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Seattle has the highest rate of MS in the U.S. and the highest rate of breast cancers. I am absolutely certain that Vitamin D defeciency due to lack of sunlight is the culprit.
The cost of the wars is fractional compared to the cost of entitlements. Military spending is 12% of the busget. Government has gotten bloated on all levels. State and local governments have increased their budgets prior to the “mortgage market correction” at double the rate of infaltion.
The mortgage meltdown was fostered by key government legislation during Carter and Clinton that basically extorted small community banks to loan money to people that have no business or means of repaying a loan or they would be barred from opening additonal branches. I could cite all the actions taken by every President since Carter that only excacerbated the problem, but that would take pages. This was the start of the problem.
What burns me the most is that government salaries and benefits have risen 5%/year on average in my state and at least the rate of inflation on the federal level. Business does not have that luxury now. Government employess also pay little to none of their benefit costs. Businesses are always the quickest to react because they have to survive. Rather than governments cutting needless programs an streamlining, their first action is to conjure up a way to increase revenues first. This has definitely been the case in my state where the $400 billion in medicare payments from the feds was calculated in the bienium budget. Counting chickens before they are hatched is ludicrous and suicidal in the business world. The cuts only come after despearte measures fail and then the government extorts the people with the stance that if you don’t apporve these taxes we will cut police, fire, libraries and parks rather than our corrupt Labor & Indusries (workmen’s compensation with the highest payout in the country), Soical & Health Services or state DOT. This taxation mentality leads to killing the small business owner, which is the backbone of our labor market, hence the quandry we are in now.
At the rate government is growing and it is still growing on the federal level, 50% of the population will directly or indirectly support the other 50% and you will be penalized for “success” in order to support those that have learned to live off the system we have created.
We are broken, the states are broke….another bailout is coming.People in Us are waiting to see how much farther they have to bend over for Uncle Sam,state and local taxes. Personal income taxes for 2011 going up as follows:
10% to 15%
15% stays 15%
25%-28%
28%-31%
31%-36%
36%-39.6%
We will all need 10% raises to stay even. Capital gains from 15%-20% and dem. movement to take back to 28%.
Mean while sales tax here in Seattle is up to 9.5% and may go to 9.8%. Income tax on wealthy on the ballot (bad precedent for threshhold can be lowered). License tabs possibley going up by $100 (120% jump). Most fees have gone up 50-100% and no end in site. Makes one wonder why expatriations are up 300%. Should be a huge midterm election participation.The record of non-approval should stay intact. This is when lobbyists come to bat.
Coprorate tax rate is 35% in US. Income taxes go up for 2011 with the 10% bracket going to 15% and all others going up 3 points 15-18, 25-28, 33-36 etc. The lower income brackets get hammered the most on a % basis. You had to know this was coming in such a public revenue “starved” world.
Again, CR is trying to pass a new blanket law to attempt to disallow foreigners to have guns based on a handful of events involving illegal Jamaicans that occurred last year and the various drug cartels. By doing so, they take away a law abiding citizens ability to lawfully own a firearm, but those that are criminals and here illegally will continue to possess illegal firearms. Take away the guns from the law abiding citzenry and only the government and criminals will have guns. The government can’t keep up with the criminals as it is.
The strongest reason for the
people to retain the right to keep and bear arms
is, as a last resort, to protect themselves
against tyranny in government.
Thomas JeffersonI have found that routine medical costs at a private provider and hospital are about 7 times what they are in my area of Western Washington. A visit with the neo-natal urologist and an ultrasound is $960 vs. $131 for the same exact ultrasound machine operated by an Ob/Gyn and 3D to boot for no additional charge. Hospital stays are about $1,500/day these days here, but the ticky-tack add on charges for $50 IV bags, bed pans, $10 Ibuprofen and rental on any “equipment” really jacks up the price. Our 3 day stay with all additional charges + an operating room came out to $1,400. The OB/Gyn, anesthesiologist, pediatrician and five nurses & technicians for the surgery was $2,600. The follow up appointments and prescriptios brought the entire bill to $4,200 That would be a $20,000-$30,000 bill here. And you wonder why CR is one of the top medical destinations in the world!
Take Scott’s advice on the attorneys. Rick, Roger & Javier are the best you can get and David is right about the charges you have incurred….mi dios!!
