I miss Hipolito already!!!

G

Golo100

Bronze
Jan 5, 2002
2,138
56
0
Can you believe this Leonel government? Is it possible that Leonel and his gang that can't shoot straight can match or even better Hipolito at screwing this thing even more?
Things could not be worst. My income has been reduced. My expenses going up like a Barry Bonds' banger. While the dollar is being humiliated and abused by Leonel, inflation is rampant and prices have gone up everywhere by as much as 20%. Can you believe platanos at $7? A water gallon taken from the same Dominican rivers at $54? Eggs still at $4?
Is it a joke that Cerveza Presidente is going down $5? Do these people take us for fools? What good is a $5 discount after raising the price by $30?
Can you believe that Minister Almeyda(more like "cabeza de almeja") now wants us to get a certification from a shooting range certifying that we can shoot a gun to get a gun permit. Do you know what a shooting range charges for gun lessons? $5000 the latest course!!!! You add to that the fact that we now have to get a shrink's certification that we are not mad, and a private lab's doping test and you already have spent upwards of $6000. When you pay the taxes, your gun permit will exceed the cost the gun itself. This is the cure for triple the number of illegal guns in the streets and the multiplication of crime.
Leonel is an asshole. He and his party may be history before the next 200 days. At best he will lose his only senator and may not get a single mayor and deputy in the next congressional elections 2006. Let's all get ready to give the boot to these PLD idiots. Bring back "El Calvo". I miss him already. I want the dollar where it really should be....$60 to $1. No ****.
TW
 
J

juanita

Bronze
Apr 22, 2004
1,893
115
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Golo100 said:
Can you believe this Leonel government? Is it possible that Leonel and his gang that can't shoot straight can match or even better Hipolito at screwing this thing even more?
Things could not be worst. My income has been reduced. My expenses going up like a Barry Bonds' banger. While the dollar is being humiliated and abused by Leonel, inflation is rampant and prices have gone up everywhere by as much as 20%. Can you believe platanos at $7? A water gallon taken from the same Dominican rivers at $54? Eggs still at $4?
Is it a joke that Cerveza Presidente is going down $5? Do these people take us for fools? What good is a $5 discount after raising the price by $30?
Can you believe that Minister Almeyda(more like "cabeza de almeja") now wants us to get a certification from a shooting range certifying that we can shoot a gun to get a gun permit. Do you know what a shooting range charges for gun lessons? $5000 the latest course!!!! You add to that the fact that we now have to get a shrink's certification that we are not mad, and a private lab's doping test and you already have spent upwards of $6000. When you pay the taxes, your gun permit will exceed the cost the gun itself. This is the cure for triple the number of illegal guns in the streets and the multiplication of crime.
Leonel is an asshole. He and his party may be history before the next 200 days. At best he will lose his only senator and may not get a single mayor and deputy in the next congressional elections 2006. Let's all get ready to give the boot to these PLD idiots. Bring back "El Calvo". I miss him already. I want the dollar where it really should be....$60 to $1. No ****.
TW
Click to expand...

Don't know where you shop but....I get my eggs at $4, water at $35, kids milk went down $100, rice, habicuelas...etc.. went down also!
 
C

Criss Colon

Platinum
Jan 2, 2002
21,843
191
0
38
yahoomail.com
Just Hang On "Till" January!

The US Dollar will strengthen again. I go for 35 to 1 in Jan. Better rate later in the year!
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
 
G

Golo100

Bronze
Jan 5, 2002
2,138
56
0
Really?

