Episode Summary
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller explores the complexities of expat life in Latin America, discussing political influences on consumer behavior, the growing presence of electric vehicles, and cultural differences in social interactions. He also touches on the challenges of owning an EV in the region and the impact of government taxes on energy and transportation.
Johnny begins by addressing emails from listeners, including one from James, an ex-New Yorker, who comments on the political climate in New York and London, and another from Sammy, who questions the ethics of buying products from companies with controversial CEOs. Johnny critiques the hypocrisy of boycotting Tesla due to Elon Musk's politics while still using products made in China, highlighting the broader implications of political bias in consumer choices.
He then shifts to a discussion on the growing presence of electric vehicles (EVs) in Latin America, particularly Tesla and BYD cars. Johnny reflects on the initial skepticism about EVs in the region, noting that they were once rare and seen as impractical. He highlights the increasing number of EV charging stations and the variety of Chinese and Indian electric car brands now available. He expresses concerns about the challenges of owning an EV in Latin America, such as the risk of water damage during the rainy season and the importance of having sufficient ground clearance to avoid flooding.
Johnny also shares a humorous anecdote about the cultural perception of 'fat gringos' and how it can be used as a lighthearted icebreaker in social situations. He then discusses cultural differences in Latin America, particularly focusing on social interactions in public spaces like elevators and bathrooms, and the perception of Tesla cars among Latinos. He highlights how people in Latin America are more vocal and open in public, often engaging in loud conversations in places where it's uncommon in the first world.
He explains how Tesla vehicles have been elevated to a status symbol in Latin America, with people admiring them and not showing any hostility toward Elon Musk, unlike in other regions. Johnny emphasizes that the cultural context and lack of political awareness about Elon Musk's ideologies contribute to this positive perception of Tesla.
In the final segment, Johnny discusses the current state of electric vehicles (EVs) in Latin America, particularly focusing on Tesla and BYD. He argues that while Tesla is technologically superior, its cars are not well-suited for the region's infrastructure. He highlights the growing presence of BYD, a Chinese EV manufacturer, which offers more affordable options with comparable build quality. Johnny acknowledges that while some women and engineers prioritize mechanical dependability, the majority of car buyers are influenced by aesthetics and style.
He also touches on the impact of tariffs on Chinese EVs in the U.S. versus Latin America, and expresses his personal preference for a midsize SUV with higher ground clearance, which Tesla has yet to provide. Finally, he discusses the economic implications of gas prices and the potential for a shift to electric vehicles in the near future.
The episode concludes with Johnny discussing the high cost of gas in the U.S., highlighting that a significant portion of the price is government tax. He criticizes the lack of road maintenance despite these taxes and points out that the average American pays over $600 annually in gas taxes. He also warns about new taxes on solar panels and electric vehicles (EVs) as governments attempt to maintain revenue streams. Johnny emphasizes the importance of being prepared for these taxes and suggests practical steps like using a 200 amp transfer switch for off-grid living.
Episode Notes
In this episode of The Expat Files, Johnny Mueller explores the intersection of expat life, political views, and consumer ethics in Latin America. He delves into the growing popularity of electric vehicles, the cultural perceptions of Tesla and BYD, and the impact of government taxes on energy and transportation. Johnny also shares insights on navigating social interactions in the region and the challenges of owning an EV in Latin America.
