#590 – The Expat Files: Scams, Economic Crises, and Water Rights in Latin America

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 expat 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 Okay, let's start out with something that's a bit unpleasant today I've been getting a lot of emails lately from people saying they have been getting emails from a website I was formerly affiliated with a couple years back called expat wisdom It was an affiliation that didn't last too long after I found out. Well, how can they put this nicely?

[00:49] Well that the owner of the website was all in it for himself He had no expat wisdom or inside knowledge to add to the site He didn't like me or even my show in fact He only wanted to piggyback onto me to gain access to my listeners to try to make some money from them So now after being dormant for over a year, he's sending out stuff that might appear to be coming from me Well, they're not it's just started happening this week, too And so far people are telling me he sent out a questionnaire asking what you want out of the expat life This from a person who's been living in the United Kingdom the UK for the past 10 years or so He's just data mining. So don't fall for it. You see it's buyer beware, isn't it? So if you do fill out that expat questionnaire, it's not from me, of course, like I said

[01:35] It's just a data mining exercise to get your personal information Etc to try to sell you stuff Some of it most likely will be stuff that I produced in the past my own intellectual property that he has no permission selling but the insinuation being that I'm affiliated with that site and I Definitely am NOT now some of you who've got that questionnaire from expat wisdom have already filled it out And you got another email back offering you a free Skype with who probably with him or his underling Sandra So again, if you get any mailings or offerings from an outfit called expat wisdom It's all about them trying to use my past Affiliation with them to sell stuff to you. So don't fall for it too bad

[02:21] I had to lay that on you, but there are people like that on the net In fact, I'm always getting emails from people trying to hook up with me and help me in this way or that But in the end, it's all about them trying to hook up with me to take advantage of the connections I've made over the years and my email lists and such in a way the internet is kind of like the wild wild west Okay, enough said about that. But you know, speaking of phone consultations I do quite a bit of those over the years. I've probably done hundreds mostly from people who've been down to Latin America once or twice usually on the gringo tourist trail or People who are on the fence up north and they know things are going down the drain and they want to get a plan B Going it's a case of everyone's situation being a bit different in regards to the progress and the time it takes for you to

[03:12] Mistakenly think it's mostly about your nest egg and your resources But it's more about what kind of baggage you have up north The fact is it's easier to come down with very few resources in zero baggage up north and vice versa What kind of baggage are we talking about family friends jobs people who depend on you clubs? Organizations bowling teams you belong to and such not to mention all the junk you've accumulated over the years that you're hopelessly attached to like those 327 Star Wars action figures and that antique set of Pez dispensers So since everyone's algorithm for their particular plan B is a bit different That's why I do phone consultations to help people work out their particular details. That's it I think you'll want to hear this about half the people I've done phone consultations with her

[03:57] Absolutely convinced that the world is falling apart up north and they want out as soon as possible Yep, they tell me bad and sad economic and big brother abuse stories that are happening very close to home Yep They tell me about the straw that broke the camel's back for them personal stories not hearsay like for example that email I read last show about the building contractor who expects to get sued a couple times a year these days He says it's just the natural cost of doing business though There's really nothing natural about it all considering his dad was a contractor in a 50s 60s and 70s and never got sued once Anyway, like I said regarding these phone and Skype consults I'd say at least 50% of the people start out the consult by telling me a couple of pretty nasty stories things that happen to them

[04:44] Or someone close to them their family or their friends So with half the callers I get the straw that broke the camel's back story and why they're pushing on with their plan B Then there's that other 50% the people on those consults who Don't really want to grasp the fact that the first world's in a downward spiral and headed for the mother of all Economic crashes and they come right out and say Johnny I just want to have a nice retirement I want to move out of the states because I know things are getting expensive and I probably won't be able to afford to Live like I live now on my social security checker pension. That's really why I'm looking at a plan B However, I'm really not on board with what you and others are saying about the big economic and social crisis You think you see coming? So that's what about half the callers in these consoles are saying they say things like this, too

[05:32] You know Johnny things are going all right even good for me And my pension kicks in and five or six years when I retire and so I'll wait it out when that happens I'll be more financially set and I'll be ready to come down Then they tell me about their nice pension plans and 401ks managed by first-world companies and the money They've gotten first-world banks and such some even talk about mutual funds and stocks Then they mention the house they own or almost own and the rental property that they might have All in the states of course, and they don't see or just don't want to see the freight train That's heading for the cliff So I hear some people interested in a plan B talking about how the economy should last three five even ten years They always kind of rationalize it so it fits into their own particular plans. Yes. We all have a way of doing that now

