Whether or not you are a supporter of the police, the one unassailable fact is that they represent just about the only line between you and a very nasty group of people who pay little attention to the law.  A complete lack of respect for law enforcement is a harbinger of anarchy.

When I arrived in Costa Rica, I rarely read or heard about violent attacks of any kind. There were some home invasions, but never if the home was occupied. Street crime was limited to pickpockets or street punks (chapulines) seldom armed with anything other than a knife and tough talk. Few or no gangs. Typical city crime.  Outside the cities, the crime rate was negligible.

Crime has changed here in Costa Rica. Now the street punks have guns just like in the USA. Assaults are more common. Home invasions occur whether the home is occupied or not. Costa Rica is reacting, hiring more police and if anything, I seem to have noticed a drop or at least a leveling off crimes here.

What has me troubled, though, is the ever increasing attacks on the police themselves… and worse, how the bad guys are seemingly getting away with it.  Just three days ago, a young (23 I think) police officer was shotgunned while making a check of a home. He survived… losing a lung. Another officer is in the same hospital after having been shot in the face.

I do not know any police officers here nor any agents of the OIJ, so I have no access to the hot skinny, but I am concerned that there is no news followup of the progress and activities and what they are doing to catch (avenge!) these shootings.  This could be just crummy reporting or perhaps the culture is different and the harming of a police officer simply is not a priority. I am hoping for the former!

My point is, the police and the government simply must make crimes against law enforcement a priority… even above crime to the populace. If they are not doing this, I believe the results will be disastrous for Costa Rica.

I received another comment yesterday and again I have decided to reply here as I think more people read the posts than the comments. OK OK… it is sort of another rant and probably should have been posted on July 4th, but here it is. It started out as a simply enough reply… then grew. However as my readers know, at times my self control fails me…which might be why I am not exactly thin!

Ohhh. Haters of the USA or those embarrassed to be an American will probably find this post not to their liking.

Below is a comment sent in yesterday and the stimulous for this reply. If my response might interest you… read on!

I don’t want to come off as a conspiracy theorist, but I do find it to be interesting that this is a problem for you now. My point, a lot of people are disenchanted, to say the least, regarding the current political, economic, etc… here in the US, and are hoping to relocate. Well maybe the powers that be prefer this not to be so easy to do. And therefore prefer not to have someone help make this possible, meaning you. You provide us with the much appreciated, and needed info. Seems as though with the recent CAFTA activity, that Costa Rica wanting to do trade with the US, is going to be pressured to do whatever Uncle Sam asks of them. Remember the disintegration of the middle class, means the corporate big wigs need all the slaves to stay here and consume in order for them to continue to make a profit. Now if we want to live elswhere, we are not here to keep them nice and fat. Ok, after previewing my post, I have to admit I do sound like a nut, or do I? (twilight zone music plays in background).

Yeah… a bit

But I think you are a little confused… at least about me and my status. My permanent residency renewal is not dictated by the US government and the renewal process seems to be going exactly as it should. I doubt there will be issues, but I thought I’d post my experiences so others could follow along to see how it goes. I expect it to go smoothly.

The USA has serious issues for sure, but to blame the current administration is just naive. The fault lies with every administration and congress for the past 20-30 years that exhibited not one modicum of leadership and a complete failure to deal with unpleasant problems like the current oil crisis, social security and numerous other issues.

The current Democratic congress does nothing… no leadership at all… preferring to blame the woes of the world on Bush.

Bush does nothing to demonstrate his leadership preferring to fall into stupid disagreements with congress about Iraq. The result is that nothing gets done on critical domestic issues. What people seem to forget is that either congress or the administration can take a leadership role and begin an initiative. Neither does and neither has for many, many years, preferring to pander to the George Soros’ of the world and to the other big campaign contributors and lobbyists. Want an example? In almost eight years neither Bush NOR congress has made even the slightest real attempt to ween the populace from being just plain pigs when it comes to using fossil fuels… nor did the administration before that nor the one before that… ad nauseum.

The US has about 4% of the world’s population yet uses 20% of the worlds oil. What is wrong with THAT picture?? Now we are at the mercy of high oil prices as China and other countries bid up the price of oil. Everyone blames big oil but they just don’t get it. Oil is a commodity… nothing more. Simple supply and demand. We now buy a ton of oil from the Saudis who then use their profits to fund terrorism and anti-American activities. Really intelligent! I like to think that every time you fill up, you are paying a nice little terrorist tax. We buy from the Saudis because we cannot seem to develop our own oil supplies or better yet, cut back on the use of oil completely. No leadership… again!

