Good Ole' Costa Rica

There are many, many things that I love about Costa Rica. I love the weather here, I love the beautiful greenery, I love the beaches, I love the mountains, I love most of the people.

But just like the U.S. at this time, I hate the politics. I hate the government control over all the people and I especially hate it when they try to reach out their hairy arms and control me or mine.

Two months ago we took baby out of the local public school so that we could home school her. She was having problems with her teacher and some of the other students in her class. We have been home schooling her and she is now reading and almost done with her first math book.

She has done very well at home and no longer gets the headaches and stomach aches that she was getting when she was in school. A couple of weeks ago two ladies from the school she had attended came by to talk to us. They made it clear that she needed to be enrolled in a school somewhere and would be in touch with us.

Today we got a call from their version of family services telling us that if we did not have her to school tomorrow they would be taking her from our family. Yes they told us that it does not matter if she is a U.S. citizen, or that we are home schooling, the law in Costa Rica says that if you are here and are between the ages of six and sixteen you will be enrolled in school.

Evidently our five year plan has just become a four year plan. Oh well it has been a great learning experience and we have certainly enjoyed our time in Costa Rica. We do hope that we will still be able to return here and teach our classes to keep them going, we will see how that goes.

Now we just have to keep our fingers crossed that Spirit Air will work out their problems and that we will actually have a way to get out of here!

POLITICS

O.K. I do draw the line with politics. That line is when they put Obama on during Biggest Loser! What the heck is that about? Then all the cheering and stopping, they could have finished that scenerio in about 15 minutes if they had cut the drama. Do they think we are stupid enough to think that something emotional like that will make us feel better? Do they really think that the warm fuzzies are going to erase all the fear and hopelessness people are feeling? It makes me angry that they think we are so dense.
Maybe it it just me because being in Costa Rica I am watching this all unfold like a bad dream. I try to only watch the news once a week to make sure you all over there are still kicking. But really I just get angry when I think that little pep rally really is supposed to make people feel better. We were cracking up to be honest with you.
I believe I have two jobless boys in the U.S. and I can assure they are not reassured by the pep rally. The following quotes summarize my feelings. I found them on a blog that I really like and she finds all kinds of cool stuff over there. Looks like Thomas Jefferson had been there and done that and knew where we were headed.

1.. When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe. Thomas Jefferson
2.. The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not. Thomas Jefferson
3.. It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world. Thomas Jefferson
4.. I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them. Thomas Jefferson
5.. My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government. Thomas Jefferson
6.. No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms. Thomas Jefferson
7.. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government. Thomas Jefferson
8.. The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
9. To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical. Thomas Jefferson
10. Thomas Jefferson said in 1802: 'I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.'

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. "-Martin Luther King Jr.

SILLY BIRDS

My daughter and I were talking the other day about how much Costa Rica has become like the U.S. This came out last night and it is amazing to see the similarities with Costa Rica and the U.S in these proposals. Makes sense huh, spend more money to get out of debt. Here again the weird thinking happening. I guess it comes from using monopoly money for too long!

Here is the Óscar Arias 29-point stimulus/rescue proposal
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Here is what President Óscar Arias proposed or included in his Thursday speech:

1. Authorize a 15-percent increase in non-contributive pensions, that is pensions that were not paid for by the recipient's work history. This is the fourth such increase during the Arias administration.

2. Provide weekend food for children and their families: Some 16,326 students in 37 cantons will receive vouchers exchangeable at local markets for about 70 percent of the nutritional needs for a family of four for the next three months. Arias will try to budget a similar program for 2009.

3. Provide an increase in the Avancemos program, a payment plan for school children, to include 150,000 youngsters, 28,000 more than now.

4. Write off debt for 2,100 families in the national housing program who have low incomes.

5. Increase borrowing limits by 335,000 colons ($605) so that each low-income family that seeks a housing loan will get about 5 million colons (about $9,070).

6. Lower the interest rate in state banks by 2 percent for housing loans up to 50 million colons (about $90,000).

7. Request the Authoridad Reguladora de Servicios Públicos to change its procedures so that decreases in the price of fuel are quickly reflected in the fares.

