Argentine leader raising cash handouts 35 percent (election year)

[Ad Orientem]

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Argentina’s president announced a $3.2 billion annual increase in cash handouts for the poor, students and pregnant women Wednesday, saying the programs will reach nearly 700,000 additional children, pay their families 35 percent more and encourage consumer spending in what is an election year...

...Earlier Wednesday, the government announced that a price freeze on 500 consumer goods would remain in place through October — which is when Argentines cast ballots in legislative elections that will determine whether the president has enough votes in Congress to eliminate constitutional term limits that would end her mandate in 2015.

Giving credit where it's due the Argentines seem a bit more upfront about using public money to buy votes than our politicians.

[melveyr]

Man, that country is a train wreck.

[RuralEngineer]

You have to appreciate how blatant the bribery is.

[clacy]

Unfortunately, South Americans seem to buy that crap over and over. 

[notsheigetz]

Giving credit where it's due the Argentines seem a bit more upfront about using public money to buy votes than our politicians.

In the Philippines you get a direct payment for your vote on election day BEFORE you cast it. My wife used to make extra cash every year stuffing the envelopes. She would get calls every election day asking when they could come and pick up their money. I asked her how they knew if the person followed through with the vote and she basically said it is on the honor system.

[craigr]

Argentina is a nice country in many ways. But sadly they do have a very bad government. The only country in that part of the world I'd invest in personally, if I wanted to speculate, is Chile which is not corrupt.

[rocketdog]

The only country in that part of the world I'd invest in personally, if I wanted to speculate, is Chile which is not corrupt.

Not much, anyway.