This current scenario was clearly visible decades ago, and MANY people warned that this would come to pass. EVERY administration and congress did NOTHING to keep us from being in this position… and they could have! We could have built refineries, encouraged or even forced the use of alternative fuels… Can’t be done? Pottywash! Take a look at Brazil if you want to see how it could have been done!

Now everyone bitches about the $4.00 per gallon gas prices. How silly. If you live in the Netherlands, you pay $12.00 per gallon. England? $11.00 last time I checked. Costa Rica? Over $6.00 probably starting this week! $4.00 fuel is nothing.

People have to leave the USA every day because they can no longer afford to live in their own country. My sister is in the process of moving here as she is in the same position. She gets a nice social security check and has savings, but is living hand to mouth… no room for anything unexpected and she is scared to death. Now she must leave her country.

She and many others will have no choice… but be aware it is not the rich and famous coming here. The ones with money might buy a vacation OR rental home here, but they have no intentions of moving. The ones that are moving here (not all of course) tend to be the less conspicuous consumers e.g. the middle class. I can promise you that a few tens of thousands of people planning to try ex-pat living and who are not at the top of the spending food chain, will not affect the economy of the USA one iota!

CAFTA is enormously complex and I am sure it will both help and hurt some Costa Ricans. Time will tell. In general, I think it will help more than hurt, and clearly the Costa Rica people agreed as it was they who voted YES to the TLC though admittedly not by a huge margin..

I would urge you not to fall into the trap of thinking that anything done by the USA is automatically bad. Those big (and sometimes small) businesses that everyone loves to hate is why the USA is by far and away the greatest country in the world. They were and are the engine. People forget, in the face of the all the recent anti-American press, just how wonderful IS the USA.

I believe the USA has serious issues and is broken. I believe we have wandered away from the basics that made us great. I also believe that it can be fixed, but not with the current lack of leadership in the congress and the white house. Nobody wants to rock the boat, and for sure, the boat needs some serious rocking.

The person who seems to be the forerunner in the US elections has 143 days of experience in the senate and it seems likely he will be soon be in the most important post in the world. To ME this is incredible! Talks nice though. He is, however, sadly lacking in experience and woefully ignorant of world affairs… but there you have it. The system continues.

We elect people simply not up for the job or simply not qualified. Many of those who could do the job want nothing to do with politics. Go figure! Obama will be surrounded/supported by a completely useless democratic congress that has already demonstrated that it is incapable of doing anything positive on behalf of the people they represent, and like all the congresses before, is totally lacking the leadership to make tough and unpopular decisions to save our country. They are far more interested in kowtowing to their monied supporters than in doing what is necessary to save our country.

The once honorable press distorts or fails to report the news unless it serves their own interest. They feed a never ending stream of untruths and encourage Americans to hate their own country. I mean can you IMAGINE actually working for The New York Times or CNN?? How embarrassing! How can they face their children at night?

I do not have a solution. I’d like to see people elected who care about the USA and will take strong and decisive action to lead and protect the USA. Ain’t gonna happen this election year I fear, and soon, I think the USA will soon become vulnerable once again to terrorism and attack as Obama tries cut the military and to placate an armed force whose only interest is the total destruction of the United States.

In summary, I love the USA and I am very proud if its accomplishments and forgiving of its failures.

Every once in a while I like to listen to a broadcast from back in 1973. Thirty five years have passed, but listening to and reading it still makes me want to just stand up and cheer. Thanks to our press and the naysayers, we can easily forget just how great is our country.

Thirty five years have passed, but the intelligent reader/listener will still see amazing similarities to our world today. Listen, read and think.

To read and listen to this broadcast and learn the background, click here … or you can just listen here to the The Americans

I listen to it a couple of time a year. Every time I do, it make me feel very proud to be American with all the good and bad that comes it.

For sure we are not perfect. We stumble and fall… but wow. What an honor to be called American.

Stand Proud America

Here is her email, and if the topic interests you (and you can deal with my rant)… read on!

My family plans to relocate to Costa Rica, and I would like to know what your thoughts are regarding the recent activity by the Costa Rican Congress ending it’s 84 year old insurance, and telecom monopoly (CAFTA). How do you think this is going to effect the citizens of Costa Rica that have enjoyed a universal health care system, and what do you think the implications are for Americans residig in Costa Rica, that have been able to partake in this system?.

From the tone of your comment, and I get a LOT of these emails/comments, you are one of those believing anything having to do with CAFTA and the big bad horrible USA must be bad for everyone else. If I am wrong, I apologize in advance.

But you got some words right.. just not the facts which are more obscure… so let me explain.

