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[quote=”DavidCMurray”]When we met Sr.Zamora last week, he showed us the latest Fitch rating, the quarterly audit results (done by a rotating list of international firms including Price Waterhouse, KPGM and DeloitteTouche(sp?)) and the latest review by SUGEF, the Costa Rican financial regulators.
To be sure, nothin’s one hundred percent certain, but this does appear to be pretty close.
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Those are some interesting numbers. It would be nice if Sr Zamora had some skin in the game to compensate you should the deal go south.
[quote=”DavidCMurray”]Hmmm . . . I think it a huge leap of faith to expect those with the food they will need to feed their families to swap it, at some undetermined rate of exchange, for that which you allege to be gold. Me? I think I’d just keep my cache of food ’til the recovery kicks in.
I think what will hold value in this recovery you’re expecting will be what sustains us ’til then, not just what sparkles prettily.
[/quote]The bubble pops when you can’t convince enough people to buy into the game and it’s usually the sheep left holding the bag. The US has so much wealth that we are talking many many years but you will see moral and ethical behavior decline. With the welfare state we have created a large group of people that would rather take than be self sufficient. A sad state of affairs. Not to sound so hard but these people may never know the joy of working hard and building their character and self worth so as not to ask permission from anyone to live their lives as they see fit.
[quote=”wspeed1195″]I built pools in the states for years, I would say I did excellent work.
I just drafted A composition of the do’s don’ts and since the website has such A rapid time out the article went blink.
I apologize for being A peck peck when posting, being A construction worker and not A clerical worker causes me to take longer.
From here I will just say good luck with your pool.
Each problem presented was addressed in my post, oh well.[/quote]Wspeed, what construction method would you use in Costa Rica? I would sure love to pick your brain to avoid pitfalls.
[quote=”DavidCMurray”][quote=”VictoriaLST”]Metals, thus gold, have value due to industrial use. They also have ornamental use. Either way, the chance of them having zero value is small.[/quote]
You’ve made the above assertion before, Victoria, so let me just ask . . .
Let’s assume that the U.S. and the rest of the world’s economies go completely into the toilet. No form of currency is worth the material it’s made of, but you, and some “farsighted” others, have hoarded precious metals. You actually have physical possession of them.
Unable to exchange your currency for the necessities of life, how will you determine what your precious metals will buy? Just what will be the exchange rate between (say) a pound of flour and your gold? What about a pound of chicken? Or a gallon of gas? How will those exchange rates be determined and by whom?
And, with everyone, yourself included, in desperate straits to survive, and with the economy not producing the necessities of life, will your first priorities be to buy a new laptop, a pound of gold jewelry, or food? If the answer is “food”, then you’ll be in the majority in which case the [u]practical[/u] value of those precious metals will be pretty small, won’t it? Who among us will be skipping food, living in the cold and dark, and going barefoot in order to buy those new iPads that uses those precious metals you have in a practical way, and who will be buying all the gold neck chains?
Will you opt to be pretty, connected, or fed? If enough of us answer “fed”, then the demand for your precious metals will drop to virtually zero.
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The gold market has all the characteristics of the stock market. It’s just another game. A game that perhaps you don’t wish to risk a lifetimes earnings in. Lets face the fact that we are not in control but rather hedge funds or governments are. The tired line that gold has always been money may not be true. You don’t need the world to come apart to loose with gold. You sure don’t want to be the last holding Tulip bulbs when the pullback comes.
[quote=”VictoriaLST”]Metals, thus gold, have value due to industrial use. They also have ornamental use. Either way, the chance of them having zero value is small.[/quote]
Gold having no value is perhaps a poor choice of words, as far as industrial use gold has a very small part to play or there are alternatives to that metal. Sliver has far more industrial value. I’m not sure betting a retirement on metals because it’s pretty is a wise strategy. I’m not at odds with gold , just trying to understand it’s true value.
[quote=”johnnyh”]This is what I think, and by the way, this has been a most excellent thread as it applies to all of us. As I’m going to be 64 this coming July I will be heading to the local social security office soon. A lot of you already know the condition of our Dollar, and agree that it’s on its last legs.
We have an enormous debt with China and the Chinese are not dumb. They realize they are holding a lot of depreciating Dollars and that’s why they are buying gold, as well as natural resources throughout the world. They are buying a lot of the good old USA as well. Sort of like reverse colonialism, if you know what I mean. I think the US government is going to default vis a vis China. nd this with Chinese support. We are about to take a hit in that our mighty Dollar will be devalued. We might even become the modern day coolies. Oh, things will not change, we will still get our money, it’s just that you will have to pay more for things that are more costly, including food.