The water you buy is the 5 gallon bottle that used to cost $15 and then $20, and later $25. It's up to $35. How come is not back to at least $25? Do you think I live abroad?? I know as much about Dominican prices as anybody. Unless you shop at the dirty, unhuman Mercado Modelo.
I shop at Supermercado Nacional, La Cadena and SuperPola and I can tell you that the few things you mention are but the exceptions. The rule is MORE!!
Check the prices of canned foods, imports, juices, soft drinks and tell me if they have gone down. When was the last time you saw a 20oz.plastic bottle of Coke for less than $24.95? Has the small Lays Potato Chip gone down from $15? Has you seen any Del Monte product down in price? Motts?
Have you seen any cheese for less than $94 the pound, unless it is on sale to attract you to the death chamber of supermarket death. Can you believe Sosua and Induveca products still at $56 a lb.? This is stuff that used to go for $17 only months ago? Do you think a few peso reductions mean anything?
Try to buy apples or pears for Christmas? Globe Grapes still at $70?
What world are you living in girl?
And don't tell me you shop at Bravo. Bravo is just another scam. Sure, a little cheaper, but nonetheless, still too expensive for a beaten down dollar.
Leonel is a scam.
TW, the supermarket Guru
 
Y

Yan-Yan

New member
Sep 22, 2003
96
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0
Well, not everybody in the DR makes US dollars... Too bad for you, but good for many Dominicans that are seeing prices go down. My mother was happy to report at least a 15% reduction in her weekly supermarket expenses... Don't think so selfishly and look around, people are so much happier than they were 4 months ago... There is clear optimism in the Dominican people, which had been absent for a long time.

And if you can afford a gun, sure, I think it's a good idea to make sure you are not mad; pay for shooting lessons so you don't hit an innocent person; and get a drug test just to verify that you won't be blurred by visions!
 
E

Escott

Gold
Jan 14, 2002
7,716
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www.escottinsosua.blogspot.com
I agree with Golo. Doesn't matter if you have dollars or pesos. Prices are MORE expensive in the last 2 months and that is the truth even though the dollar dropped 50%. Beer is 20% more, Barcelo Imperial is close to 20 bux for heavens sake. Use to be 6-7 bux not that long ago. Ok so the price has only gone up 60% in pesos but hell to me that is way more expensive than before.

Sure some things have dropped in price and anytime I see any change to the minus I find it exciting but hell it is just a few pennies off a HUGE increase so nothing really there.

Since Leonel has been in office my condo has had three months of huge deficits for Gas/oil which I never had under Hippo. (July, Aug, Sept) The free zones were making a ton of money and now probably losing money and not being competitive in the world markets. You could invest in Real Estate before with Hippo because that was where the scared money went and the prices have risen.

If things keep on going the way they have been the only thing in this country that will be worth anything is my 3.5 year old jeepeta which of course has tripled in value over the last 2 years according to my insurance company who now insists that i insure the bad boy for 800,000 Pesos which is plum stupid.

The way I see it everything is getting worse under Leonel and it doesn't matter if you are Domincan with Pesos or an Isreali with Sheckles. Realistically the peso should be in the toilet but not here, it is the richest unit in monetary value in the world. People say that the euro has gotten so strong but not to the RD PESO. Freakin amazing. This is voodoo economics plain and simple which will have extreme ramifications in the next 6 months to 2 years because of the policies now. Write this down and tell me that I am wrong and I will eat my hat 2 years from now.

Escott
 
J

juanita

Bronze
Apr 22, 2004
1,893
115
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Honey, I shop in the same Supermercados you do, and lived here for the past 11 years so I realize what the prices are and what they used to be. But I don?t either expect them to go back down to where they were in a flash, that would be a perfect world, and we are in the DR! For now I am happy to see the efforts that are being made to bring the prices down! Maybe instead we should point to the reason they went up in the first place?.ese querido Chopolito!! And for the pesos gaining strength, well, for some of us paid in Pesos, it?s actually a good thing!... The gun thing: I say it?s about time they start putting some restrictions, it?s like the far west down here, I can?t start to tell you of how many deaths I know that were caused by a drunk irresponsible guy carrying a gun! :bandit:
 
Robert

Robert

Stay Frosty!
Jan 2, 1999
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dr1.com
Some people remind me of the weather. One minute sunny, the next minute a snow storm. Amazing how those US$ dependent people have started to become meteorologists :)

Sorry, the only people I know that miss the PRD are either waiting to be extradited or had their Jeepeta repossessed.