1. The telecom monopoly, like the vast majority of monopolies is a huge, cost wasting enterprise, employing tens of thousands of workers, and is roughly 7 years behind the rest of the world in providing the things over which they have responsibility (technology).

In addition, as with most monopolies it gives awful customer service at ridiculous prices (for Internet and power, not for cell service). The “high speed Internet”, when it DOES work, is painfully slow, and the vast majority of Costa Ricans have access only to dial-up modem service in their homes. It has held the country back economically. strategically, and educationally.

The cell rates ARE well priced, but of the two systems here, the only one that works at ALL is the old TDMA system popular in the USA back in the 1990s. It works great!!

The “new” GSM system is absolutely horrible, works at best only 90% of the time and does not work at all in many locations… yet the monopoly is telling many, many thousands of Ticos to turn in their old working cell phones and buy the new GSM phones. For many Tico families, this is a MAJOR expense. Gotta LOVE those monopolies! In 2009, they will discontinue the only system that works.

This telecom also controls the electric power. Last year we went days and weeks suffering brownouts and blackouts. This was the result of an astonishing lack of simple population planning, and numerous families and businesses suffered greatly. The president had to spend a TON of money buying emergency equipment just to keep the lights lit.

In the history of the world, there have been good monopolies I am sure, but the vast majority provided lousy customer service, a crummy product, at unfair prices… This is why monopolies were outlawed in the USA about 50 years ago.

This model fits here… because there is no competition, they do as they please while giving the customers the one finger salute.

Insurance

You wrote …”the recent activity by the Costa Rican Congress ending it’s 84 year old insurance… monopoly” and “How do you think this is going to effect the citizens of Costa Rica that have enjoyed a universal health care system”

You have things pretty mixed up. First, the congress had absolutely nothing to do with any of this.

The Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) was voted through by referendum…and was voted on by all Costa Ricans. The PEOPLE passed this treaty… not the congress. Hmmm. I wonder if the overwhelmingly super service provide by their telcom monopoly had anything to do with that vote!

After CAFTA passed, the congress had to alter existing laws to bring them into concordance with the terms of CAFTA that the PEOPLE OF COSTA RICA approved.

This is something that sorta grinds me in emails I receive… the perceived arrogance of those who think THEY know more than the Costa Rican people. I am not saying the writer said or implied this, but others have many times. The Costa Rican people are bright, intelligent, well educated people and right or wrong, they made their will known. Time will tell if it was a good decision, but I can assure you that never in my life have I EVER seen a more informed public on a topic up for referendum. Costa Rica could give civics lessons to any country in the world after the manner in which they handled the TLC (CAFTA).

So now there will be other insurance companies offering policies with wider coverages with larger groups and therefore possibly lower rates. There are dozens of huge international insurers who can now legally sell their products to those of us who live in Costa Rica. Now, perhaps a 50 year old women driver will not have to pay $1,400 per year for car insurance the same as her 19 year old son.

Oh… that’s right! There IS no compulsory insurance so only a very few people ever buy insurance because it can represent more than 10% of their annual income! Enjoy your next trip here! Drive defensively!

Your email implies that the “Universal Health Care” is going away. It is not. THE CCSS (CAJA) is alive and well. Good thing as my wife works for a CCSS hospital!

Oh… and to be clear… “Universal Health Care” is just socialized medicine… and just as in Sweden, Canada, England and other places, the system does not work for anyone except the very poor and seldom works well for them. Lines are huge. Several hours is common at my wife’s hospital. Generic medicine are prescribed to save money, but sadly they are purchased from a variety of countries and there is no quality control and therefore many medicines just do not work. I can vouch personally that that is true.

Waits for a doctors visit can take months and often DO. Waits for major surgery or even some minor surgeries can take years. The poor suffer with this crap as they have to… same as they will soon in the USA. Everyone else buys private insurance so they can see the doctor of their choice at the hospital of their choice a the time of their choice. For those of you who are “Universal Health Care” fans… I wish you well. It looks great on paper, but I have yet to see it work well. I can assure any middle class Gringo tht moves here that you will eventually get CAJA and buy private insurance in case you get sick.

So what do I think the implications are for Americans residing in Costa Rica, that have been able to partake in this system?. Not much… Nothing has changed, just more offerings and some of those are years away. If they use CAJA now, they will continue to use CAJA. If they buy private insurance now, they will soon have other options and perhaps better prices. If they are tired of paying car insurance as though they were an 18 year old male overdosed on testosterone… they will likely be happy with premiums that reflect their age, driving history and experience! Someone may come in and actually offer true hi speed Internet for less than $80 per month WITH reliable service and connections that actually do not die every day at 3 PM. Note I am referring here to TRUE high speed as you would find in most developed countries.

