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Sprite, I know you aren’t illegal. Only commenting on the opinion you had of wanting less gringos in CR. It sounds slightly elitist. And I don’t think there are 50,000 poor Americans waiting to flood CR. It requires enough just to relocate to another country, and you still have to have a substantial amount of income to live anywhere. As it stands now, the requirements put one into Tico middle class standards. The new requirements would limit residency to those which would be among the higher class in CR. Maybe that’s what they want. They certainly have the right to do whatever they please.
When all the present retirees start to die off, who will purchase their homes? Ticos won’t. So, there will be a large inventory of $3-500,000 beach homes vacant in ten-twenty years. I just don’t see the advantage for them. They started off wanting us to move there, and spend money, and now obviously, don’t. Still, it is their country.
Why do you blame republicans for all that is bad in the USA? We have a two party system. lol. The dems are just as bad.
You should be happy with this new wave of progressive politics sweeping the nation. It might pay to stick around awhile to see if things improve.
Sprite, you sound like the illegal immigrant slipping across the border to the US, then complaining there are too many Mexicans here.
It looks like CR’s new immigration law is on the fast track to getting passed. There will undoubtedly be less gringos calling CR their final destination. As much as I don’t like it, Costa Rica has every right to do as they please.
Looks like they can kill the goose, and still keep watch over their eggs. Maybe they intend to make Egg Foo Young out of them?
DTJ, You’re right, it’s just no fun here anymore. We have about 9-10 years left here till we pull the plug. I don’t believe I’ll ever hate the US, and will continue to do what I can till it’s time to go.
Liberal or conservative, there are plenty of nice people left. Many of them are on this board. I don’t think our political leanings have much to do with our general feelings about wanting a better life for ourselves and for others. We all have valid points, and there are times I agree with those left of me. It helps to keep an open mind.
Back to the original topic of immigration. My wife and I still should have enough income, SS & pension, to pass the new req., but if they raise it more again by the time we’re ready, we’ll have to take a pass. It’s the fact that no one is grandfathered in that ticks me off. Having the axe hanging over your head does not make for a relaxing retirement.
Our sons have a band, and have made a few friends in CR, and Argentina. They have a couple of bands in CR that want to tour with them down there. Our kids have expressed one day jumping ship and relocating to CR. I wonder if the artist residency applies to musicians? Our youngest has “musician” listed as his occupation on his passport. He may have been thinking ahead. It just might be a cheaper way to bring the entire family down.
dtjohnson1, Jobs were being outsourced long before ’06. I am a conservative, and if anyone thinks GWB is a conservative, then it will be impossible to argue the point.
George just sat there while the whole mess was taking place. I believe you have to agree with that. Congress may be full of corruption, but that’s no excuse for a president not to take his case to the people, a la Reagan. But, I almost forgot, he agrees with them….
I don’t want to pay for handouts for lazy bums, and I’m not about to sit around while more of our liberty is stolen. If our new president is going to go along with congress, and try to impose extreme leftist policies down our throats, then I will actively support and work for a third party candidate that espouses conservative beliefs. If the republicans can’t produce one that has the ability to protect our freedoms, our country, and our job market, then it’s on to party number three.
David,
Under GWB we’ve lost 3-4 million jobs in total. Our economy is in freefall, and Nero was fiddling while the USA burned. Like a majority of others I voted for him, and regret it constantly.
I don’t think we have any positive change coming to this country in meaningful way with the upcoming administration. It is beginning to look like the Clinton administration all over again with his cabinet picks.
GWB, in concert with the democrat controlled congress, has managed to socialize more in this country in a few months than Hugo Chavez could have accomplished. The die is cast unless Obama has any real want to save us. It appears we have a two party system which has a mortal lock on ruining this nation.
By the way, very enjoyable video. Nice to put a face to the name.
I tried mulling this over in my mind, and there is no sane reason for this. At this point I don’t give a crap whether or not they keep me out by monetary requirements, but not to grandfather in residents who have already met the existing requirement is absurd.
The other frightening thing would be being able to meet the new requirements, then get kicked out a couple of years later when you’ve put down roots and a sizeable chunk of change on a house, and find absolutely no buyers because they’ve thinned the buying herd to include only the uber rich, who like Maravilla says, would rather live in the south of France anyway.
Where are all the RE agents here. How come they are not screaming bloody murder! They built CR’s RE market up to where it is, and have brought down thousands of moderately wealthy individuals that infused tons of cash into the CR economy. I don’t get it.
Even if this gets shot down, which I’m not holding my breath on, people are going to be gun-shy about investing in a country that can legislate you out in a heartbeat. What the hell are they thinking is going to happen?
If the burden on the healthcare system is what’s worrying them, increase that premium to compensate for older foreigners coming down. Or just do what the US does when illegals, who get in for free, use the medical system… Nothing!
This is so strange, it looks like Florida, especially after the full impact of this RE meltdown is finished unwinding, and we all get socialized health-care, might not be so bad a place to retire.
I will try to stay on topic, and maybe this thread has run its course, but a 500 point downturn in the Dow just woke me up again.
The US looks like it is turning itself into a third world nation. Fat cats at the top robbing and pillaging, and the poor bums in the middle will bear the brunt of a depression. Since when have there been so many former Goldman Sachs execs administering our economy? Paulson, and the new guy (can’t remember his name) who will distribute the $700bn bailout, are all from the same Wall street crud. I think we’ve had something like three former Goldman employees as treasury secretary. How come there are only two brokerage houses left? Morgan Stanley and GOLDMAN SACHS.