I think the Fed has had it and will be replaced by something new, still controlled by the money power, and we will go back to a gold standard. Some of us that bought into the metals will get away like bandits, and most like I said before, will lose more than half their savings due to devaluation.
But as Paul Craig Roberts said, you’ll walk into Walmart and think that you are inside Neiman Marcus!
By the way, have you noticed that gold and silver have gone down? It’s the big white shoe boyz manipulating the metals to have some dummies panic sell. They want that gold! They don’t want us to have that gold and silver. In the meantime, if it goes down even more, the more I will buy. You should too.
[/quote]Some years ago the Japanese were buying golf courses in California and Pebble Beach was one of them. They paid around 700 million and several years later sold out for around 500 million. The point is that they could not take their property from the US and certainly paid taxes. The Chinese would find the same problem. If the US government wanted to stop them they would create a barrier or a moratorium to stop them, so it looks like they own worthless paper like the rest of us.
All money is, is a way to store human effort that can be exchanged between parties as long as both parties agree on it’s worth. This includes gold and other metals. I’m not convinced of it having any value anymore than fiat currency’s. Does gold really have a place in modern times? You notice how it can be manipulated with the movement of the dollar.[quote=”sprite”]Early social security is a no-brainer considering the state of the world economy and the dollar. I am curious as to what is going to happen to all of those expats who rely only on social security benefits and/or government pensions when those programs go bust. What will the Costa Rican government do with destitute pensionados(if anything)?[/quote]
Should the US dollar collapse, the world economy would follow. I think that living in Costa Rica would be a much more pleasant experience than in most places in the world. You would probably be comfortable enough and people I think would join together to help each other. Unlike the trying times the States would endure.
[quote=”DavidCMurray”]So you’re saying that folks should only apply for their Old Age benefit when they enter hospice?
[/quote]No, not at all. I’m saying the government model was flawed, what else have they missed, if they even read their legislation. ” We have to pass the bill to know what’s in it” Nancy P.
[quote=”DavidCMurray”][quote=”jmcbuilder”]It takes 12 years from taking SS at 62 before there is a wash from taking at full retirement age. To me it seems taking early is a better way to go. Also there is the devaluation of the dollar that seems to be a long term trend.[/quote]
I don’t know about the long term devaluation of the dollar, but it seems to me to make sense for a lot of folks to take the money as soon as possible. First, it’s a bird in the hand. You’re guaranteed to have it. Second, what if you postpone your payout ’til (say) age 67 and die at age 68?
[/quote]Remember SS was designed with a life expectancy of only collecting 6 months of pension at retirement, not tens of years. Someone goofed.:D
[quote=”DavidCMurray”]Whether you’re a U.S. citizen or not, if you qualify for a Social Security Pension, you have a right to it. While SS will not electronically deposit your benefit outside the U.S., it can be deposited in Banco Nacional, Banco de Costa Rica, or (maybe) ScotiaBank via an intermediary. You can also have it deposited in a U.S, bank and move it to Costa Rica by ATM withdrawal, by wire transfer, or by writing a check on the U.S. bank account.
The math . . . You can opt for a reduced SS benefit at age 62 or you can wait and take the full benefit at age 66 or 67. If you take the benefit at 62, your total net income from SS will even out at about age 74. If you can live without it, and if you expect to live much past 74, it makes sense to wait as long as you can. You can also take the SS benefit at any age between 62 and 67 (or whenever the benefit is maximized.
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David is right on the money. It takes 12 years from taking SS at 62 before there is a wash from taking at full retirement age. To me it seems taking early is a better way to go. Also there is the devaluation of the dollar that seems to be a long term trend.
[quote=”barbara ann”]I have always felt this would happen. I think there is a time limit for staying out of the states. that I am not sure of either. If anyone has had an experience with expats let me know
The next step will be: “If you move out of the States after X date, you get nothing in SS”.
Right now it is difficult to get information on how many benefit dollars – SS, GI, etc. – leave the States.
If anyone has an idea of how to get the info, other than doing it country by country, please let me know.[/quote][/quote]
There are about 6,000,000 US citizens that live abroad currently. They don’t all receive benefits. If that helps.
[quote=”VictoriaLST”]JCM, you have a good point. Which is why I read the links that get posted and search for other links. It is also why I listen to facts presented in the garden club because gardening here is different from US gardening. I will probably continue to use mixed “organic” and “chemical” methods because I understand that plants take in molecules and aren’t much interested in where they came from.