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Topics
Expat life in Latin America, Political views and their influence on consumer behavior, Ethical considerations in consumer choices, Critique of political bias in media and consumer decisions, Electric vehicles in Latin America, Cultural perceptions of gringos, Challenges of owning an EV in Latin America, Humor and social interactions, Cultural differences in Latin America, Social interactions in public spaces, Perception of Tesla cars in Latin America, Elon Musk's influence in Latin America
Chapters
00:00:00 Opening 00:00:14 Introduction and Welcome to the Show 00:01:17 Emails from Listeners and Political Commentary 00:02:05 Discussion on Consumer Ethics and Political Bias 00:06:11 Sacrilege and the Vatican's Election of Non-Italian Popes 00:06:18 Johnny's Rant and the Question About Tesla Owners 00:06:57 Johnny's Response to the Question About Tesla and BYD Cars 00:09:02 Ground Clearance Concerns for EVs in Latin America 00:11:54 Icebreaker in Elevators with Latinos 00:13:02 Loud Conversations in Public Spaces 00:14:51 Perception of Tesla Cars in Latin America 00:17:12 Tesla's Superiority in EV Technology and Mechanics 00:19:09 BYD's Growing Presence and Affordability in Latin America 00:20:50 Johnny's Personal Preference for a Midsize SUV with Ground Clearance 00:22:45 The Cost of Gas and Government Taxes 00:23:16 The Extra Price You Pay for Gas is Tax 00:24:06 The Pushback from Governments on Solar and EV Taxes
Transcript
Automatically transcribed from the original recording; names and wording may contain errors.
[00:00] South of the border down Mexico way That's where I fell in love when the stars above came up to play and now I wonder Hello there all you ex-pad wannabes. I'm Johnny Mueller and you're listening to the expat files living in Latin America The show that tells you just what it's like to live work play and or retire down here in Latin America It's a mix of the good the bad the ugly and the great and it's all right here. So let's get started All right back in the saddle again Just a figure of speech. Of course I haven't been on a horse for probably 20 years and I only did so back then because my girlfriend dragged me to a horse range Because she wanted to go riding. Oh what we won't do for the ladies in our lives, huh?
[00:49] What's it about girls and horses anyway? I don't get it though. My mother who grew up on a farm once explained to me that it was a control thing You know, you've got a big old 500 pound horse that a hundred pound lady can control completely Meanwhile back home. She's got a lazy ass couch potato guy who she can't motivate to take out the garbage Anyway, why girls just love horses and cats for that matter is best left to the shrinks Now as far as today's expat file theme, let's do some housekeeping got a big stack of emails here Virtual stack that is nothing's physical anymore Kind of sad in a way, but does save a lot of trees first off comes an email that just came in from James He said Johnny. Do you see what happened in New York with a socialist Muslim Democrat winning the primary runoff?
[01:38] Personally, he says I don't get what everyone is squawking about remember This is the New York who elected AOC and Hillary So if they want a socialist Muslim running the city very similar to what's happening in London, by the way They're welcome to suffer the consequences Signed expat James an ex New Yorker living the good life in Guatemala. All right, James. Thanks for that I guess what you say needs no comment Next we've got an email that came in a couple of weeks ago from Sammy. He says Johnny Should I sell my Tesla and my Ferrari? What do you think it's bizarre to me that people are boycotting Tesla due to Musk's politics? But have zero issues buying Chinese iPhones and practically everything else Given the Chinese basically run slave labor camps in order to undercut everyone else's prices
[02:29] He says I don't get it Johnny I have a lady friend a highly educated woman who decided to dump her Tesla because the CEO Elon Musk She can't stand What a terrible guy musk is let's see now He worked for the US government for free and because his boss was Trump in her estimation Musk is way too far right because you know Trump this is a disease it rubs off on people So she decides to sell her Tesla and buy a car from BYD You know the world's largest electric car company just happens to be Chinese So she sells her Tesla and actually loses money on it Buys a BYD electric car whose CEO works for a highly repressive socialist regime
[03:16] Called China whose population has no freedom of thought no democratic institution and no freedom of speech Yet it's Elon Musk who's the bad guy the enemy the last thing she wants is to be associated with that guy The scariest part is that in her mind ditching her Tesla for a BYD electric car makes perfect sense By the way, she's a radiologist living in California. So you wouldn't first she's smart and highly educated Except of course for the fact that she lives in California. You can't help where you're born. I was born in California, too Anyway, Johnny this lady friend of mine's a radiologist. The question is what about that radiology equipment? I've seen that stuff and most of it's made in China American designed American brand names like GE medical
[04:01] But made in China. So you gotta wonder how does this woman make decisions when reading radiology scans for her patients? Knowing the equipment she uses is being made in slave labor camps in China Using her logic. Why should anyone support Elon Musk's products when you could buy products supported by real-life dictators? That's what you're doing when you make an iPhone purchase By the way, this lady friend of mine bought the cold vid BS a hundred percent and his triple Vax Shows you how total media control really does work and how Trump derangement syndrome and by proxy musk Derangement syndrome has infected the entire world. Yes. That's right So you've got millions of liberal people dumping Tesla's Preferring China's government and policies to a person who tried and did help the American people by donating his time for free great choice, huh?
