So, my first brush with the wonderfulness of a Chavismo wannabe protective government. Somebody pass that Minister for protecting people from the evils of competitively priced tools a fresh Fernet branca and coke, please!
While the price controlled beef is wonderful for me, but not the beef producer out on the Pampas who is probably reduced to eating the same feed as his cattle, the heavily taxed, slightly capitalist tainted, foreign produced computer hardware and software products really helps the local Argentinean microchip and RAM producers compete on a global scale. Oh wait, what is that.
The local I.T workforce are penguins? Is this lack of technically competent penguins down there in Tierra del Fuego really worth protecting with higher taxes, and simultaneously creating a nation of people who become adept at getting around systems rather than building systems? This post stems from goofy RAM issue I ranted about 3 days ago that has been increasingly wrecking my head. Long gone are the days of 20+ tabs opened on two browsers while playing music and running some mildly obscure background applications.
Now it's the lean development process, in the true meaning of the word lean. Tax controls on RAM mean tab controls! Jobs for I.T penguins mean open application quotas! I suppose there is a Green party member somewhere happy that I'm only using one 1.5 volt RAM instead of two.
Is there a penguin workers union? I think I may have found a new calling.
A quick price comparison from around the world, for the exact same thing.
| RAM | Internet | Uruguay | Argentina* |
| 8MB | $90 | $140 | $180 |
| 16MB | $154 | $229 | $360 |
Socialism, because not only do you need someone to put petrol in your car for you, penguins deserve jobs too!