The Great Debate UK

from Rosalba O'Brien:

Should we copy Argentina and broadcast football for free?

Argentina's cash-strapped government has just laid out a wad of crisp pesos (600 million a year - about US$155 million - to be precise) to pay for the rights to broadcast Argentine league games for nada on TV .

It's a move that is bound to go down well in the soccer mad nation, but has been roundly criticised for being populist and a waste of state funds.

It's very much par for the course for the anti-business, pro-big government ruling Peronist party, who have hiked export taxes and even banned the export of beef in a misguided attempt to keep food prices low in Argentina.

But is this latest move really such a bad idea? What's $155 million compared to the largest sovereign debt default in history?