[04:54] Let's see now Tesla led the EV market in fact invented the EV market for others to follow His SpaceX rescued people in space when NASA couldn't His neural net is allowing people with spinal cord injuries to live better lives his internet Starlink connects people in vast open spaces who could never afford a Traditional satellite hookup. The fact is Johnny most people living in California like me Wish they had enough money to buy two Tesla's though. You'd never say that makes the company like you'd never say the n-word Then he says I guess I need to ask chat Gpt to check on Honda Toyota. How young day Mitsubishi Suzuki, etc It's time to check on their CEOs positions on immigration
[05:40] Dei welfare border lockdowns and abortion on that basis I'll make my decision on whether I should buy a car from them or not That sounds like the smart thing to do because if they agree with me and my political and social positions They must be making a better car, right? Then he says Johnny That's why I no longer eat cheese from France since macaron lets his wife slap him around and for a while now I haven't been eating fish and chips due to my concern about brexit. Oh, and I'll never buy a Mercedes because Hitler had one Oh and for sure I'll never buy a Ferrari after the Vatican elected to non Italian popes in a row talk about sacrilege Anyhow Johnny, that's my rant. My question for you though is are Latinos who have Tesla's? Upset and selling their Tesla's to are the regular folks on the street damaging them and threatening the owners
[06:30] Are they switching to Chinese made BYD's because they can't stand Elon's politics After all you'd think the people in Latin America would hate Elon and Trump even more than every last Democrat in the states Probably half the population after all both Elon and Trump are for a closed border and for booting out any and all illegal aliens Side Sammy an expat files listener who hasn't missed a show since 2016 All right, Sammy, I'm glad you asked that question about Tesla and BYD electric cars here in Latin America Well, I'm seeing more and more of them all the time both Tesla and BYD EBS In fact, I remember a couple of years ago when I got my first glimpse of a Tesla here in Latin America, man I thought the owner must be a little bit nuts are in way over his head
[07:17] I thought hell I'm an engineer and I wouldn't even do that by a Tesla or any electric car here in Latin America Not back then even now I'm absolutely convinced the people down here in Latin America who bought those first Teslas and other EVs They just had to have been extreme gringo wannabes who surely must not have thought the whole thing through back then couple years back You'd rarely ever see a charge station except that maybe the odd bank or Costco and until maybe a year ago I never saw anyone actually charging their car at one of those stations, but they're popping up everywhere now Seems like every mall and shopping centers installing charging stations in their parking lot Now these days when I'm out and about in any big Latin American city. I see at least one or two Tesla's
[08:03] I know one or two a day doesn't sound like much, but they sure stand out don't they and these days surprisingly enough I'm also seeing crazy ass brand electric Chinese cars and small electric EVs from India to one of the big brand names There is Geely G-E-E-L-Y. I'm seeing a lot of those lately Lots of weird models and brand names have been arriving names that I've never even heard of before I'm always wondering too when you buy one of those cars. How do you get them serviced? Even Tesla's where do you go when something breaks down or you get into a wreck now? I understand the new ones rarely break down But hey if you get in a wreck even though Tesla has a crash avoidance system What happens if there's something like a flash flood and parts of your car like the wiring and harnesses get waterlogged That's not good, especially when it comes to electric cars water and electricity
[08:52] Don't mix remember there's an intense rainy season down here in street corners do get flooded out Not good for man beast cars, especially not electric cars Problem with Tesla cars down here in Latin America is they have very low ground clearance Of course a cyber truck is way up there way off the ground except to me. It's ugly. I'd never buy one Anyway, that's always been my big grip with Tesla cars And why I still don't own one yet. The ground clearance is too low. Remember this little tip I'm gonna give you right now. You need at least eight inches of ground clearance. Just look that up for any car Ground clearance if you've got eight inches or more you'll clear every one of those nasty tomb lows You know speed bumps many of which are concrete and often six inches high Not only that down here in Latin America
