Argentina Continues Downsizing Government

President Javier Milei has done an excellent job of restoring Argentina by removing useless government agencies that produce nothing. Milei, who has called the government “a criminal organization,” recently laid off an additional 24,000 public sector workers. There were 341,477 people in the public sector on government payroll when Milei took office, and his aim is to eliminate 70,000 needless positions.

Referred to as the “gnocchi” after the Italian pasta dish that is commonly served on the 29th of the month, the same day as payday, are the individuals in Argentina on the government payroll who do absolutely nothing. They were installed by politicians in exchange for favors. Critics claim he is firing at random, but the Milei Administration has assured the public that selecting those who will be laid off will be an “extremely surgical task, done so as not to make mistakes.”

Milei has already eliminated useless agencies such as the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Labor, and Ministry of Social Development. In his words, Argentina is currently a poor country and cannot afford these departments that do absolutely nothing to improve the nation’s economic conditions. He has cut the Cabinet in half and no one has noticed a difference.

The economy, however, noticed its first surplus in over 10 years. Milei removed price controls and devalued the currency by 54%. Transport and fuel subsidies were eliminated. It was noted that these measures would at first hurt PPP before the economy could begin to heal. Imagine inflation cooling in February at 276% — the situation was dire. The International Monetary Fund awarded Argentina a $44 billion credit program. The nation is beginning to stabilize very slowly, and it took decades of deteriorating economic conditions for someone to come in and clean house.

Government employees bankrupted Rome, for they did not produce income but rather consumed wealth. This is the difference between private workers and those employed by government. One produces economic growth, while the other is a public servant consuming the wealth generated by others. Unfunded liabilities are destroying nations globally. Argentina saw the repercussions sooner than others and is now making a meaningful change.