What is going to happen to our country ?

Congratulations for not facing U.S. problems head on but find everybody else but yourself misguided.

Yes, I can see you are clearly deluded and a pompous ass on top of that. And there are other adjectives that I would use but, really, I'm going to restrain myself (somewhat).

You are a contemptible American citizen, no better than a traitor, and I hope that you renounce your citizenship and cut all ties with the U.S. (why do you keep your citizenship??). People have died for your liberty but in your case, it was in vain. You are despicable and less than a man. Things get tough and you, living in a different area, think you will not be affected but let me tell you something, IF the lights go out on the United States of America, the entire world will plunge into darkness, IF the lights stay on, it means that American citizens died so that would happen and YOU will not be welcomed back as far as I'm concerned. No matter what it looks like to you where you are at this moment, it will affect you and clearly you won't/don't see it coming 'because things are doing great' (seemingly) for you now.

You are disgusting.

You are welcome. You got my crux. I’m pessimistic on our chances for preventing what I see as inevitable socialist tyranny. JimRob and other optimists here think we can turn back the tide of coming socialism and even regain our old lost liberty.

That was my central point - my difference from those who think we can do more than just delay the inevitable.

My prayers and wishes go to the optimists that they win and prove me wrong. I would love to eat crow, as I sit back and watch my fellow Americans regain lost rights and shrink the power of government. How I would love to eat crow!

Panama harbors ambitions beyond its canal
Friday, May 28 2010 @ 09:07 AM EDT

Contributed by: Don Winner

By Patrick Rucker (Reuters) - A generation after Panama shed a tradition of military rule, canny fiscal management and good stewardship of its emblematic canal have made the tiny country a model of success for today’s frontier markets. An investor darling that has grown rapidly over the last decade and even managed to dodge recession during the recent global downturn, Panama’s government debt has received a coveted investment grade rating by Fitch and S&P. Panama will not realize its ambition of joining the world’s most developed nations until it cleans up its murky banking system and narrows a wealth gap that leaves a third of its people in poverty, but economists say it is well-positioned for steady growth. “What’s striking is that this is such a broad-based economy,” said Boris Segura, an economist with the Royal Bank of Scotland. “Yes, they have the canal but there is also tourism, construction and a growing financial services sector.

With a population of just 3.4 million, Panama will never be a China or a Japan but local leaders say it can aspire to become like Singapore, an affluent and diverse crossroads for international finance and trade. “Nobody is going to come to Panama to sell to the domestic market. We tell investors ‘Come to Panama and sell to the world’”, Trade Minister Roberto Henriquez told Reuters. He sees the small isthmus nation’s future as a boutique exporter of high-margin goods and services. Dozens of multinational companies such as Caterpillar (CAT.N), Hewlett Packard (HPQ.N) and Dell (DELL.O) have been drawn to Panama in recent years as the country has thrown its doors open to foreign investment and President Ricardo Martinelli, in power since last July, hopes to attract more.

While foreign investors put only about $500 million a year into Panama in the 1990s, the country attracted $8.6 billion between 2006 and 2009, according to government and U.N. data. Low taxes, easy immigration and flexible labor laws have been among the attractions, along with an abundance of available land. “A multinational company takes baby steps, and we have room to grow,” said Henry Kardonski, who is directing the conversion of a former U.S. Air Force base into 5.4 square miles (14 square km) of mixed-use development near the Panama Canal that will combine light industry and a residential community.

Investors have been impressed with Panama’s tight fiscal balances and pro-business policies, but much of its growth stems from the canal which is a transit point for about 4 percent of global trade. Storage and distribution centers are expanding along the canal beltway while the transport and finance sectors continue to grow. The government is tapping those industries for tax revenue and drawing from international creditors to expand its infrastructure.

A $5.25 billion expansion of the canal should be complete in 2014 and the government plans to spend another $13.6 billion on infrastructure and social programs in the next four years. “The numbers tell us that we can continue stepping on the pedal without going into profound financial problems in the country,” said Henriquez.

But with a capital skyline that resembles Dubai of yesteryear and politicians promising to pour even more concrete in a building spree, some fret that spending or growth could spin out of control. There are also worries Panama has not put to rest the uglier parts of its recent past. “Are they going to squander these gains? The jury is still out,” said Segura, who is bullish on Panama but uneasy with a recent edict by Martinelli against street protests and his attempts to centralize authority. It has been more than 20 years since General Manuel Noriega was frog-marched from power after U.S. Marines invaded and extradited the military strongman on drug trafficking charges.

