Daily Rant – Part 2, February 15, 2009
As I watch our country go down the tubes by mandates from “well intentioned” politicians, I think about the property we own in Panama. Our dream is to build there and live there half the year and the other half in the United States. I am not sure the US is going to be around that much longer, unless people get with it and realize that personal responsibility is what will get them out of their situations, not just one guy. But this hero worship we are seeing with Obama is truly amazing. For someone who has done nothing to earn the spot, he sure has a lot of mind-numbed followers. I am not one of them.
Panama is about to have another election. Their entire government changes every 5 years, and May of 2009 is the next election. I have a friend and developer, Sam, who now lives in Boquete and urged him to pass along a letter from me to the candidate he backs for President. Here is that letter:
Sam,
I read your article supporting Martinelli for President. I appreciate your viewpoint as an US Citizen now living in Panama. Your insight is very helpful as we move slowly toward spending a lot of time in Panama in the near future.
My problem is this. Right now he Panama government is too tied to the American political system. If I were a statesman in Panama, I would urge the government to start printing its own currency, get on the gold standard and move to the Fair Tax system. These three things would make Panama the new leader of the world’s banking system.
The United States tax system has gotten too big and too oppressive, that I think we are doomed for collapse. Unless a group of people who think much like our founding fathers did come and take the country back, It think our social programs will force us to topple. Even some Republicans, those who are supposed to be for limited government, are talking about federalizing the banking system. This would be devastating to not only the United States, but the world.
I studied the Fair Tax and think it is a great idea. While more of a consumption tax, it shifts the burden of taxes to people who buy things; usually the rich spend more than the poor so they pay more taxes! This is how the progressive tax code was supposed to work in the United States. But with all the other taxes like sales tax, gasoline, property, utilities, and on and on, everyone is punished. This is stifling our economy. Combined with the poor management of Fannie and Freddie, it has brought our market to its knees, and with it, the world’s economy has suffered.
If Panama wants to be a leader in the world, it must move away from its dependency on the United States. One way would be to start printing its own currency and backing it with gold. This is one of the fatal flaws in the US system. FDR took us off the gold standard in 1933 and thus made our money worth only what people believe it is worth. The federal government can print money at will and thus devalue what currency is already in the system. It’s pathetic. And with this new stimulus bill (full of pork spending), I believe we will not survive the next 4 years.
As more and more people become dependent on the government for their existence, there will be more and more liberals voted into office. As that happens, they will pass more and more liberal legislation and spend more money. The next two pillars to collapse are Social Security and Medicare. I’m telling Panama to get out now before it’s too late. Otherwise they get taken down with us.
I am sharing this with you as a friend because I know you have influence with the Panama government. My motives are also selfish in that my wife and I plan to spend a lot of time in Panama as the years progress, and I want to see the country standing after the US falls, or at least is crippled.
Read the Fair Tax book. I will send it to you, if you can’t get a copy. There may also be excerpts on the Internet. Assuming this way of taxation would make Panama head and shoulders above any other country in the world. That’s what I would like to see.
Sorry to be so long-winded, but with change in the air in Panama, I hope the country makes a better decision on its President than ours did.
- FedUpEditor
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