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Showing content with the highest reputation on 02/16/2022 in all areas

  1. Don't try to convince yourself that being cheap is somehow a good and noble thing. We tip well, pay for services well, donate to charities, provide dispensas to needy families, volunteer at non-profit organizations, and help a couple of families with kids. I have never heard a single person complain that it made them feel bad to get a little extra of our time, money, or energy. I speak Spanish fluently and visit with many folks about many issues including local costs and wages. They all know that many expats do help the local economy and help many individuals. I know of folks who pay for kids (especially girls) to attend school through university. And who help with medical bills. And gift old vehicles. And help with quinceaneras or funerals. I don't ascribe any of that to any social or political system...it's just doing the right thing with the resources we each have at our disposal. All of us have a different capacity to do those things that are needed. If that is being "part of the problem" then I think most of us have been misled about good deeds. As to socialism, it is not like communism. All democratic countries have socialist foundations. Police and fire departments are paid for with taxes collected from everybody even though you might not ever use either one. We paid property taxes for other people's kids to attend public schools. There are a thousand examples of things like that. Officials are elected, they work to decide who needs what where, and services are provided for the entire community. Military, highways, community hospitals, food stamps, CDC, food inspections, waste water treatment, parks, libraries, etc. Some countries provide more services with tax money than others. Things like public transportation, medical care, and higher education. They are all socialism. Unless you want to only pay to have your house fire put out after paying the fire fighters what they think it will cost...or never drive on a freeway or never drink clean water or flush your toilet but if you like all those kinds of things and use them without thinking then you are a socialist. Now if you don't like what your elected officials do with your tax money then vote them out. As to immigration comments, you should know that most folks from south of the US are not just excited to enjoy the fruits that the US democratic socialism would provide, they are just trying to survive and would gladly go anywhere they thought that was possible. Alan
    9 points
  2. Remember last year when the traffic lights were all out for nearly a week? Traffic moved freely, there was no back ups on the side streets, everyone did fine. This whole problem is caused by over used, primitive traffic lights.
    3 points
  3. The term economic terrorism or financial terrorism is strictly defined to indicate an attempt at economic destabilization by a group. When wages are paid beyond the "normal rates" it creates an artificial economy. This is not beneficial to anyone since it creates inflation which has an impact on everyone. Some Mexican people I've spoken to are finding it impossible to hire any help, since the help only wishes to work for the foreigner with their inflated wages. BTW, I understand that some people may think they are helping the situation and mean well, but unfortunately the reality is something different.
    3 points
  4. Too bad you couldn't just leave it with Alan's excellent post and for one resist making things personal.
    3 points
  5. Drive over to Tucueca or San Pedro Tesistan and pay attention to the real differences you see. If you are lucky enough to have a little tienda your only employee is likely to be family because most working age folks have left town. There is almost nothing to do there except barely survive. In 1972, when I first arrived in this area, Ajijic was a little fishing village which was mostly supplied by many very small farmers. I'm talking dozens of boats and groups of men pulling in heavy nets which could take hours. There were gringos living here then and it was a much cheaper place to live. A house could be rented for less than 50.00 USD/month. There were about four or five recognizable restaurants, two little hotels, no hospital, ambulance, telephones, television, library, immigration lawyers, car rentals, street lights, banks, clothing stores, malecon, etc. Folks complained a little about the hippie influx bu t most of the gringos were retirees who lived in Chapala. In those days the exchange rate was 12.5 pesos to the USD. Eighteen years later it was 3,000 pesos to the dollar. Prices went up dramatically all over Mexico. Then they removed all the zeros and it became 3 pesos to the dollar. Now twenty eight years later it is about 21 pesos to the dollar. And prices have gone up all over Mexico. If they hadn't dropped the zeros back then it would be 21,000 pesos to the dollar and prices would reflect that accordingly. I don't think gringos living lakeside had much, if anything, to do with any of that. If you think prices are lower in less desirable places because of over tipping or contributing to charities then go visit Patzcuaro or Queretaro or Oaxaca or Merida or even Guadalajara. Prices for housing, restaurants, gasoline, clothing, groceries, etc. will be the same or more than here. What is different is that wages are a little higher here because they can be. Waiters and maids can make good money. Housing is available, as are goods and services, and entertainment options abound. I thought capitalists were in favor of supply and demand and that rising water raises all boats...Places like Amarillo Texas are cheaper than places like Seattle Washington. It has very little to do with any rich folks living in either city who might be big tippers. It has to do with quality of life. Here that quality is relatively high and there is competition for workers many of whom were born here and stay because of that quality of life. I say good for them and good for us. We could not survive any place in the US that has any kind of desirability for us. That isn't true for everybody because there are many happy folks living in Amarillo! Alan
    2 points
  6. Socialism and Communism are not the same thing. Th countries you list are dictatorships that lean toward Communism. You want a country that leans toward socialism? Look to Sweden.
