If I’m not mistaken today is the day the Peruvian congress will debate a proposal to suck private pension funds up into the public treasury and vaporize them.

In the words of those advancing the proposal it sounds more noble and nuanced. The proposal is to create new public entity “Autoridad del Sistema Integrado de Pensiones” (ASIP) which will manage pension funds that are currently managed by large private entities. The current system consists of private (individual) accounts, the proposal by the congressional committee (Comisión de Reforma de Pensiones del Congreso) led by a Carmen Omonte intends to turn that money into public funds for the ostensible purpose of providing a fair pension for everyone, including the poor who typically don’t contribute to the private pension system.

Approval is probably a matter of when not if. Noble theories aside if you know anything about the Peruvian public sector you know the funds in your private pension account that you worked hard for are about to disappear into thin air. That’s just the reality of life in Peru.

Take it away Tom.