Chocolate from Argentina: ~50% in poverty but a wealth of gov health labels \ stacker news ~Bitcoin

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Chocolate from Argentina: ~50% in poverty but a wealth of gov health labels

544 sats \ 10k boost \ 12 comments \ @k00b 30 Nov Bitcoin_Travel

Some Bitcoin Commons goer recently travelled to Argentina and returned with a box of Havanna Alfajores. What struck me as I ate one, other than how delicious and texturally balanced they were, was the cigarette-style warning labels on each of the wrappers.

I took government health labels as something granted by prosperity, but seeing these labels makes me think it's the opposite. One of the more memorable facts from Milei's recent interview was that a near majority of Argentinians are in poverty.

Yet, somehow, there's no shortage of regulations shoring up scientific illiteracy.

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20 sats \ 0 replies \ @Signal312 1 Dec

(In case someone isn't able to make it out, the label has 2 black notices in Spanish, one saying "Excess calories" and the other saying "Excess sugar", by the Ministry of Health.)

20 sats \ 0 replies \ @franzap 30 Nov

This stupidity was introduced during the previous administration

45 sats \ 7 replies \ @cryotosensei 1 Dec

Keen to hear @didiplaywell’s perspective on this

269 sats \ 6 replies \ @didiplaywell 1 Dec

Hello Sr! Thank you for summoning me :)

There's not more to it than what k00b mentioned. It's as ridiculous as it sounds, yet of course as any government regulation the sole purpose of this one is to introduce new government dependencies that of course will require budget expansion and will require to hire conveniently selected partisan agents and etc.

In comparison to others, this is but one of the most harmless of the govt regulations still in existence, yet it makes more noise for it's more visual. Strictly speaking, the "Law of Frontal Labels" establishes that what's said on the back of the product must also be said on the front of it but with those horrendous labels, because the citizen is judged to be incapable of realizing that candy as sugar, and even way less capable of reading it in the label the candy already comes with (yes, you read that right, socialism is all about the "dad state" and the "kids citizens"). So it must be repeated that way. Of course that implies that every package must go through govt approval, an extremely convenient position of power that also grants new offices, new state employees, and fresh funds to maintain partisan structures.

And yet this is laughable next to other regulations which are essentially war crimes, so that much that makes this one to be at the bottom of the priority list. All of these regulations of course where implemented by the previous socialist regimes, and Milei is dismantling them one by one. But there are critical priorities, this one can wait for long.

277 sats \ 5 replies \ @cryotosensei 1 Dec

Thanks for such an elaborate explanation. Makes me realise that many governments are the same. Actually in Singapore, our health authorities directly limit the sugar content of the packet drinks you see in supermarkets. I used to be feel quite insulted that the government can’t trust us to make our own choices, but I have since gone with the flow. As you said, more pressing priorities haha

258 sats \ 4 replies \ @didiplaywell 2 Dec

Thanks for such an elaborate explanation.

At your service.

I used to be feel quite insulted that the government can’t trust us to make our own choices

You feel the right way.

but I have since gone with the flow

It's the most common and natural reaction. Harmless for the case of Singapore. We actually use Singapore specifically as a gold standard reference of the economic freedom we want to achieve here.

BUT, beware of the "boiled frog" syndrome. That's what they did to us here. Slow, incremental regulations that people permanently felt immune to. Until no one was.

60 sats \ 3 replies \ @cryotosensei 2 Dec

Until no one was.

This sent me the chills

11 sats \ 2 replies \ @didiplaywell 2 Dec

This sent me the chills

You feel the right way.

20 sats \ 1 reply \ @Bell_curve 3 Dec

My cousin was in Argentina last year visiting her daughter and traveling. She did not have a good experience with most Argentines. She said most were rude and self entitled and bitter.

1408 sats \ 0 replies \ @didiplaywell 3 Dec

It's entirely possible depending on where she was and who she had to deal with:

Right from the airport she may have been mistreated by employees, which are all state employees still (Milei is currently in the process of dismantling that). The airport mob obliges you to their shitty services at ridiculous costs, so they treat you like their bitch. Because you (we) are.
Making the first step out from the airport gets you in the next trap which is the cab mob. Again, Milei is in the process of dismantling that too. The cab mob obliges you to their shitty services at ridiculous costs, so they treat you like their bitch. Because you (we) are.
Right after surviving that you are now in the Capital, where you are likely to encounter the infamous stereotype of the locals, the "porteño". They are used to be treated like the center of the universe, because everything was structured so that the Capital centralized all economic flow and power. So they treat everyone like "inferiors". They are insufferable entitled jerks exactly as your cousin described. The "porteño" is the most indoctrinated unit inherited from the socialist regime, and one of the things they are instructed to believe is that all and every shortcomings the regime ever had were solely caused by "foreing intervention, specially from the USA". Because, of course, socialism can never fail. So it has to be the USA sabotaging everything. So many entitled jerks, armchair revolutionaries, might be bitter to USA and UK foreigners. But apart from that, they are default bitter to everyone, specially to other Argentines outside of the Capital.
Then, if she visited mostly traditional tourist destinies, she might have been treated like shit again because people on those posts usually hold sole possession of whatever shitty service they give because they have a deal with the local govt. So it's a "tourism mob" that again, obliges you to their shitty services at ridiculous costs, so they treat you like their bitch. Because you (we) are.
That said, she was also very unfortunate. It's not that common to find a majority of jerks. She had really bad luck. There's also a common trait of the Capital and its suburbs and it's that there's so much people and so much activity concentrated in that zone that people tend to be always in haste and they are so used to it that even among themselves they don't perceive hasteful manners as mistreatment. It's just normal to them. That also has lead to a culture of hasteful expression in which people sound like entitled jerks literally all the time because it became a cultural mannerism, and they will talk to you that way not meaning to offend you at all (and I know that first hand because I have family there that sound like that but they are sweet and mellow).