[09:38] Most street intersections will flood out during a heavy rain and have a nice big trench or canal Stretching across the road from corner to corner Those things are made that way for the rainy season to provide a drainage path away from the intersection But they're often not enough. They do work, but mostly after the downpour is finished But when the rains coming down in sheets oftentimes there'll be four six eight even ten inches of standing water I've driven through lots of those big-ass puddles and believe me you want to drive very slow now Listen carefully the ground clearance for a Honda Civic is 6.7 inches the ground clearance for a 2025 Honda Civic hybrid is 5.28 inches and only 4 inches when stuffed with a bunch of fat gringos now
[10:25] Remember what I said during a big downpour which happens often certain intersections will have for a time standing water of 6 8 even 10 inches So if you're driving a Honda Civic especially a Honda Civic hybrid with a few fat-ass gringos in it If you're stuck in a bottleneck or traffic jam at one of those intersections, you're Don't think it's not gonna happen to you. It's happened to be dozens and dozens of times But I've always been able to get through it unscathed I'm always driving something like a Honda CRV or a RAV4 Both of which have ground clearances of about eight and a half inches. That's enough You should shoot for that when you're buying a car or an SUV Even when overloaded with a bunch of potbelly gringos it never gets down below seven inches and believe me that makes all the difference in the world as
[11:13] Whether you're gonna get out of that mess with your interior floorboards dry Remember no car is hermetically sealed There are all kinds of little holes perforations and openings in the floor of your car Plastic tubes cables and wear harnesses going in and out all points for water entry Not good If that happens your carpets are gonna suck up that water like a sponge and your car will stink of humidity for days or forever By the way, if you think I'm being crass mentioning fat overweight gringo, let me tell you a little story You know the easiest way to get a bunch of Latinos to giggle and crack up with laughter is to do the following If you've got the balls Try the following and you'll put everyone around you at ease tell you what you do and believe me This is a great ice break next time You're in a crowded elevator with a bunch of Latinos in it, of course start reading the load
[12:01] Capacity a sign out loud. Normally, let's say in a high-rise tower. It'll say something like load limit 450 kilograms about a thousand pounds maximum eight persons Every elevator has a little plaque like that stating its weight limit. So you read that out loud It'll be in Spanish, of course, so you might want to know some Spanish now Here's how it would go in English. But remember you're gonna be saying it in Spanish. I've pulled this little stunt a couple times I'll say look the sign says 450 kilograms maximum weight eight persons or four gringos Then there's a pregnant pause in one by one people start giggling Works every time now, of course to get the proper reaction. You'll all have to say all that in Spanish
[12:49] Oh and don't be shy people talk in elevators here in Latin America as opposed to people in elevators up in the first world where almost no one talks a kid might do it but an adult knows Oh, they feel funny doing so. Well, things are different down here in Latin America People are just gabbing away in places gringos would never think to do so like when standing in lines or in elevators Often speaking quite loudly into their cell phones, too. You'll hear it in public bathrooms, too It's a little hard to get used to. Yeah, that's right when Latinos have something to say they don't hold back I can't tell you how many times have walked into a public bathroom Just to wash my hands or something and I'll hear some voice booming out of the shitter some guy talking on his cell phone at high Volume whilst taking a crap man. It's a picture. You don't want to contemplate man I'll tell you that's something that I and most gringos the next pass would never do
[13:35] I kind of wonder if that same thing goes down in ladies bathrooms here in Latin America Good question. I'll have to ask around Anyway, just a word of warning here. You will hear people having loud conversations in public shitters I don't even want to go into the hygiene issues that revolve around that Yuck, that's why I almost never shake hands with people anymore. Just a fist bump will do well down here in Latin America Things like that happen all the time. So get used to it or not. Oh And here's another icebreaker when you get into an elevator Latinos are very polite and I'll often say gay piece. Oh, what floor and push the button for you Let's say the building has nine floors I'll always pick a floor that doesn't exist. I'll say 10, please They'll look at the numbers on the panel confused a bit look back at you and start to giggle