I will continue to support GMOs and vaccines. I am not an expert in either but I don’t claim to be. I simply look at the facts, the science, ask questions of people who have backgrounds in science, and so on. I don’t depend on belief systems.
As for the “true intent of the government”, I hope you mean that the government has the best interests of its people at heart. That – as fact or fiction – is still a matter of debate.[/quote]
The human race has such a poor record with the introduction of new species into environments that form a non-scientific point extreme caution should be used.
There are also limitations on the understanding science can provide us, along with some very poor science being conducted. Bias has been introduced into data on many fronts.
As for what the government wants, it is my opinion that the globalist charter with mother earth is the agenda and does not necessarily provide for the betterment of mankind.
If it did there would be more discussions on population control and more food would not be an issue. Humans are not an endangered species and with our appetite to consume I would think that this is where more effort should be placed. A harsh discussion for sure.
I would add that injections with mercury in them is a small price to pay to defeat polio that was destroying so many lives. Thanks science.
[quote=”maravilla”]I’M not listening? oh that is rich. you just go ahead and live in your little bubble of right wing rhetoric; apparently it works well for you. i’ve dealt with your kind before — it doesn’t really matter what evidence, how many studies, or how many experts’ opinions you’re presented with, nothing will ever be scientific enough or credible enough but those of us who investigate these issues on a daily basis know that the so-called experts that are hailing the introduction of GMOs as a panacea to this, that or the other food crisis problem were also bought by right wing think tanks and right wing money. i’m done responding to anything you say. Every republican i have ever talked to about these things spews the exact same information — you all could be talking heads on Fox News. it’s really quite comical. have a nice day, but you won’t goad me anymore. and really, why are you living in a socialist country when your views of the universe are the polar opposite of everything this country stands for??[/quote]
I think that you both have been duped. Left or right, you take sides and have been intentionally put at odds so as not to follow the true intent of the government. I think that facts, we all can agree is what is needed for a logical and realistic discussion. With the true facts and elimination of party line items both of you would be much closer. Being nasty and thinking your the expert will achieve nothing. I can think of examples of both sides being completely wrong and would defend their points to the death.
If Costa Rica can feed its people then why introduce GMO’s. Let the rest of the world experiment if they choose. The governments can’t be trusted to tell the truth about anything. Trust in government that they will do right by us is the main problem in this world. We are lied to on a daily basis so how can we trust any data presented. The water in my town is so polluted that we don’t need to go to the pharmacy for drugs. But still in government standards.
[quote=”jmcbuilder”][quote=”waggoner41″][quote=”maravilla”]but you are going to take advantage of the Obamacare we have here in Costa Rica when if you ever get residency?????? and i suppose you think it’s okay that America is the only first world nation that has NO health plan for its citizens and that 50,000,000 are uninsured and to get even basic coverage for two people, not even a big family, costs upward of $500 a month and that’s if you’re healthy!!! it’s truly scandalous. and of course, if you aren’t living in country and paying taxes, why SHOULD you be entitled to healthcare in that country? people can’t have it both ways. they move here because they want the same life they had up there for half the cost, but they still want a toe-hold in those countries just in case they get sick? sheesh.[/quote]
Once we got to Costa Rica and found out that we could get into Caja we found out how bad we’ve really had it in the States.
The idiots who complain about “Obamacare” don’t realize that every major piece of legislation that has been passed by congress has been amended to correct it’s ills. When all is said and done “Obamacare” will be a boon to everyone.
Medicare is, and always has been, a joke and everything that has been added to it has been a boondoggle just like Bush’s Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act legislation.
The problem that I see with the Caja is that no one pays what it is worth.
Just have a medical emergency and have to be transported to one of the Caja hospitals and you will find out what I mean.
I am totally happy with “Obamacare” in Costa Rica.
[/quote]Isn’t Medicare a major piece of legislation? Obamacare in Costa Rica, when did Costa Rica give up it’s rights to the US?
You have to be living under a rock to believe what youre saying. Forget the poorly thought out plan, the deception played on the US public, What about the trial lawyers, Give Me a break!!
Costa Rica is not the US and what may work for them will never work for the US. How you can compare apples and oranges and twist the facts is amazing.
“It is better to keep your mouth shut and look a fool, than to open it and affirm the fact” MARK TWAIN[/quote]
When did Costa Rica give up its rights to follow the all mighty Obama?
