Chile Forum

admin wrote:I however believe there is a propensity of citizens of "developed" countries to not recognize corruption for what it is because it is "legal", and of course because it is legal it must be "right".

I fully agree. Increasingly, in political discussions I have had to point out, "Just because it's legal doesn't mean it's not criminal." All too often, the criminal acts are committed by government or those well-connected to it, rather than "commoners". This is why I suggest a better comparison for this thread might be "comparing people in Chile VS people anywhere else", not just Central America.

More and more I here of people in "developed" countries where they supposedly follow the "rule of law" not able to "keep what they built" or "enjoy the fruits of their labor" (to use your expressions). An armed thug in the night is much easier to handle than one using the power of the state.

Who is John Galt?

admin wrote:Yea, lots of tourist and foreigners live in Guatemala or pass through there every day. Most i bet you have no idea just how close they have come to dying. Seen people shot in Guatemala, seen expats also have to shoot people in Guatemala. Same goes for much of Mexico and Central America. Simply the roads, the medical services, corruption will kill you. The guy with a gun breaking in to your home in much of the world is really the least statistically dangerous thing.

Almost dying? Still a stretch but I get your point. There is a greater risk. However keep in mind a person who drives 50,000 miles a year versus 5,000 miles has a 10x greater chance of being a traffic fatality. Does that deter people from driving high miles? I doubt that thought even comes to their minds. No fear, although the statistical risk is there. Why live in fear and limit yourself?

There are excellent hospitals in Panama. I've been to one with better care than the states.

Regarding business and home longevity, I think nowadays expats don't care about leaving anything to their kids. It's a different mindset these days, more self serving. I don't have any dependents so not a factor for me.

In the end there is no right or wrong answer, just personal preference and risk tolerance for each individual. So there really is no argument, just differing points of views and I will leave it at that.

All PIGS created equal, some are more equal than others.