8. Seek passage of a law that would require employers to cut the hours of all their workers instead of firing some.

9. Promote work by Internet in the private sector with the hope that each workplace will save 100,000 colons ($180) a month in costs associated with employees being in the workplace.

10. Seek approval from the Asamblea Legislativa of a bill that would allow employers to have flexibility in work hours, such as in setting up a four-day work week. This plan has been in the hopper for years but is opposed by employee unions. Major companies, like Intel, strongly support the idea.

11. Provide scholarships for displaced workers with the Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje so workers can learn a new trade.

12. Create a program to instill the business culture among young people under the sponsorship of the Ministerio de Trabajo.

13. Request the national student loan agency, Comisión Nacional de Préstamos para Educación, to put a moratorium on student loans and to give a six-month amnesty for borrowers who have lost their jobs.

14. Increase from three months to six months the period in which a discharged worker is covered by the Caja
Costarricense de Seguro Social, which includes the national medical plan.

15. Create an educational trust for the construction of schools. This appears to be a form of bond issue so that schools can be built now and payment made later. The price tag is 29 billion colons, about $52 million.

16. Construction of all the public works budgeted for the various ministries. This includes road work, housing, airports, health clinics and other public projects.

17. Seek the approval of an $850 million loan for highways, aid to municipalities and the metropolitan trains and public transport.

18. Seek approval of a $500 million loan to strengthen the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad, the electrical generating and telecom company that used to be a government monopoly.

19. Seek approval of an $80 million loan to revitalize the Puerto de Limón and the adjacent community. This already has been announced.

20. Provide technical support to the municipalities to help them spend some 26 billion colons ($50 million) on infrastructure. This includes planning, engineering and assistance in letting contracts.

21. Strengthen the Banca para Desarrollo with an infusion of 222 billion colons ($400 million). The goal is to make financing available for small and medium businesses.

22. Promote the Plan Nacional de Alimentos so that food that is necessary for the residents of the country is produced by the nation's farmers.

23. Seek a reduction of 2 percent in the interest charged to small and medium business creditors by the state banks.

24. Seek a reduction of interest from 1 to 2.5 percent by cooperative lending institutions.

25. Issue a presidential decree to accelerate the depreciation schedule of capital goods held by businesses so that there is a reduction in their income tax, thanks to higher write offs.

26. Require the state to pay for goods and services within 30 days so that small and medium businesses do not have to wait for long periods for their payments.

27. Provide $117.5 million to state banks to increase their liquidity. This already has been approved.

28. Support a law that would allow state banks to lend in subordinate positions and establish the way such loans are figured for the banks' balance sheets. This is now not allowed, but private banks can do so.

29. Ask the Asamblea Legislativa to approve a $500 million loan from the Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo for the Banco Central de Costa Rica so that the bank can finance activities like exportation. The development bank already has approved the loan, but local approval is needed.

POLITICAL CAR WRECK

I usually try and not get involved in poitics, as it makes me mad and upset. I have to say that I can not stay quiet any longer, I am too mad. Because I live in a different country I did not vote as I thought I should not inflict anyone on you all that I was not willing to deal with myself. Not that it would have made any difference from the looks of things.

What in any persons mind would make them think that they could save the economy by spending more money? My five year could figure out that does not work and all she knows about math is how to add and subtract. As I have mentioned before we had our economic meltdown about two years before the rest of the world. We figured out that we could not spend, save or even pray our way out of it. We sold everything and left the country to try and regroup and refresh.

Now looking at the U.S. it is like watching a bad car wreck. Like I really don't want to look and check out the latest bad news, but I can't resist checking the news. I talk to my kids in the U.S. daily, but they do not want to talk about the economy. My three boys all have jobs and plan on holding on to them for dear life. Two of them had quit jobs a few months ago, once they found these ones they decided they would not be quitting any jobs for awhile.

I guess the good news is one of my sons is guarenteed three hots and a cot for the next couple of years. Of course there are other worries for him, another post for another day.

Rest assured that there are lots of expats all over the world watching and praying for all the folks on the front lines of the battle happening over there.