How does this fit in Nicaragua?
Submitted by fyl on Mon, 2013/01/28 - 07:22.
A friend sent me a copy of this editorial from a Michigan newspaper. While my personal conclusions are different than those implied by the author, it's a short piece which raises some serious concerns. My reason for posting it here is to talk about how Nicaragua would fare in the points being made.
[Unfortunately, I don't know the name of the newspaper where it appeared. I assume it is under copyright but claim fair use here as it is being posted for discussion.]
To start, let me take the last point, "How do we handle a major crisis?" Clearly, a major crisis in Nicaragua can be a much smaller event than something that qualifies in the US. While there are ways to compare the two countries that make Nicaragua look even smaller (such as GDP), if we just use population we get a ratio of over 50:1. Thus, some natural disaster that effected 5 million people in the US would be equivalent to one that effected 100,000 in Nicaragua.
This type of event is not that uncommon here. Hurricanes and tropical storms with this level of impact happen on a regular basis. The typical first response in to send in the Army. (Nicaragua is not involved in any foreign wars. The Army pretty much serves the functions of what would be the domestic use of the National Guard in the US.) It is also quite common for other nations to help out -- particularly with donations of food and supplies. More often than not, reconstruction is done with a combination of workers including the affected locals. I mention this because, in the US, you might see months or years of studies and permitting proccesses before any real action takes place.
This doesn't make the US approach better or worse than the Nicaraguan approach but it is clearly quite different. When people considering a move to Nicaragua ask "How can Nicaragua survive without a department of redundancy department?" [to borrow a phrase from The Firesign Theatre], you need to take the difference of approach into consideration.
It's an internet favorite.
This was written by Ken Huber from Tawas City, Michigan It was originally printed in the Iosco County News Herald on June 9, 2010, published in the Opinion column. My take? People are people the world over. Some would prefer to believe the US citizens are smarter/better than other places. But not true. The people vote and get the government they deserve. That does not automatically translate into "best", which is obvious if anyone takes a moment to look at any democracy in the world.
What is important?
How productive is it to complain about everything including the government? - Any countries' governments? - Does that change anything? - Does that make life any better?
I just brought in 10 small window ACs that I can't find here. I included full purchase documentation including links to the actual sales on the internet and credit card statements. Aduana adjusted the price to double and taxed me on that. I was stupid & complained & whined & negotiated until I finally got smart. It took a while - I am kinda slow. Paid the bill and went on with life.doing something enjoyable.
Opportunity is the important choice of most people I see in both Nicaragua and the USA. Is there opportunity here for a Nica? It would not take much to rise above the crowd. Would that even help?
What are the opportunities in the USA? According to the Census Bureau's 2010 American Community Survey (ACS), the US immigrant population stood at almost 40 million. Estimates are that another illegal 10 million are there also. A few are leaving but more keep coming and immigration is a problem being addressed there in congress right now. This is equal to the total population of about 8 countries like Nicaragua. Are these people all crazy?
Are immigrants in the US complaining about everything like Ken Huber or did they choose to move there? Ken Huber and his fan club are doing a big favor for those who are working to improve themselves, get ahead, and enjoy life. Ken & his boys spend their time complaining instead of competing.
The obvious question - Why are Nicas going that way but many of us did the opposite? 7 years later I still enjoy it here but there are times....
Pathetic
This is more of the same old whines that surface every day in the US. Worse - The guy's running one of the oldest illogical fallacies - Building scarecrows and then knocking them down - The domain of mental midgets. Sounds like FOX news should hire him!
The USA was built and is supported by problem solvers - people who find solutions - Innovation & ingenuity - NOT whines that offer nothing productive. But finding solutions requires effort and usually money while whines require nothing except hot air.
Unfortunately today people are expecting the government to take complete care of them. The biggest complaint from "conservatives" in the last election was that Obama had not fixed the economy - Obama had not provided full employment - Obama had not solved their problems.
On your specific subject - A major crisis or serious natural disaster in the US is usually solved by US taxpayers - Here it will be similar - A combination of US and other foreign taxpayers - Of course you probably already knew that. Nicaragua relies on the world to take care of it.
