lazy assholes

[Xavier_Onassis]

My experience is Barahona is that most people know all about their neighbors, because they are related by blood or marriage. Or even sort of related in a sense that no American would understand. "Mi mam? no tenia c?dula cuando nac?, as? que pusieron el nombre de Dominga como mi madre en el Acta de Nacimiento." (My mother didn't have a cedula, so they put Dominga's name down as my mother on the Birth Certificate."

This is what Kurt Vonnegutt calls a granfalloon, i think.

 

[dv8]

We found out about two years after moving to the D.R. that he is a Senator. He gives the people little things like mattresses, some clothes, etc... This he does every morning before he goes to work.

a while ago some poster here started a thread praising hubieres for giving away his monthly senador salary. others chipped in to explain who hubieres is and what he does. only then the original poster found how wrong he was about him and that he was lacking knowledge about dominican politics while making his positive assumption.

every politician gives stuff. i am sure bautista gives away a lot more than your neighbour. how else would he get elected? this is no proof of the goodness and holiness of the giver. it is pure business. it took you two years to find out the guy next door was a senador. how long will it take you to see the darker side of political dealings here?

 

[Xavier_Onassis]

Should we always see this as corrupt bribery?

It may or may not be pure business in the context of Dominican culture.

This sort of thing was common in NYC until the 1930's at least.

 

[Chirimoya]

Clientelismo - political patronage

 

[Lothario666]

It is not PC to say that I am a contract killer.......

"Pest Exterminator" or "Pest Management Professional"

 

[malko]

"Pest Exterminator" or "Pest Management Professional"

Well to be truthfull they are not all pests.......

 

[Criss Colon]

"DAN", that "Senator" giving away the "Freebies" is just buying the peoples votes!
They get money from the DR government to do "Nice Things" for their constituants.
It may be a "Mattress" buy it's just "FREE QUESO"!!!!

Why give them STUFF, that they could buy themselves, IF they WORKED for it!
THAT sounds "LAZY" to me!!!!!
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[Xavier_Onassis]

Perhaps if you worked six days a week laying concrete blocks and covering them with stucco for $14000 pesos a month, you might not think of yourself as lazy. Perhaps that might be the only way to get that $6000 peso mattress. The poor people have a tough time of it in the DR, CC. That seems to be the going rate in Barahona, anyway.

 

[mofongoloco]

So this thread shows a little green check mark as if I responded to it I vaguely remember that, but I don't see a post here. Was it deleted? Not questioning why. only whether or not i did post to this thread.

 

[dv8]

Perhaps if you worked six days a week laying concrete blocks and covering them with stucco for $14000 pesos a month, you might not think of yourself as lazy. Perhaps that might be the only way to get that $6000 peso mattress. The poor people have a tough time of it in the DR, CC. That seems to be the going rate in Barahona, anyway.

perhaps you are forgetting that block laying dude pays no income tax and very little itbis since he shops in colmados and eats street food. yet he demands not only free power and water that others pay for but also gets fee health service in public hospitals, free schooling for his numerous kids and other handouts. endless subsidies and giveaways will not take anyone out of poverty.

 

[Xavier_Onassis]

perhaps you are forgetting that block laying dude pays no income tax and very little itbis since he shops in colmados and eats street food. yet he demands not only free power and water that others pay for but also gets fee health service in public hospitals, free schooling for his numerous kids and other handouts. endless subsidies and giveaways will not take anyone out of poverty.

He gets far less than you say he demands. The water and electricity are sporadic at best. Mostly he eats rice, which sells for $1000 pesos for 50 lbs., and gandules, that go for 3 pesos a tin can full. He probably has to buy water to drink, and not all the kids go to school because he has no money for uniforms.

Poverty and hunger exist in the US as well, and with people that have electricity and clean water 24/7,as well as a TV and perhaps a phone and a car. I do not see that there are any "endless subsidies" in the DR.
I think that in the US, a person could have ten times better chance to get out of poverty.

 

[monfongo]

Go to Lawrence or Lowell , you will be hard pressed to find a Dominican not driving a new car ,the welfare system has been been , bety , bety , good to them .

 

[Xavier_Onassis]

Go to Lawrence or Lowell , you will be hard pressed to find a Dominican not driving a new car ,the welfare system has been been , bety , bety , good to them .

As I said, the US offers a lot more to the poor than does the DR. I was commenting on the latter.

 

[dv8]

He gets far less than you say he demands.

'

he gets far more than he deserves.

 

[Xavier_Onassis]

"Deserves" is such a loaded word. It implies a value judgement.

In this case a value judgement on a hypothetical composite being none of us has met or ever will.

Does anyone deserve anything?

How much does Carlos Slim deserve?

Does the Most Interesting Man in the World actually even deserve his Dos Equis?

 

[Koreano]

An old time DR politico died about 15 years ago.
They said in the newspapers that he was one of the very few honest politicians here.
They said they could tell because he died POOR!!!!
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The question is...
Were relatives and friends also poor?

This is how it goes in the real world, the big guy always remain poor/average and it's the relatives or friends found themselves with vastly increased income, impressive stocks portfolios and average company becomes one of the top.

 

[dv8]

"Deserves" is such a loaded word. It implies a value judgement.

who are you not to judge?

 

[Xavier_Onassis]

When I stroll down the street, no one ever has said, "Here come de judge, here come de judhge, ORDER in de courtroonm, here come de judge."

 

[dv8]

yet they judge you as you pass by. yawn.

 

[pelaut]

.... I think that in the US, a person could have ten times better chance to get out of poverty.

Since WWII in the U.S. 50% of the people starting life in the bottom quintile of income got out of it, 10% got as far as the top quintile; and something like 90% starting in the top quintile dropped out of it.

(The percents are approximate, but best I can remember. Do your own research.)

PS: In the U.S. I qualify as "under the poverty line", yet here in the DR I live a good life.