Some worry, though, that Panamanians have uneven memories of the Noriega era and might be too willing to accept another authoritarian figure who promises wealth, stability and more social programs for the poor. “Back then, there was a lot of money, people say. There was a lot of money in the street,” said vendor Fidelio Chocho, ladling out pineapple juice to customers by the Vatican embassy where Noriega made his last stand, surrounded by U.S. troops, around Christmas 1989. “That happened here?” Chocho asked, when told that he was standing next to the historic site.

CANAL SPURS GROWTH - Much has changed in Panama City since that standoff, with luxury condos and a highway overpass now crowding the Vatican Nunciature. The rise in canal traffic is lifting Panama’s financial industry and the government is parceling out valuable land along the banks of the waterway for warehouses and transfer stations. Caterpillar plans to build an expo center near the canal banks where it can show off its new heavy gear. Frontier markets do not commonly inherit such valuable assets as the canal, but Panama has also been a meticulous caretaker since the 1999 handover from the United States. Rather than drain money from it, the government has used the Big Ditch as a cornerstone of broader growth. Panama will get a prolonged boost from the canal upgrade and is reaping a modest windfall too as wealthy economic refugees arrive from other Latin American countries like Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia, where left-wing governments have spooked business leaders and investors.

Panama’s dollar economy and small population would have typically meant prohibitively high production costs for foreign firms. But government incentives and the upgraded canal are two reasons to set up a base there, said Kardonski, who is supervising the project at the former air base for London & Regional Properties which hatched its master plan with blessings from the World Bank. “If you source some parts from Asia and others from South America, you can bring them here for assembly,” he said, listing diverse tenants from aerospace to pharmaceuticals.

Panama still has much growing up to do before it can join the ranks of the world’s most stable, prosperous nations. Its banking system is considered an unfair tax haven eight years after Panama agreed to raise its international standards, prompting banks like BNP Paribas to pull out. Critics also say the free trade zone, service and building sectors can be a magnet for drug money laundering, and say some promoters of high-rise condos fail to make proper checks on where the money comes from. Also, while the economy has been growing at breakneck speed, the poverty rate only dropped from 36.8 percent to 32.7 percent between 2003 and 2008. Some foreign executives worry that Panama’s education system cannot produce enough skilled labor to fill new jobs although the government is creating ad hoc training programs and allowing more foreign workers in as needed. A Singapore aircraft repair facility, for example, receives technicians with basic qualifications from a feeder program.

The strong economy reflected in growth figures is also seen on the streets of Panama City where Noriega’s former officers’ club is being turned into a boutique hotel and the faded colonial quarter is getting a spruce-up. Even the notorious Terraplen neighborhood, known for its gritty cantinas and market for fenced goods, is being cleared to make room for a oceanside promenade. “As a merchant, I don’t like this but as a Panamanian I understand it,” said Andrea Najar, who represents the dozens of merchants who peddle tools, electronics and bric-a-brac. “Maybe when you come back here I will be selling Gatorade to tourists,” said Roberto Preud’homme, one merchant who said he can adjust to the changes.

(Additional reporting by Sean Mattson in Panama City, Robin Emmott in Monterrey and Jason Lange in Mexico City; Editing by Kieran Murray)

Editor’s Comment: The article says “U.S. Marines invaded and extradited the military strongman” Noriega. Yes, the Marines were part of the invasion, however Operation Just Cause was actually a joint military force, comprised of officers and enlisted men from all branches of service - the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard, as well as DOD civilians and contractors. The 75th Rangers (Army) parachuted onto Tocumen International Airport, for example. Delta Force broke a US hostage Kurt Muse out of the Modelo prison. Air Force AC-130 pounded targets all over the country. Anyway, it wasn’t just the Marines, by a long shot.