    2 points
  7. You are required to pay vacation pay regardless of whether your maids and gardeners are full or part time. You are breaking the law and cheating them out of their due. My maid comes every 2 weeks for 4 hours. I am required by law to give her aguinaldo and vacation pay. Anyone who works for you on a regular schedule is subject to you paying vacation pay. It doesn't amount to very much. For that schedule of my maid, who just finished her first complete year working for me, and who earns 100 pesos/hr., the vacation pay owed worked out to 181 pesos. Just pay them. I know people who didn't pay what they were required to, and even though they thought they had a relationship with their employee where that would never be an issue between them, some relative starts telling them they should go to labor relations, and the next thing you know, you have a labor lawyer on your case. That's different from someone you pay for a one-off job, like some guys you hire to build you a patio. Those are classified as independent contractors, not employees.
    2 points
  8. So I guess we can mark down rafterbr as one of the cheap ones.
    2 points
  9. There are some aspects of the local culture we are not interested in embracing. Viewing the hard working folks who help us in our old age with the chores of house cleaning and maintaining our property as second class citizens and paying them that way is one of those aspects. If that offends those who do, sorry.
    2 points
  10. Yes, I guess being born with a Groucho Marx nose, eyeglasses and a cowboy hat makes for a tough road ahead! Are you related to Kevin "Bloody" Wilson from Australia. He was an electrician until he decided to become a comedian. Funny bloke, but a bit too raunchy to make it outside of Oz. Manuel the Bandito. Remember this is from the 1980's. He is 75 now. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HiYVCNZ-Kzc
    1 point
  11. In January of 1996, this area was so boring I thought I'd roll over and die. That's why we chose San Miguel de Allende. So much more going on here now. That "More" = more people and more vehicles. It's called progress unfortunately. Collingwood, Ontario experienced the same influx. I distinctly remember a cartoon, in the local paper in the 80's, showing the population sign and a hand written note over it... Collingwood, Population 13,783 AND WE INTEND TO KEEP IT THAT WAY. Nice places get busy and cost more. Everywhere.
    1 point
  12. Great for the heart and your cholesterol count!!!
    1 point
  13. Hmm here we go again down another rabbit hole and subject. Why not start a different post on politics.....
    1 point
  14. No, that isn't the definition of Socialism. As I said, you have zero idea of what it means. It can be a system where the "government" runs things, but that isn't the basic premise. The "community" mentioned in the definition below could be a family, a communal piece of land, a village, whatever. It could even be you and your employees. At its basic level, it means that a group decides together what will benefit the group as a whole and that essential things are distributed equally among the members of the group according to need. All tribal societies, for instance, operate as socialist entities. A ship starts to sink and everyone piles into the lifeboats and heads for the little uninhabited island they see. In a socialist system, all of the people who escaped the sinking work together to find food, built shelters and share what little they managed to escape with so everyone can hopefully survive. As opposed to a capitalist system where everyone hoards whatever they have, sneaks out and steals more than their share of the food stash that has been collected, and trades whatever they have managed to bring with them, collect or squirrel away for sexual favors or a heel of bread. so·cial·ism noun a political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.
    1 point
  15. Socialism? The "nun" says you have zero idea what socialism is. FYI, it isn't just a catch-all term for anything that you disagree with. You can have any arrangement with your employees you want. But you stated that it isn't necessary to give vacation pay because they are part-time, which is patently untrue.
    1 point
  16. They would agree because after 10 years they now consider me family and I treat them very well. It is a 2 way street and neither they or me need a written change or agreement since this is the road straight to Socialism. Thankfully this is still a Democratic country and believe in FREE CHOICE!!! I have the choice to pay them a fair wage and they have the choice to walk away and ply thier trade elsewhere. This is all BS and I do not even believe it exists. PLEEEZE just get a life and understand that here in my long time adopted country, the best relationships are not based on a piece of paper but on personal respect for each other. Thankfully, also most Mexicans I know want to get government out of thier lives as much as possible!!! ¡¡¡Viva México!!!