Nooooo they aren’t there to protect their friends..Right. What a load of BS we’ve been spoonfed by this administration and congress. The bailout won’t bail us out, just the club. They’ll continue to plunder the wealth of the US, till there is nothing left. And they won’t do a day in a cell. You steal a candy bar, and you’re doing time. Great to live in a free country!
The only freedom we’ll have ls to choose our favorite flavor of ice cream, or the color of our car, ( if we can afford one) and that will be about it. I guess I couldn’t stay on topic either.
Enduro and Maravilla give us good talking, and thinking points. if we lock in our ideology and not allow our rational thinking to at least consider other explanations and ideas, we are indeed doomed. Being liberal, conservative, or somewhere in the middle, should not mean we need to defend every cause celebrè of that camp. We get enough brain cleansing from the media outlets. A little exchange of ideas and opinions can be good for the gray matter.
Maravilla, you are correct! This is exactly what has happened to the medical profession. I was too long winded in my earlier post to describe it in detail. HMOs are ruining the system. The patient has been taken out of the equation, and doctors have all they can do to get paid. You’re right, insurance companies have staff just to deny or chistle down a doctors payments. I know one MD who closed his practice two months ago and has to retain a person for two to five years to collect all he is owed by the insurance companies. Sad.
I still think we are seeing the beginnings of a social medical system, it is just the fact of profit being such a hard thing to let go, that we will ultimately screw it up. If we had a system of true social medicine, like Cuba has ( out of necessity) from the start, it might work here. But $500k in education costs throw the prospect of an MD wanting to practice for a lesser amount of pay out the window.
Thanks for you concern regarding my wife. Monday we’ll find out the test results. We’re praying. I remember the concern and advice you and Lotus had for my son a while back, and I again thank you both.
If we already lived in CR, we would avail ourselves of the CAJA, but we’ll be here in the USA for quite a number of years. fortunately we have health insurance, and that should cover the medical expenses.
It is the brilliant and lucid writings of those like our own “WinstonChurchill” that keep me reading posts on this forum. It gives me a certain amount of comfort, in a world that is seemingly more difficult to understand.
Maravilla, you and I on occasion agree on certain things. What’s wrong with socialism? A lot in most cases, but just as many things can be said of capitalism and certain democractic forms of governments. The socialist form does not lend itself to the individualist mind of the average US citizen. Social medicine in a totally socialist country works just fine, usually. I happen to think Cuba is a good example (please no one ride me on this, I know why it works, and why it was necessary.) In the US, although it is an altruistic thought, it would not work. In order for it to work, doctors would have to be educated for free in our colleges, thereby allowing for lower medical costs. It ain’t ever gonna happen here. Universal healthcare, and managed healthcare, is a compromise of the socialist idea, and is frought with problems. Managed healthcare is leading to doctors forming hugh medical groups, just to be able to practice, and get paid. Our family physician just sold his practice to join one. Now he is one of hundreds of thousands of doctors finding themselves in the same position. My wife was just diagnosed with a serious condition, and she gets referred only to doctors within the group. We haven’t tried outside the group for a second opinion yet, but I fear things will be getting a little tougher when it comes to medical choice. The semi-social medical disaster is coming home to roost.
DavidCMurray, putting air in tires, and conservation, are noble ideas. However, cutting petro usage by hugh amounts, requires solid comprehensive planning. It requires a change in a lifestyle that some won’t want to give up. Our entire family drives 4 cylinder vehicles. We check our tire pressure, and tune up the cars. And we don’t drive unless we positively have to. We burn wood pellets in the winter to offset our oil heat bill. We don’t want to have to cut further into our lifestyle.
I want to be off the foreign juice as badly as anyone else. I think we should drill our own oil, and let the nations that hate us, keep theirs. Why should we be denied our own resources?
Conserving is part of being a “conservative.” Along with that, how can I tell someone who wants to drive an SUV, they can’t? It’s not for me, or anyone else, to say how someone should conduct their life and pursuit of pleasure. Our resources belong to all of us. Good stewardship is important, but not everyone is going to look at it the same way. As someone who was born and raised in the USA, I have the opinion that everyone has the equal right to do for themselves as they see fit.
Sprite, where in the constitution does it say it is a living document? It can, and has been amended, but this is not a fluid document meant to be changed at a whim. Our founding fathers set up a framework for a republic to operate under. To treat it as a list of suggestions, or as something that changes with each new generation and its wants, defeats its purpose.
ecotonecons, GWB was Governor of Texas. I think that gives him an edge over a first term Senator.
Maravilla, JFK came from political and wealthy family. And a quite powerful one at that. I don’t think you can compare Obama with Kennedy. Even though JFK was a democrat, by todays standards his speeches would be considered conservative. How times have changed.
I still ask the question, what has the Illinois senator accomplished? I for one, won’t take a chance voting for an unknown quantity. I did give him a serious look when all the hoopla started, because of my dissatisfaction with the republican choice. But I don’t particularly care for those whose sentiments are decidedly anti-American. There is plenty wrong with the US, but I don’t like negative populists trying to garner votes by bashing the US, and not having real solutions for its problems. Putting air in my tires is not a solution for an energy price crisis. Until we can come up with solid alternatives to improve gasoline mileage, or an alternative fuel that does not deplete food supplies, drilling our own reserves is a real-time answer.
No matter how this election turns out, we are in a world of s**t. We have a war to contend with, an energy situation that stinks, an economy in the crapper, and whichever candidate becomes POTUS, they will have to deal with it. I would rather have an experienced senator, with whom I don’t agree with all the time, than someone who has not been around the block enough to know we are 50 states in the union.
Being a magnificent orator is one thing, becoming President is another.