[14:21] I know it sounds dumb, right? But it's a great icebreaker. Where were we? Oh, yeah talking about Tesla's and electric cars here in land America question has the Latino public to Developed Elon derangement syndrome our Tesla owners selling their vehicles because they don't like Elon anymore Our Latinos on the street hating Elon to throwing things at Tesla's damaging and scratching them spray painting them with swear words and gross Well in a word, no Absolutely. No, there's none of that down here I get no bad vibes at all from people when Elon Musk's name comes up in conversation those Tesla owners themselves They're in a class of their own Used to be the average person on the street the person that could never afford a new car Maybe he's driving a junk or a motorcycle You see middle-class Latinas have always been enamored with certain makes and models of cars
[15:11] They instantly stereotype people as upper-class or rich if they're driving a Volvo Porsche Range Rover Lexus late model Audi BMW Mercedes Mini Cooper or fairly new big-ass SUV like a Tahoe or suburban It's not right Of course, but Latinos stupidly think of people who drive those cars as people of higher class and status So Latinos always make way for the owners of those vehicles They give them a pass when they double park and give them loads of space to cut into traffic They get instant unearned respect from the working classes just because they drive a certain kind of car Then just about two or three years ago The first Teslas came to Latin America and now oftentimes will be in a parking lot And there'll be two or three people standing around Admiring a Tesla even taking pictures of it. They've sort of been elevated to a class of their own
[16:01] The truth is everyone and his mother and his brother and his aunt and his uncle would love to have one Of course, they don't know a thing about electric vehicles themselves Except you have to plug them in once in a while but it certainly didn't take long for the average of Latin American to put Tesla vehicles on a pedestal and As far as Elon Musk derangement syndrome, that's Non-existent to people don't give a damn about Elon's politics Whether he's a friend of or an enemy of Trump whether he's right-wing left-wing a libertarian Socialist anarchist people don't care. Most people don't know the difference between right-left socialist anarchists and libertarian Anyway, all they know is if the neighbor on the left has a brand new Volvo and the neighbor on the right a brand new Tesla The guy with a Tesla is cooler and who they'd want to hang out with which in a way makes sense to me I mean who'd want to hang out with someone who's got a Volvo
[16:48] Station wagon when he could have got a new Tesla for less dough Oh, and it's true. All the traditional car makers have a line of electric cars to Toyota Volkswagen Ford Audi BMW All the rest even Volvo, but man as far as I can tell from an engineering standpoint They're all trying to copy Tesla and they're way behind Which makes me think anyone who buys an electric vehicle that's more expensive than a Tesla They just didn't do their homework because none of the electric cars technically or mechanically stands up to a Tesla I know I know I've heard the complaints and issues They say that the interior of some of the cars like the BMW Volvo Mercedes electrics, etc are much more Luxurious and richly appointed than interiors of Tesla Well, if that's what you're looking for when you buy a brand new car and the mechanics and technology is secondary
[17:39] Well, that's not how I shop for a car, but it's sad to say almost every girl I've ever met shops for a car based on looks it's the coolness factor What's on people's minds in the moment the mechanics the technology the durability that stuff all takes a backseat to looks and style I'm talking about women in general Latina women American women though I have to say the engineers and the women I know who came out of STEM programs You know science technology and math at least they seem to value mechanical dependability, etc A lot more than the typical average woman. So am I getting myself in some deep shit here? I just know I'm gonna get some blowback. Yeah, I know. I know most guys also get sucked in by the looks of a car I mean really what guy doesn't like a Porsche 911 or a Corvette though They're absolutely and totally impractical lots of guys