The care we received was much more personal than in the states. You never feel rushed during doctor apointments and you always see the doctor, rarely ever a nurse. My wife had C-Section and during the procedure, the doctor discovered a cyst the size of a grapefruit that was completely missed in the states, even with numerous $600+ ultrasounds. If he knew about it ahead of time, they could have been prepared to remove it. When we returned to the US, my wife’sOb/Gyn said that our CR doctor did excellent work.
CIMA & Clinica Biblica are two of a handful of Central American hospitals that are highly rated by an international agency that also rates US hospitals. They are both very modern facilities. I believe CIMA is affiliated with Baylor Medical School and often has interns from there. I recently met a young pedeatrician at Children’s Hospital in Seattle that did a 1 year neonatal internship at CIMA. Our pediatrician at CIMA did a stint at Children’s in Miami and D.C.
I am very familiar with the blue moly lakes on Fremont Pass which has killed many trout downstream. They will leave a nice big cyanide lake behind and when the heavy rains come, anywhere the contaminated water goes will be devoid of life. There were plans for a similar cyanide mine in NE Washington state, but since this is one of the “greenest” of all states, the enviros managed to stall the plan thus far. The destruction these mines cause far exceed any return on the gold extracted!!!
CIMA has its own foreign insurance department in a small office opposite the registration desk. They are extremely helpful and can tell you if they have an agreement with insurer. Overall, having a baby at CIMA last November, we found the costs to be significantly less than in the US (much better than 30%-40% less Scott). We had a 3-day stay after a C-section and the entire bill for just the hospital was $1,600, which included an operating room. Our US insurance company reimbursed us 70%. A normal 3-D ultrasound in the US runs about $600. Our OB/GYN had the exact same machine in his office, but he does them for $79. That is a significant difference.
I too have lived all over the world from birth and travelled. Spain, Libya, Denmark, Greece, Egypt, Argentina, Colorado, Mexico, Arizona, Alaska and in Washington since 1987. As with Colorado, most all of the western states with significant mountain ranges are stunning. We live in “the woods” on 5 acres (2 hectares) north of Everett in an area called 7 lakes and are 2 miles from the Saratoga arm of Puget Sound. It is also one of the most beautiful places in the US on a July or August summer day; it’s the rest of the year that is a problem. We are all vitamin D deficient and why Alaska Airlines is so sucessful. Work for me is on the “eastside” (Bellevue, Redmond, Woodinville) 42 miles away……the rat race, but at least my car is courtesy of my company.
There are numerous similarities between here and Costa Rica, primarily the thick forested hillsides, at least the ones that have not been clear cut, an issue in both locations. The weather is also surprisingly similar in the late spring and early fall, better in July and August, but dismal 6-8 months of the year. Although we have “nature” where we live, the comparison to the wildlife in Costa Rica is like comparing apples to a pineapples. The wildlfie is much richer and more varied in Costa Rica; the forest is alive with noise rather than silence in the dead of winter. The pace outside of San Jose proper is significantly slower than in the US. The food is healthier in Costa Rica and much cheaper to eat healthy. Healthy food in the US is a “premium” product unless you raise and grow your own. Communities are much more communal in Costa Rica; most people who live in what is considered rural or semi-rural (big lot suburbia) in the US keep to themselves. Kids and families in the US do not freely roam the streets and neighborhoods to the degree that I have witnessed in Costa Rica. We are conditioned to live in fear of the sexual offender or drunk driver and most roads outside of the cities and towns are devoid of sidewalks.There are several options with pools, but 2 of the 3 are limited to the Valley. Typical Tico pools in outlying towns would be constructed by excavating a hole, building a CMU (masonry) wall + concrete or masonry floor and coat with cement plaster. The other option would be to order a pre-made fiberglass pool and set in a hole surrounded by concrete (transport from San Jose or Puerto Caldera is an extra expense). The 3rd option I have rarely seen outside of San Jose metro, which is a sprayed pool where a hole is excavated, a steel reinforcing system is installed and “shotcrete” is sprayed on all surfaces. The shapes with the last option are virtually unlimited. Only the 1st and last options are conducive to tile work.
BN and BCR have the most locations, even the little beach towns. BN customer service was challenging until I got a hold of the right person and I now use this individual for everything I need assistance with like a personal banker. Of course, fluent Spanish was very helpful in this endeavor.
If you have an LLC or S.A. and a helpful attorney, you can open an account without any financial or credit history; cash works just fine. Keep in mind if a deposit is over $10,000, there is a lot of SUGEF and government paperwork to fill out and your passport # is your ID without a cedula.