Costa Ricans will benefit I think by better services lower prices (or more for the money they do pay).

Even now, with the arrival of those big awful businesses from the bad ole USA, (like Walmart), customer service policies are changing country wide! Why imagine a Tico who can actually exchange a brand new and very costly TV (but one that was totally DOA right out of the box), instead of having to wait 3-4 months while it gets returned to the factory in Korea for repair!

Can you imagine?

And again… if I misread your email, I apologize… but that’s the problem with email… no visual or aural clues to clarify.  Also, enough others have written about how they hate the USA, big business, Bush, Obama, and God that I am just getting fed up with it.  As a famous bird once sang… Get Over It.

This phenomena occured on 9 June when I wrote the post entitled “3,000 Jobs Gone? Why?“. I am 99% sure I read in La Nacion that the new regulation had been published in La Gaceta. It appears I was wrong and it was not published. As Bugs Bunny would say, “Whatta maroon!”.

In Costa Rica, before a law or government decree can be enforced, it must be first published in La Gaceta. The fact that it was not explains why, during my (purely research based) visits to the various casinos, I found them operating as normal. So now I must grovel to my readers and apologize for the mistake. The rest of that post is just fine.

However some of these changes will be published… perhaps as soon as this week, though it seems the decree affecting hours may not be published. If it is, those 3,000 workers will be unemployed as nearly all casinos are 24 hour per day businesses, and the reduction to an 8 hour day (6PM to 2AM will certainly hurt a lot of people.

But… as the government does not appear any too anxious to publish the decree relating to hours, who knows? Could be somebody’s brain kicked in and they realize what a truly bad idea is the cutting of jobs.

Further, there seems to be some question as to whether these decrees will affect existing businesses. One of the new “rules” is that a casino must be part of (actually IN) a hotel and may not take up more than 15% of the total space. How places like the Horseshoe, a landmark and not connected to any hotel, will fare is anybodys guess. The same is true for the Fiesta Casino near the San Jose airport. It too stands alone.

Anyway… now you know!

From Karin:

One thing that worries me about trying to live in CR is the thought of having to be on guard all the time against house thieves. I’m originally from NYC and am used to watching my back in public, but I’m not used to having bars on the windows, etc.

Your page on Culture Shock mentioned that the concepts of right and wrong vary from culture to culture. I’ve heard Ticos blaming most of the petty (and violent) crime on Nicas that have come into the country.

Have you formed an opinion on why “Thou shalt not steal” and “Do unto others, etc.” are ignored by so many people there? Are they less attached to their “stuff” than we are?

So sorry to go astray Karin, but your answers are (buried) here.

I think “stuff” is relative. If the best you can afford is a radio, the loss of that radio is maybe equal to another person losing their DVD player or cell phone… Just my thoughts.

And… if you think the ten commandments or golden rule have anything to do with our 2008 world, you are probably pretty disappointed daily in your life. Ethics and morals have been under attack by the far left for many years, and the US is an example of how a society can deteriorate when it shifts from basic values, religious or otherwise. In fact it is my opinion that it is far worse in the US than here in Costa Rica, though of course there are areas in the US where people still respect one another, the laws of the land and their own God as they define Him or a higher power if that word is better. Of course, they are ridiculed for their beliefs.

I think the USA is broken.

I am not a particularly religious person, but I think people need to respect other folk’s belief systems and not try to impose their own. Oddly, the terrorists are trying to export and enforce THEIR version of Islam to everyone in the world… The basic Islamic beliefs, while different, are still basically good unless distorted for personal use. Still, there is a huge faction in the US that minimizes and makes fun of those (religious or not) who want and choose a simpler and more basic approach to life and family. They change the words to Silent Night… heavens! Nobody wants to offend! Merry Christmas is now offensive? To whom? Ever had a non Christian tell you not to say Merry Christmas as you walk down the street?

These people want to change how we address each other or groups of people, yet they use words often even more offensive! Example? How about the ridiculously named, “Native Americans”? Ever actually speak with a “Native American”? I have, and I know of none who care to identify themselves as “Americans” at all! They identify themselves with their own Nation (OK, tribe if you want to get silly). Oh… BTW… they actually WERE sovereign nations unto themselves and doing quite well before we decided to relieve them of that overwhelming burden of self governance. All in the name of Manifest Destiny, but really sort of a military assisted living program.

The PC police monitor your words and thoughts and tell YOU how to think, act, and what is right based on what THEY think is right. Free speech, while technically still on the books, is really pretty much gone. No, I am not advocating the use of hate words… I just think this PC crap is another example of what WAS maybe good idea with good intentions now gone horribly wrong.