[18:27] I know have impractical cars, but it's usually the second or third car, you know, not the daily use car Hey, I'm guilty of that back in Chicago. I had one of those weekend drivers My main vehicle was a pickup truck my Sunday car a completely restored but totally impractical 1965 Mercedes 280 SL down here in Latin America It would be nuts to have a car like that the roads and speed bumps would just tear the shit out of it But back to the subject of electric vehicles here So you do see tesla's down here, especially in the big city though You only might see one or two a day if you keep your eyes peeled, but you'll see 10 or 20 BYD electric vehicles a day. Now. The thing is the media is saying conflicting things about BYD It's the number one selling EV company in the world
[19:12] Chinese of course and they're something like half the price of a Tesla In fact, they've got a new very small model for around ten thousand bucks that cars scheduled to be arriving right around now here In Latin America, and I bet they'll sell like hot cake since down here in Latin America It's all about the price though your standard BYD EV electric vehicle sedans are around maybe 35 or 40 thousand bucks. They're right in the same price range as your well-known gas vehicle cars Toyota's Volkswagen's Kia's Hyundai's who by the way also sell electric vehicles, but you don't see many of them at all down here In fact, I think I've seen only two electric Hyundai's in the past month and over a hundred BYD electric vehicles But still I don't know what to make of those BYD vehicles
[19:59] My engineering buddies say they're pretty well-built and at about half to two-thirds the price of a Tesla They're starting to catch on and unlike Tesla whose marketing plan is quite different BYD has actual dealerships down here that you could walk into with complete maintenance departments So if your car breaks down or you're getting a crash, you're not wondering what the hell you should do now and who to call Now some of my engineering buddies and nerds tell me that they wouldn't mind buying a BYD But they don't sell them in the States. They're sold practically everywhere about the States again. It's all about the tariffs I believe there's a hundred percent tariff on Chinese EVs shipped to the States Whereas down here in Latin America Chinese cars coming in get hit only with the VAT tax called EVA down here
[20:45] IVA which is anywhere from 12 to 20% depending what country you're in now You long-time listeners probably know I'm a big believer in Tesla products In fact, I built a complete off-grid solar power system 30 panels to Tesla Powerwalls and a Tesla Gateway a Fantastic system very expensive though. I Anyway, there are competing systems just as good these days for half that so then you might ask When am I gonna get that Tesla? Well, I won't get one Until they build a model which will probably be a midsize SUV that has a ground clearance of at least eight inches Turns out a couple years back the Tesla Model Y had an adjustable Suspension and you could program the height of the thing from I think four and a half inches to eight and a half
[21:33] So that would have been just fine, but they discontinued that option So no Tesla for me till that happens. What about other electric vehicles? There's many of them out there and the traditional brands like Kia high on day Toyota Honda etc have a mini SUV with ground clearance of eight to nine inches BYD sells a couple of high ground clearance cars, too So would I or should I get one of those? Well, not yet because there seems to be a lot of fallout in the EV SUV space besides that They're all trying to catch up with Tesla and technology. They're just never gonna get there I'm in no rush We'll see what happens in the next year or so though it does bother me a bit that I have all the extra solar power Necessary to charge a vehicle and never pay a cent for electricity And I do think about every time I put gas in my Honda CRV
[22:21] I probably spend about a hundred bucks a month for gas on that thing and believe me I don't like it. So the day will come and it'll be quite soon when I go electric You know with all the unrest in Europe and Asia with this war business going on That's a recipe for much higher oil prices and right now in most Latin American countries Except the countries that subsidize gas like Ecuador gas is around five bucks a gallon I don't like that either because half of that dough that five bucks a gallon It's a tax almost half of what you pay for gas is government tax And what you get in return for that is about nothing. Wait a minute Don't tell me you didn't know how your government's been ripping you off like crazy on gas price as well Think of this today the national average retail price of unlettered gas is three bucks to 350 a gallon Meanwhile unlettered gasoline on a tanker all refined and ready to go
