The first thing you should do is recognize that this takeoff was achieved by countries like China, Japan, South Korea, the US and Denmark. Very close to us, so did Brazil. In 1945, when our country was rich, Brazil was only an exporter of coffee and cocoa; however, it is currently the seventh largest economy in the world, where 40 million people have been lifted out of poverty in recent decades and has reserves in its Central Bank of almost 400 billion dollars.
For that, their governments allowed the private sector, the true creator of the nations’ wealth, to develop. In this regard, it is worth quoting Mario Vargas Llosawho recently stated: “Legislators and rulers for the first time in the history of humanity can choose whether their countries are poor or developed”.
Another example. Some time ago it was known why Puerto Rico lived in stagnation, unlike the other US states. The report released by the board of notable economists appointed by the US Congress, through the PROMESA Act of 2016, stated: “Puerto Rico requires a clear and consistent policy aimed at becoming an attractive jurisdiction to establish businesses and create opportunities of employment, for which the labor market must be liberalized as in those of the continental states, protecting workers with Unemployment Insurance and also optimizing taxes and investment permits.
These conclusions are very important in establishing the causes of the stagnation of nations, while supporting those elaborated in my book “Full Employment. The wealth of nations and economic developmentfrom 2018, in which I show that The main cause of the stagnation of the countries is due to legislation that attacks employment, thereby harming workers. This is because, by discouraging the creation of new businesses, the job offer is scarce and, therefore, salaries are low; When few people work, little wealth and much poverty are generated, as has been observed for decades.
Argentina, according to the World Bank, in 2018, is, among 200 countries, one of those that grew the least in the last 70 years. So we must bring about change to unleash the creative forces that exist but are discouraged by anti-employment policies. In the developed world, new ventures are born every day that create new job opportunities; On the contrary, in our country, there are 100,000 fewer companies operating than 14 years ago…
The solution is available, since the protection of workers, which our National Constitution establishes with Unemployment Insurance, is already legislated with Law 24,013. However, its fulfillment should consider the real wages of those who lose their jobs and their financing with a contribution from employers equivalent to the current compensation of one twelfth of the salary. In this way, the worker would be better protected from dismissal and would make it possible to eliminate the compensation clauses of the Labor Contract Law and its annexes, as well as article 256, which, by allowing claims for two years, gave rise to the Mafia of Labor Lawsuits that It has harmed the workers and the country so much.
With the change, the entrepreneurial spirit of thousands of people will be released, who will create thousands of new businesses, with hundreds of thousands of new jobs; Added to the resources and potential of our country, a million new jobs would be generated in the first year alone, and five million more in the next four, with much better wages, since society improves from the bottom up.
This paradigm shift will lead to a transcendent economic resurgence: millions of Argentines will leave poverty behind and with their work they will help change Argentina and also to neighboring countries, as our prosperity will promote considerable immigration which, in turn, will further invigorate our already growing economy.
The increase in production and consumption will generate strong increases in tax revenue, with which, without reducing the State, but with growth, it will be possible to reduce some taxes, eliminate others and put an end to inflation, which will further encourage investments..
Growth will be at rates even higher than the Chinese rate of 15%, without ignoring the war over the invasion of Ukraine, COVID, our foreign debt, or our government. For that, the foreign exchange market should also be freed, eliminating all subsidies, restrictions on imports and exports and withholdings, that is, everything that distorts the economic reality. Likewise, public companies should be privatized and the shares of the former AFJP held by ANSES -valued not long ago at more than 38,000 million dollars- should be sold. These modifications should be included in an economic plan of recognized professional economists that assures society the absorption, in a first stage, of this transformation without being affected.
The fundamental condition for success is to eliminate the barriers to employment described, for which all previous governments failed. Thus, we will see a rich and developed country and to Massa, awarded and recognized.
Member of the Social Policy Department of the UIA. Author of the book “Full Employment”.
Source: Ambito