    1 point
  17. Here comes the Nun...with her ruler and sermons...Watch out for you knuckles...OOUCH. To make her happy I just changed the classifications of my part time workers to Independent Contractors!!!
    1 point
  18. This is what we do with newbies: Take them to the Beer Garden, a time-honored restaurant - been around almost 100 years - hard to believe. Order beer, sangria, limonada, a paloma, or water. Don't order the margaritas - remember this is a Mexican restaurant. Order the guacamole prepared table side. You get to make your own guac by directing your server: how much onion, how much tomato, how much salt, how much hot. It's interactive and fun. You can let your guests do this, but you can offer guidance. Then order queso fundido (fondue), one with chorizo, one without. Then order a side of refried frijoles. Then keep the chips coming. This is more than enough to eat, and everyone leaves happy. In the meantime, you have the wonderful view, the people watching, and the total Mexican ambience/experience. Your guests won't be disappointed.
    1 point
  19. They get snooty with the customers who don't tip them what folks like you have led them to expect. But you wouldn't care how what you do might affect others, it's apparent. Why, because you don't like hearing that the Mexicans you overtip consider you a fool?
    1 point
  20. My Mexican wife and the Mexican people I know do not consider people who over tip as being kind and generous. Rather they consider them to be condescending and stupid.
    1 point
  21. I wonder what a rich Mexican thinks when he travels to his condo in Houston, Texas and pays his maid at $30/USD per hour to clean his home? I guess he is causing a problem for his neighbors who are only paying $15/USD per hour. If you want to pay 1900 pesos/week then move to Guadalajara.
    1 point
  22. CFE grid-tied net metering works as below, there are not multiple connection options: Any solar energy is first used as it is produced, with the excess going to the grid and being counted by the meter. Any use from CFE, is counted on the other reading of the meter. And the CFE bills show both values, with the user paying just on the "net" use from CFE, or receiving a kWh credit if the "sent" is more than the "used. Any credits are good on a 12 month rolling basis.
    1 point
  23. Yes and yes. 🙂 Here's a link to more info. Bonus: with the typical 80 to 90% gas savings....you also reduce needed gas visits by the same amount! 😉 STI Solar Technology :: Calentadores solares para agua www.solartechnology.com.mx/CalentadoresResidenciales
    1 point
  24. Au contraire. Lots of us have moved down here and it costs us waaaay less than if we would have stayed in Canada. Don't just look at the tree[med expense]. Look at the forest[total expense] of living here. I speak as a home owner which I was in Canada too and paid cash for the home here. I don't know if the same applies to renters.
    1 point
  25. Something else to consider when talking about medical insurance (it's not health insurance) is that based on age and current health issues one might not qualify for coverage at any price. Me, for instance. I had a stent placed at age 65 and I was then unable to secure any kind of private coverage at any cost...even if excluding heart issues. You have to know that if, on average, medical insurance was a good deal for the customer, they would not sell it to you. My wife got coverage at age 61 with a very high deductible and after one year it went up over 20% because she was a year older. We were told that in the near future they would cancel due to her age. We beat them to it by cancelling them. She is perfect health so we've just been banking what would have been payments to the provider and are hoping for the best. Just like most folks in the world. You can't cover for any and all possibilities. Life just doesn't work that way. Alan
    1 point
  26. Yeah, that will speed things along nicely...Let's just put a light at every single intersection! I've seen a transito cop sitting at the not to be used WalMart entrance for the last couple of days. Seems to be ticketing those who try to enter what is obviously supposed to be an entrance. You can fix ignorant but you can't fix stupid. Not sure if Jalisco has civil engineers or traffic engineers but if they do, then, well, stupid... I guess. Alan
    1 point
  27. You’re not a guest, you’re an immigrant. Your country of birth…do you consider immigrants there guests??? Cuz if you do, it’s offensive.
    1 point
  28. I've posted many times that we made sure[due diligence] that we have a medical slush fund to enable paying out of pocket to great success. If I get cancer,I won't be spending huge just to get a coupla more months which won't be any picnic quality of life anyway.
    1 point
  29. Because Intercam just does not allow use of it's debit cards online.
    1 point
  30. Please be sure CAT rescue people you know get to see and share this. It's priceless.
    1 point
  31. Remember people, those lights are just a suggestion. Do as you please and don't get in an accident. If you get a ticket just pay what he wants and remind him you've paid your "dues" so you don't want to be stopped by him again and take care of him at Christmas time. Worked for us and many others back in the early 2000's.
    0 points
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