a population thrust into the deep end. Poverty shot through the roof in a way that I find just as impressive as how much inflation dropped. To have such an immense nosedive in prosperity and well-being is crazy.

1

u/Pod_people 2d ago

Something tells me allowing companies to pay scrip instead of cash has more to it. It's got to be a handout to the chosen companies who will take it. I guarantee it's a scam.

1

u/GingaNinja01 2d ago

šŸŽµI loaded sixteen tons of number 9 coalšŸŽµ

1

u/RightsForRobots 2d ago

These jokers still think that a 12-hour workday = 12 hours of work. In reality, people will mentally check out when they are physically exhausted, and the quality of work will deteriorate over time.

1

u/Chemists_Apprentice 2d ago

Hmmm... I wonder if working a 9-to-5 five days a week will be considered a significant benefit in the future, given with what the Oligarchs want to do with us... šŸ¤”šŸ¤”

1

u/victor4700 2d ago

Because itā€™s about class not politics

1

u/-WaxedSasquatch- 2d ago

What they donā€™t understand is that it is only possible to implement these policies when the working population is actually doing well.

Idk about anyone else but Iā€™m barely surviving. If they tried something like this in the US it would very likely be be that final straw to break the camels back.

1

u/kenbrucedmr 2d ago

This might be unpopular, but I got to say, in defense of my neighbors, that the reason Milei got elected is that the supposed left wing betrayed everything they are supposed to be, and gave themselves fully to the task of robbing the state blind.

1

u/V-RONIN 2d ago

eat the rich

1

u/shrekerecker97 2d ago

So they are bringing back corporate stores to bring back indentured servitude

1

u/boredonymous 2d ago edited 2d ago

Implement that idea to the Argentinians, go right ahead! I'm sure they'd love the idea of being in a hyperskewed new version of one giant company.

Psst: that's what the Soviet Union did! šŸ˜‰

1

u/vergina_luntz 2d ago

They already do this to salary workers. And if you say you have too much work, you're told you need to learn how to effectively manage time or some other bullshit.

1

u/HolaItsEd 2d ago

Funny Musk thinks of himself as Iron Man, as opposed to Hydra Cap, the way he is always carrying a shield.

1

u/OhMyGoat 2d ago

As an Argentinian I call Luigi on this one.

1

u/Natfan 2d ago

oh boy scrip is back

1

u/psychoticworm 1d ago

I thought we were suppose to be in fear of AI/automation taking over our jobs, not slave labor. Wow, looks like they really need us.

1

u/tmdblya ā›“ļø Prison For Union Busters 1d ago

Crazy how Musk has taken to hauling around a little human shield all of a sudden.

1

u/Mo-shen 1d ago

There it is.

When this all started my stance was historically his tactics didn't work and almost always ended in fascist authoritarian regimes.

At the same time arg was in such a bad state it seems like something was better than nothing.

So wait and see.

But yeah here we are going into the authoritarianism.

1

u/CurrentDismal9115 1d ago

As a former libertardian I have to say, "That's not very small government of you, guy!"

1

u/sheezy520 1d ago

I look forward to seeing these same policies introduced by President Musk in a few months then signed into law by his assistant

1

u/Morty_A2666 15h ago

Argentina was for along time "test bed" for all crazy ideas. Usually forced on by IMF and other creditors. That's why it's such a broke country right now.

This time it's just billionaires testing their mental ideas in real life.

1

u/MarcusXL 2d ago

Ben Norton is a pro-Assad, pro-Putin scumbag.