Comparing Martinelli to Noriega? Utterly ridiculous. Omar Torrijos took control of the country in a military coup in 1968, and held onto power until his death in July 1981. Noriega took over after Torrijos and ran the country as a ruthless, murdering dictator until the US invaded and he was arrested. Ricardo Martinelli is a successful businessman who ran in the 2004 election and lost with only 5% of the vote. However his populist message and voter’s disgust with the traditional graft and corruption endemic to both to the traditional political parties, the PRD and the Panameñistas, led voters to chose Martinelli as a relatively new face, an outsider who has promised to clean things up and to make some fundamental changes. Yes, Martinelli does now practically control all three branches of government (Executive, Legislative, and Judicial) as well as the other important centers of political power such as the Attorney General’s office and the Comptroller. But - and this is a big “but” - the power he wields comes from the people who voted to put him in office. Martinelli is doing what needs to be done in Panama, and has broken the strangle hold many of the traditional centers of power have held over politicians for decades. One example is the public transportation system. Every democratically elected president since Noriega has tried and failed to “modernize” the bus system. And why did they fail? Because the individual bus owners used their influence to keep things the way they have always been, so they can keep making money. Martinelli is doing what needs to be done to modernize the system, and if that means steam rolling right over the scoundrels who have taking advantage of the system for decades - then so be it. The same thing goes for the Colon Free Trade Zone and many others who have always used their money and political influence to either buy off or otherwise manipulate the system so that it’s good for them and generally bad for the Panamanian people. On any bus there is just one driver and about fifty passengers - Martinelli will do what’s best for the passengers. That’s good politics, it’s that simple. And that’s why he is running the show - the people like what they are getting from him.

“Fidelio Chocho?” That’s Hilarious... Obviously the reporter was on the street asking questions, and the guy selling the pineapple juice was most likely a Colombian or foreigner from some other country, who is working in Panama illegally from an immigration and Ministry of Labor point of view. For the most part the police don’t mess with these guys too much, because they are just working stiffs who don’t cause trouble or break the law, and they get free juice in order to leave them alone. He gave his name as “Fidelio Chocho” which is slang for (roughly) “Sensitive Pussy” - in other words - it’s something he apparently made up, the first thing that came to his mind. And, I think it’s absolutely hilarious that this Reuters writer - who is supposed to be on the streets of Panama City and getting the real dirt on what’s happening here - was unable to figure that out. Your first clue that the guy was a foreigner should have been when he said “what, what happened here?” and he didn’t know that Noriega sought refuge in the Papal Nuncio in Paitilla - something that every Panamanian (older than 20) knows. Whatever. Have a nice day, Mr. Pussy...

Can’t Have It Both Ways: This writer loves to paint both sides of the fence, talking to a man who was supposedly “uneasy with a recent edict by Martinelli against street protests...” Until this change, a handful of ten college students could go block Ave. Transistmica in front of the University of Panama. They would stay there until the riot control police eventually showed up, spend about an hour exchanging rocks for tear gas, and the whole time traffic in the city (for millions of people) is all screwed up. In general, most Panamanians support Martinelli’s move to crack down on street protests, especially when it’s just a very small group of people who are (were) using their ability to block traffic in an effort to “force multiply” their voice. They would inconvenience thousands of people, cost millions and millions of dollars in lost revenue, wasted time and fuel, and all of these problems would ensure they would get on the evening news for whatever little problem or complaint they have. Well, that’s now history, and Thank God for that. I’ve seen “real” protests in Panama, when thousands upon thousands of people would turn out in protest of Noriega. It wasn’t six people in a remove village somewhere who block the Inter American Highway because they didn’t have water service that morning. Big difference. Huge.

Panama As Tax Haven? The article says Panama’s “banking system is considered an unfair tax haven” by some countries. To be very specific, only those countries who try to tax the worldwide income of their citizens consider Panama to be a “tax haven.” Most of the countries in the world tax “geographically” - and most of them have a very fundamental disagreement with the way the United States of America tries to tax people and companies, no matter where the money is earned. Panama and the Martinelli administration has embarked on a strategic plan of negotiating and signing “Treaties to Avoid Dual Taxation” with as many nations as possible around the world. In other words, if an Italian company pays taxes on their income in Panama, then Italy agrees not to tax that same income again, which almost everyone (except the United States) deems as fair. The United States wants Panama to sign an “Information Sharing” agreement - which Panama seems as absurd because the United States simply does not have any information Panama wants. If a Panamanian citizen makes money in the United States, then they pay their taxes there and Panama could care less. However a person who was born in the former Panama Canal Zone - known as a “Zonian” - has both US and Panamanian citizenship. If that person returns to Panama and works here, the United States thinks they should also pay income taxes to the IRS. Panama disagrees. That’s the basics of the disagreement, and why some nations paint Panama as a “tax haven.”

LOL!!!

And by the way, I am a woman, not a man.

Do you expect me to read that? You were discarded in my mind with my last post to you and I stand by that reply.

But As far as your statement: “LOL!!!

And by the way, I am a woman, not a man.”

Whatever the case, you are NO AMERICAN.

Ignorance is salvageable. Stupidity is forever.

But you wouldn’t know that either.