Today's New York Times Editorial

kingofdice

Active member
Jan 16, 2002
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Seems the NY Times is pretty much echoing what the Washington Post said in November. The country is using the fishbowl method of paying it's bills. Only the most urgent bills are getting paid to avoid a crisis or bloodletting, even if it means 12- 16 hr. a day electricity blackouts for the entire country.

So what that hospitals cannot get medical supplies; that there is no electricity to keep businesses operating and patients from dying in hospitals; that there is no money to pay salaries of government workers in the Social Security Institute, Education Ministry, Public Health Ministry, and Postal Service, - as long President Mejia has money to give away free cement and other supplies from flatbed trucks to poor Dominicans that he deems gullible enough to cast their vote for him, why should he care if everything else in the country goes to hell.

I will go halfway with a man. But, even the New York Times pointed out that President Mejia had pledged not to run again for President. When Hipolito broke his word many months ago, he lost his credibility. And when a man loses his credibility, regardless of being President of his country, he is dimissed as a charleton.

You would think Hipolito would have some sense that he is very unpopular and people do not want him relected. But, what's really apparent is that the President cares nothing about what common Dominicans think. So what that the country is suffering badly. Hipolito's mind set is being the boss and staying in power. Looking important, looking Presidential, maintaining his big ego with the vanities of pomp and circumstance that goes with the job.

As the NY Times state, Hipolito should focus on spending his remaining months to "strenthen the country's institutions." Not worry about maintaining his political stature in the world. What a disgrace. A man is judged by his actions and not his words. President Mejia has showed his priorities by spending half his time out of the country, obviously to enjoy the luxury ass-kissing of foreign governments where he feels some measure of respect.

Yet, President Mejia left the Dominican Republic behind to suffer the effects of his bloated government payrolls, bloated government spending, blatent corruption, lack of proper regulation, and lack of transparency.

It is a wonder that the New York Times did not expound more on Hipolito's legacy. A country now left in the wake of paying 40% of its GNP to foreign loans. Even if the Dominican Republic is a poor Caribbean nation, at least there would be more measure of respect in having a President who is honest and not beset in cronyism and vote buying. Hipolito's mismanagement, which has only been directed to further his ambitions, has left the country in economic ruin.

The Dominican Republic needs to get Hipolito Mejia out of office and return honesty and character to the office of President.
 
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DCfred

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Jun 19, 2003
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Amazing. The fact that 3/4 of the bailout went to cover the deposits of 80 wealthy individuals is obscene and immoral. The idea that you save the wealth of these 80 individuals by wiping out the country's middle class and running an inflation rate of 40% is mind warping. Even in the United States, the deposits would only be insured up to 100,000 per account. You know this whole thing makes me sick and I'm glad that I don't live there any more. I mean, what kind of just society would allow that trade off to take place? It would have been better to let these 80 individuals sink and save 1/4 of deposits that belonged to decent, hardworking everyday type people- the people who are truly productive and make the economy work.
 
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Hillbilly

Moderator
Jan 1, 2002
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I was going to post the Editorial but saw Robert's advert

SOOOO....

Let me say that if youhad read the DR1 News on a regular basis, like every day with your breakfast???

Every economist in the DR and the foreigh risk assessment companies have said all of this.

I believe that it was Bernardo Vega that came out first with the fact that there were less, yes less than 80 accounts that accounted for 3/4ths of the deposits at Baninter. He asked the Central Bank to give these names to the Internal Revenue folks to see if they had paid their taxes.

He also called it the worst blunder in Dominican history. Pedro Silverio, Eduardo Tejera and Frederic Emam-Zade have also chimed in on this topic and everything that the NYT said has been on the DR1 News in some way shape or form...

The latest money grabbing scheme bythe deputies will get some press as they have finaggled another RD$280 miollion for their NGOs!!!!! That don't do a phreaking thing but provide for friends and family....Much worse than Sammy's famous foundation...

HB saddened by all of this crap!
 

Texas Bill

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Feb 11, 2003
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www.texasbill.com
It seem to me that we all are in the middle of what is often referred to as "History in the making"!

What History will say about this President is for posterity to decide, but I would like to see it accurately reported and not 'smoothed over' by the historians in order to make the DR look a little better in the eyes of the international community.

"History tends to repeat itself" is an accurate description of world events. We can't seem to completely recall the events that have caused the disruptions in our lives. If we could, would we rrecognize that such have ocurred frequently in the past? I doubt it seriously, because history is a rather dull subject to the average person; they're more interested in who won the series than in who won the war.

Just food for thought.

Texas Bill