Yes Nicaragua relies on the world to take care of it but...
Who is to blame for it? Our 'Strong men' turn out to be not so strong after all. Like little boys they start to whine and ask mommy or daddy to clean up their mess. And to cover all bases of the argument, sadly but true, a culture of codependency has become a part of our national identity. As we say : Cuando el muerto tiene quien lo cargue se hace más pesado.
Who is to blame?
You could argue that the US had a lot to do with it and you would be right. But blaming solves nothing - You gotta find solutions and I have not heard anything that sounds promising.
Some history here is bizarre - How many CA countries throw a president in the slammer for corruption and then let him out to be a wheeler dealer big man on campus? Voters in the US complain because they have few choices but look what Nicas have here!
The brain drain seems to be a huge problem to me - I have been here 7 years and almost all of the productive, successful Nicas I have met live in the US - Most legally. They come back here to visit occasionally. How many highly talented people want to work here for a few hundred per month when they can earn a few thousand in there? What can anybody including the Nica government do to help open up opportunities here?
Many Nicas I know have no hope - No ambition - No dreams because they don't see a carrot at the end of the stick. A good job pays $200/month and a dream job paying $400-$500 is out of reach. Yet their skill levels don't support a decent pay. From my experience it is impossible to fine someone who can even work up to perform a job as a "day manager" and be worth that pay. I would hire one in a minute.
What is going to happen when the sponsor down south kicks the bucket and that money stops flowing here - What is gonna take up the slack?
The rich here get richer & send their kids to Harvard to get an MBA but the poor saps on the street are lost rats in the maze and are not not even trying to find a way out.
Mine was more of a rhetorical question
All of us have played a role in this machiavellian affair, running now for well over 500 years, see Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba and Pedrarias Davila. Some of us by omission others by commission. As we say here: todos tenemos vela en este entierro. We have not been able to break free from that mold. Practicing politics in Nicaragua can make you very rich or very dead. Everybody else in between is doing whatever works best for them. Funny how this kind of arguments sometimes follow or precede an article on our newspaper. Some of those productive and succesful Nicas live abroad not because of the money but instead because they have the option to live outside of the madness that our governments have provided us since forever. From the investors point of view it seems that Mr Ortega is governing Nicaragua much better this time around than his very first try at the presidency by being more user friendly to foreign money, but the question is how long will it take for the profits to start making their way to the ordinary folks, if it does happens, through real better public services as in real schools with better trained and paid teachers, a better trained and paid police force, a real health care service and better trained and paid health providers, well that's just to name a few. Some will say hey wait a minute the man's been there for only 7 years and all of those things take time and most importantly the cooperation of all the sectors to make them a reality. Sure they do. But it sure didn't take too long to go from being one more of the poor to being one of the richest man in the country in a "poor country", go figure. People my age that are living in Nicaragua can be divided into two groups. One is that group that even though they know what is going on and care about it know so well from past experience that after all is said and done things end up being the same as they were as when they started so they just shrug and hang their heads and go about doing as best as they can for themselves and their families. The other group, whether they know or care about what's going on is not important to them as long as they get their piece of the pie, no matter how small. The up and coming youth is even in worst shape. The lack of education and opportunities can only work to the advantage of those that their only way to stay in power is by perpetuating a state of dependency. What is going to happen when the sponsor down south kicks the bucket and that money stops flowing here - What is gonna take up the slack? Mr Ortega, I'm sure has two options. One would be for him to pack up, his money already safe in a Swiss bank account, and quietly go as soon as things start to go bad, leaving all those that served him well to pay for the broken china or follow the Chinese model of governing by buying up all those that could become a problem for him, in government or private sector, or simply quietly dispossing of them. Either way is not going to be pretty, for the common folks that is. As you say the rich here get richer and the poor saps on the streets unlike the rats in the maze looking for the cheese, these poor saps, they don't even know they are lost in a maze therefore don't need to look for a way out. A way out of what? See I've got my cheese. That would be their answer to your perplexed self. And this is not rhetorical .
Thanks
Interesting to hear it from a native. Lots to think about.