A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats--Unless it Sinks Them

Link courtesy of As'ad Abu Kahlil. The Guardian UK reports that Argentina is seriously thinking of defaulting on a $3.1 billion dollar loan held by the International Monetary Fund. The dispute is actually a broader issue involving the country's crushing $90 billion dollar outstanding debt, and questions over how many cents on the dollar creditors will ultimately receive:

[President Nestor] Kirchner and economy minister Roberto Lavagna have offered creditors 25¢ in the dollar. Any more, they argue, would force them to cut spending on schools and hospitals. The creditors are demanding 65¢ in the dollar and say Argentina can afford to pay them, now the country is enjoying healthy growth.

Argentina's problems stem from their following the plans laid out by the IMF and various international lending institutions during the 1990's.