How long have the PLD been in power, 4 months? Hardly time to clear out he old desks, let alone establish a "let in be written in the history books" track record.

Guess what? They are still going to be here in 200 days time.
 
K

KateP

Silver
May 28, 2004
2,845
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juanita said:
Honey, I shop in the same Supermercados you do, and lived here for the past 11 years so I realize what the prices are and what they used to be. But I don?t either expect them to go back down to where they were in a flash, that would be a perfect world, and we are in the DR! For now I am happy to see the efforts that are being made to bring the prices down! Maybe instead we should point to the reason they went up in the first place?.ese querido Chopolito!! And for the pesos gaining strength, well, for some of us paid in Pesos, it?s actually a good thing!... The gun thing: I say it?s about time they start putting some restrictions, it?s like the far west down here, I can?t start to tell you of how many deaths I know that were caused by a drunk irresponsible guy carrying a gun! :bandit:
Click to expand...

I second that! You can't expect 4 years of draining the Dominican economy to be fixed in 4 months! Ok, things are starting to go down, not much, but hopefully they'll keep going down. Peso included! The mess Hipolito left is not small and it won't be undone in a short period of time. I'm not saying that I agree with everything Leonel is doing nor am I happy he's back as president but at least things are starting to level out a bit. Since there's nothing I can do about it, I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt to get things a bit back to how they used to be although I know they'll never be the same as 8 years ago. But if the poor can start eating again and people can start buying things they need, then the situation'll be a lot better than it was 6 months ago! And as for the ex-pats that get paid in US$ or come down and don't get as much for their dollars anymore... too bad for them! The majority is better this way and that's what's important!
 
G

Golo100

Bronze
Jan 5, 2002
2,138
56
0
Watch my lips

This is not the well organized first Leonel government of 1996. Leonel had a plan in 1996. He doesn't have a hell of an idea where he is going this time. He is utterly confused and has chosen the same discredited bunch who got lost in the last year of his past administration. Patronage, buscones, and botellas are back. His party loyalists are a bunch of job hunters and parasites who jumped ship from the PRD. This time around is a big mess. You go to any government office and is back to gangsterism again. Tourists and travellers are getting ripped off at airports. New airline ticket taxes are being planned(to increase the almost 60% of the ticket price for taxes). By next year expect a rise in tollways to $30. Unlawful taxes by decree will be the trend.
The peso strenght is just a lucky shot due to expectations of a better government and Leonel's positive image. But he is sorrounded by scoundrels and there is nothing he can do to straighten out this bunch. That is, unless he starts firing their asses. He won't do it. He doesn't have the guts. I see brand new 2005 Lexus jeepetas being being driven by his cabinet members. These were not there when Hippo left. Entourages are bigger than ever with armed goons all over keeping the press away.
As for my dependence on dollars...I am not. I have my egg nest half and half. The problem is my "strong" pesos can't buy a lick and my "weak" dollars can't buy enough pesos. In other words, the peso strenght is the biggest mirage since the King Solomon's lost treasure. How much slower can prices get back to at least half normal? in 200 more days? I don't see it. A second car I bought for $270,000 is worth $400,000 after 2 years. My insurance company wants $30,000 policy on it. Shouldn't something that is easily controlled by government go down in cost after four months of continued drop in the dollar?What's holding it. NO MORE EXCUSES.
Leonel will have a pretty miserable 4 years. Wait till we start burning tires in the streets and calling for general strikes. Get ready for a very hot 2005 summer.
TW
 
S

solituna

New member
Jan 26, 2004
213
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0
Health certificate

As for getting an evaluation for your gun...

A buddy of mine just got a certified "clean bill of health"! What's so strange about that you might think?

Well - He was not even in the country!!! His Mrs. picked it up for him!
The "mighty" peso walks again!!!!!

Co?o!! Diablo!!!
 
P

Porfio_Rubirosa

Bronze
Apr 26, 2002
1,806
10
0
What is the policy reason for the weak dollar? Can anyone think of a reason why Leonel might want a weak dollar? I must presume that he does because, if he didn't, the Central Bank could start printing unbacked money again, causing a run on dollars (unless this is prohibited by the IMF).