I consider this attack on people for how they think, speak, worship, or express themselves to be little more than domestic terrorism. It may not be as destructive as Islamic terror, but it sure seems to be having a similar effect… maybe just a tad less bloody.

The Bad Guys!

Yeah… the Nicas and Colombians are blamed for everything… but the Blacks and Latinos were blamed for everything in the US as I recall. I doubt that has changed since I jumped ship. Anyway, all those groups tend to be on the lower end of the economic scale, so I suppose that blame is at least partly justified… Have to eat right?

Crime here? The Cost?

It is FAR cheaper to live in CR than in the USA, but there is a cost involved that people conveniently forget. Those high taxes you pay in the US for (normally) buy those superb services like ambulances, paramedics, police that respond instantly and are well paid and well trained (though seldom well appreciated). Taxes also pay for (generally) well equipped schools with vast sports facilities, computers, after school activities… the works. Even urban schools in the US (Chicago for example) generally are far better equipped then nearly any public school in Costa Rica.

Down here, you pay almost NO taxes, but you also get almost no police services and the Cruz Roja ambulances are often equipped with not much more than an oxygen bottle. With no police, you make do! You may chose to live in a gated and protected community that hires it’s own security. Ironically, those Gringo hideouts are the least secure and most dangerous places to live… a favorite, Escazu, had well over 700 reported home break-ins last year. The really important word is REPORTED? As there is little point, a lot of folks never report crime here.

However all is not bad! There are a zillion safe and wonderful places to live where you can have great neighbors and be safe in your home. I meet people all the time who live safely and without fear! Is that what you want? Well that carries with it the responsibility to learn Spanish and actually BLEND into the Latin culture. That is a price tag that many expats do not wish to pay. They’ll stick with each other, learn 9 words in Spanish, and tell their friends they live in Costa Rica.

The COOL thing is that this is changing! I am seeing more and more over-50ish North Americans moving here, living in areas that are predominantly Tico, adjusting to and LOVING life here. They are safe. They are contributing. They are learning the culture and have discovered that just because you speak Spanish does not mean you are a Mexican gardener. They watch out for each other. Basics. Like holding hands in kindergarten.

The bars on the window? Deal with it. They are everywhere and while many folks will explain them away as part of the Spanish influence (and they are partially right) they have evolved into a requirement depending on where you live. Close to bigger cities and tourist areas… expect to see more bars.

How about the younger expat?

My son 28 lives here with his wife and three year old daughter. He is very concerned that while here in Costa Rica, she will never be exposed to or have access to the zillion things US kids take for granted every day! He is right of course. Kids here play soccer. Few other sports. Very few computer labs… in fact, very few computers at all… few tennis or basketball courts… little track and field. Few if any after school activities that are school sponsored.

My son’s high school and his frame of reference (Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinos) had pools, a TV/radio station, clubs, probably 20 different sports and may about 400 extracurricular things to do. Granted, that may be an exceptional high school… but my point is that down here, those things simply do not exist at all even in the high priced private English schools. They are just not available. He is considering a move back to the USA… not a bad idea, but he simply has NO idea how much all those things cost in the higher taxes he will pay. I paid $7,000 per year in taxes for his fine high school, a super police department that patrolled my neighborhood 20-30 times per day with under 2 minute response time, and paramedics that drove mini hospitals in case we got sick.

Phrases like “Pay me now or pay me later” or “Ya gets what ya pays for” or the ever popular “There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch” all work fine in Costa Rica. If you move here, bear these in mind. You can NOT have it both ways.
Although I am pretty sure I’ll get blasted for saying this, but I think that those parents who move here from the USA with kids of school age just so they can “expose them to another culture”, while well thinking, are NOT doing them any favors. I am referring here to permanent moves, not a one year visit to another culture thing which I DO support.

The REAL thing I see in the younger expat (not including business transfers) is these people seem to be using the kids as an excuse for their own inability to cope with life in the USA… conveniently blaming Clinton, Bush, the system, the Republicans, Democrats, banks, Britney Spears … whatever/whoever… for their lot in life. I am already getting a ton of email from the Hillary and Obama haters getting ready to leave the USA if either are elected. That is just wrong, You cannot escape your life. It follows you.

To Karin… I do apologize. Poor woman asks a simple question or two and gets the whole enchilada of pent-up crappola.

To you 8,000 or so who get this Blog via email, sorry to jam up your email and use your bandwidth. If I have offended anyone… well, that is why people have Blogs… to say what they think. To spew!

Comments of a polite nature are, of course, welcome so long as they agree with me.