[23:09] The spot price on that is two bucks a gallon So if you're paying three or three twenty five or three fifty up in Vermont or Cleveland That extra price you pay over the two dollars spot price is tax. What a bunch of stinking pus bags, huh? Oh, yeah, but that taxes is supposed to be for road maintenance and upkeep Oh, yeah, and how are your roads looking these days? How many crumbling sidewalks and age-old potholes have you got in your neighborhood? Meanwhile, the average American drives 12,000 miles a year averaging 30 miles to the gallon which means the average person buys around 400 gallons of gasoline a year and with every gallon purchased a dollar fifty of that or more goes to government taxes That means the average person with a car Gives the tax man six hundred dollars a year
[23:54] Ostensibly for road maintenance and upkeep so as far as road maintenance goes Are you getting your six hundred bucks worth and remember in ten years? That means you've paid six thousand bucks in road taxes 20 years 12,000 bucks all the more reason to go with an EV and off the grid Oops forgot one tiny little thing here The US government was so nice to give every one of you guys a solar tax break Buy an EV or a solar panel set up for your house You get a huge tax break or rebate. No one gets that down here in Latin America only up by you Well get this I guess no puss brain government bureau credit thought that one through Why because with more and more people buying EVs and going off the grid Guess what their tax revenue is way down when you have solar power charging your EV You don't buy gas and therefore the government loses out on that dollar fifty a gallon gas tax
[24:44] Ah, so governments are finally figuring that out So what they're doing is this they're legislating brand new solar panel and EV car taxes You're charged an excise tax every year depending on how many solar panels you have in that nice many US states have already implemented it Australia's on board and they're doing it too. By the way, Australia is the country with the most solar power per capita So their government's gas and electricity tax base is vaporizing fast and here everyone thought they were Disentangling themselves from the government by going solar and getting an EV no such luck They found another way to bleed you by the way There's a certain feeling that's hard to express when you first flip that switch and go solar when you get that next electric bill
[25:30] And you find out it's only a dollar fifty man. Does that feel nice? Oh and that buck 50 is not for the use of electricity because you're not using any that's a meter connection fee Oh, and you probably didn't know you don't actually own your electric meter You're renting it monthly from the electric company, but that's all right. I'll pay the buck 50 I'll keep that meter and pay the fee just in case I have to do maintenance on my solar system and I have to switch Back to grid power for a couple of hours once a month or once a year, whatever That's why I always recommend if you're going off the grid to get a 200 amp transfer switch You can buy it on Amazon So that you could switch back to the grid if you have to do some maintenance or change something on your solar system Whatever if I remember right in the three years. I had my last off the grid solar system running I only had to flip that 200 amp switch and go back to grid power. I think for one day in three years
[26:21] So anyway, suppose you've been paying 150 or 200 dollars a month for years and years to the electric company and suddenly One month your bill drops to zero and it stays that way Well, the electric company knows they've got no income from you and they also know you've got solar panels That makes you a sitting duck for any legislation that wants to tax you on your solar system Once again, you've been duped by those government blood suckers Just like the first income tax in 1913 was supposed to be temporary But in fact, it never ends which brings us back to that age-old question. How's your plan be coming? All right We're getting to the end of this show now and in honor of my uncle Bernie the first libertarian I ever met the guy that first got me collecting silver coins when I was a teenager
[27:08] He was a super bright guy and very quotable He was the last guy in Illinois to pass the state CPA test without ever having a college degree They don't allow that anymore because of him. Anyway, here's one of his more quotable quotes He said Johnny, there are always two careers open to people who have failed at everything else You can go into politics or be a public school teacher You've been listening to the expat files living in Latin America If you need some help with your own plan B We can schedule a one-on-one phone or Skype consult Just send me an email the expat files at gmail.com And if you want to get on the waiting list for my next week-long expat insider seminar in Central America Where you're guaranteed to get a two to five year head start on your plan B
[27:55] Send me an email the expat files at gmail.com