As I understand it, in the IMF negotiations, the official and street exchange rates won't matter, but rather an exchange rate will be negotiated (previously negotiated at 35:1). So the idea that a strong peso effectively reduces the national dollar-based debt does not seem to be the reason.

I know there's a reason, I just don't understand it.

Also, I'm noticing some real short memories here. There have been other times in the not-so-distant past, during Balaguer's last full term, for example, when the cost of living in Santo Domingo rivaled the cost of living in Paris. These periods seem to occur during "austerity". Reasons? Again, over my head.
 
S

Spirit7

New member
Aug 26, 2004
150
2
0
Golo is right....and wrong....

Golo is right regarding the unbalance in the devaluation of the dollar vs. prices
being adjusted in proportion. Before, half the population that does not depend on the US$ was doing poorly while the other half related to tourism, free zones and the millions receiving dollars from relatives in the USA was keeping up. Now, we are all doing poorly. The light at the end of the tunnel is that supposedly the natural exchange rate is around 35 to 1 and this will happen next January. This may be the main reason prices are not adjusted down in proportion since hardly anyone believes the exchange rate will remain below 30 for very long.

Golo is wrong to even have the terrible thought go across his mind that anything can possibly justify wanting to have Hipolito and his band of thieves back in power. Leonel has done wonders just by being the alternative at this time and just being there. The quick lowering of the exchange rate can basically be 'blamed' on the country getting its confidence back at having sane, rational people in power after the inept buffoons that were there the last 4 years. Things have already improved dramatically and should keep improving next year. Unfortunately Dominicans have a short memory and in a few years may make another mistake and put another bunch of buffoons in power. Golo's insanity is hopefully temporary.
 
L

liam1

Bronze
Jun 9, 2004
843
30
28
the funnies thing is that presidente went down 5 pesos. what an insult to intelligence. now leonel should order the cabanas and prostitutes to lower their prices as well and i guess a regular dominican joe will be happy. a shame.
 
E

Escott

Gold
Jan 14, 2002
7,716
6
0
www.escottinsosua.blogspot.com
Robert said:
Some people remind me of the weather. One minute sunny, the next minute a snow storm. Amazing how those US$ dependent people have started to become meteorologists :)

Sorry, the only people I know that miss the PRD are either waiting to be extradited or had their Jeepeta repossessed.

How long have the PLD been in power, 4 months? Hardly time to clear out he old desks, let alone establish a "let in be written in the history books" track record.

Guess what? They are still going to be here in 200 days time.
Click to expand...
I am not a meteorologist but I can tell you this. The economy is in the crapper yet the peso doubles in value is nothing more than VOODOO economics that can't take the light of day for fear of being shown to be the scam that it is.

If you don't think that what they are doing will harm the economy enough to go down in the history books I believe you are mistaken. They need to quadruple tourism and revitalize exports to make this place survive and keep up with the infrastructure and they wont be able to do this in the manner that they are trying to do it.

Things are more expensive whether you have a stable US Dollar income or a Peso income. Dollar incomes are getting a double whammy but Peso people are NOT faring better than before.
 
Robert

Robert

Stay Frosty!
Jan 2, 1999
20,574
341
83
dr1.com
Escott said:
I am not a meteorologist but I can tell you this. The economy is in the crapper yet the peso doubles in value is nothing more than VOODOO economics that can't take the light of day for fear of being shown to be the scam that it is.

If you don't think that what they are doing will harm the economy enough to go down in the history books I believe you are mistaken. They need to quadruple tourism and revitalize exports to make this place survive and keep up with the infrastructure and they wont be able to do this in the manner that they are trying to do it.

Things are more expensive whether you have a stable US Dollar income or a Peso income. Dollar incomes are getting a double whammy but Peso people are NOT faring better than before.
Click to expand...

Looks like we better come back and read this thread in 12 months to see what did happen...
 
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