Loafing through the internet, I don’t surf, too tiring, I came upon a rather unique habit of the Argentine people. When a president dies, they like to vote in his widow. Quite sweet really, as if they were saying, ‘don’t worry my dear, we’re all sorry that your hubby is gone but why don’t you take his job, it’ll make you feel better!” And like the Peron ladies, Evita and Isabelle of 50 years ago, Cristine is at it now to get the Argentine nation on the right track to opulence, glory and, undoubtedly, a great packet of honour as well in order to compensate for fraud, murder and desaparicidos.

This lady doesn’t bugger about, nuclear submarines are to be built. Her neighbour Brazil is doing the same thing but somehow I don’t think that these neighbours are going to shoot at one another. Rather, Argentine’s old enemy, England must be in their sights. The defeat that Thatcher’s England dealt them 30 years ago over the Falklands islands rankles…rankles…

Also it appears that oil has been found in the same region and if the Argentines are to profit by that find they’d better be able to keep the bloody limey navy away and a few nuclear subs might be handy tools for that purpose. The time is ripe, Thatcher’s England does not compare with today’s shadowy image of that country, broke, disillusioned and a navy in shambles. Thatcher’s machismo obliterated the Argentines’ machismitos but the Camerons of steadfast days have become the cameronitos.

Once more, my wife’s suggestions to resolve these territorial questions peaceably won’t be accepted. Years ago, when we discussed Israel’s problems, Micheline came up with a perfectly Gallic solution: “Those Arabs,” she said, “are too stupid to drive out the Jews but they have a lot of oil money. If they pay every Jew 10 million dollars on the condition they‘ll leave Israel, they can have the bloody country to let it go to wreck and ruin again.”

Well, the Argentines have a lot less money than the oil sheiks but there are not so many people on the Malvinas either and it shouldn’t be difficult to make a deal. It won’t be done of course and I wonder if Cristine will live long enough to see her submarines in action against the perfidious English. The conditions for a war are excellent, in neither country have the young people a possibility to get a well-paid job, thanks to politicians who wrecked the economy by throwing away OPM (other people’s money).

This OPM business reminds me of my French friend, Jean Louis’ remarks on my last french blog in which, as usual, I had made disparaging remarks about the Welfare State. He told me that if it hadn’t been for Social Security and Medicaid he would have died five years ago. Much hospital, many operations managed to keep him alive. How many Euros? the story doesn’t say, a million..more…less?

Jean Louis says that the collectivity, which is the French paying population, paid for his physical re-establishment. But, is this so? The origin of the social security system in Europe began, I think, in the earlier part of the 20^th century. People paid a monthly sum of money into a fund and that fund paid for medical aid and pensions. You would think that these welfare state governments would carefully choose managers to administrate these colossal funds generated by OPM. For the last 80 years at least 5% could have been made and that interest, compounded, would have made a healthy financial institution that could have paid out my friend Jean Louis’ medical costs without a tremor.

However, politicians cannot be trusted with OPM. Many mutual or trust funds, private or public can, but there is not a country in the world where trustworthy politicians will spend OPM as promised or dictated by a constitution. The health and pension money was spent to pay more government employees, army people, fast railways, idiotic alternative energy productions and some fraud. Also, the poor people of these rich countries had to give money to rich people of poor countries (Doug Casey).

As these welfare countries spent far more than their income from taxes, they borrowed money from banks with their taxpayers as collateral and that Social Security Fund never came into being, the money was already spent before it could get near the fund.

We all know about Ponzi Funds where smart people get other people to invest in a fund by promising big returns. Soon the first investors are paid out a good whack of interest with money from later investors, the word spreads, more money, more payments and after a while, the end. Bernie Madoff, a great Ponzi worker in the States is in jail, yet he did exactly the same as governments are doing. The Social Security money that governments collect is not even enough to pay for Jean Louis’ treatment, money has to be borrowed to pay for it all.

The collectivity that Jean Louis thinks paid for his well being, paid for ancient debts.  Unborn French children will be the collectivity to pay for my friend’s treatment, if they can.

Thomas Jefferson said: ‘It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes.’

Good old Thomas has been dead for a very long time.                                                                                                   

PS. Of the four yachts out of six that were still competing in the Volvo Ocean Race, another one had to desist. The American entry ‘Puma’ broke her mast about 700 miles from the island Tristan da Cunha, for which they have set course with a jury rig and a bit of engine. Many years ago I fished there for crayfish and these sailors, after their dried porridge bags would be well advised to get stuck into them.