[06:22] Don't we well at least they're looking at that plan B However, a lot of these people who seem to think they can ride this thing out a long while up in the states They either work for the government or live in an artificially propped-up community. That's also pretty much 100% dependent on government dough like for example, Washington, DC Springfield, Illinois Madison, Wisconsin all the state capitals. They're all Artificially propped up with money taken out of the pockets of people who actually really work for a living Then you've got all those private industries that have got huge government contracts like Boeing and general dynamics huge aircraft Bell helicopter and such then there's all those big teaching universities that have massive Scientific research contracts and grants like Lawrence Livermore and Berkeley. You'll see those economies are completely artificial

[07:13] I mean the whole structure from top to bottom is supported by public money Even the so-called private sector only flourishes because the people and businesses in the surrounding area are being patronized by people who are being Paid with government money now if you live in work in any of the thousands of places like that You're living in a bubble and are in no way Experiencing what's happening in the real economy. I'm talking about the real economy that actually produces viable goods and services So you can see why people live in there. Just don't get it things look good The economy is nicely rolling along as it always has on Tax dollars on other people's money, of course And you know when people tell me they're not at all on board with this coming crisis and crash business

[07:59] Not surprisingly more than half of those people work in some way for the government Yes, they always seem to be doing fine. Just waiting it out till they get that pension check But there is you know a certain percentage of people I do those phone and Skype Consoles with that are doing just fine and they don't work for a government in any way And these are generally people who have an IT business or the greater part of their business is on the internet now from what I can See most people who have internet businesses are very in tune with the alternative media I mean hell that's where the alternative media lives on the net fact is it really couldn't exist anywhere else now Could it? No, you won't find it on the 6 o'clock news or network TV. That's for sure So what I've seen is people in the IT business who are doing quite well up in the States or Canada

[08:49] They see the writing on the wall They're smart enough and informed enough to know that things are going down the toilet fast and they want out too and lucky for them IT businesses are generally pretty portable. You can do them in any country So those are basically the kind of people who do phone and Skype consoles with me people who are Absolutely convinced they have to get out now because within the next six months or a year They're convinced things will get very bad. Then there's the people who are not on board with that at all They've got their blinders on but at least they're thinking about getting out They want to get their foot in another country if they can't but really if you think things might be unraveling But at a very slow pace and if you got three five even ten years before things get bad You know what? You aren't paying attention. You're not reading enough. You're exactly in the spot big brother wants you to be in well

[09:39] Here's a ten to one bet for you If you're still up in the first world in five years even three years You're gonna be a very very unhappy camper And if you think you can do this plan B thing just a little bit at a time Well, that ship sailed a long time ago and guess what you weren't on it This is no time to sit around you can't wait six months and think about getting residency somewhere and then wait a year To decide what you're gonna do about your 401ks and your bank accounts then wait another year to decide if you're gonna sell your House or not. You just do not have the time to do that. It's not gonna happen So if that's your plan B, you've got some big-ass blinders on so the point is you have to get that plan B going now Yes in a year or two or three, you might be able to get yourself out of the country But there's no guarantee at all. You'll ever get your assets out. You got to start doing that now

[10:27] You know the story first world governments the US government is one big pig in a trough and it's hungry all the time Seems true with every first world country including the Canadians, of course Oh and you Canadians surprised me you guys still cling into your national health care system That's what's keeping you from becoming an expat or starting on that plan B I know I know that's only because you have to remain in your country five or six months a year to qualify What do you think that's all about? Come on You've been paying into that system all your life You got one of the highest tax rates in the world yet If you don't plant your ass down five or six months a year in that country You're not allowed to take advantage of what you already bought and paid for a long long time ago Hey there Can't you see that it's your own uncle Samuel slam and the barn door shut half the year to keep the sheep in?

[11:13] That's just a portent of things to come a bad president and speaking of bad news I mean really bad news that your government isn't talking about they don't want to tell you this Well, you know that this year your country sold off its entire gold reserves You're a country without anything at all of value back in your currency You feel good about that and why do you think your government sold it off because it's dead broke Why does any country's government sell off his gold reserves because it's dead frickin broke Meanwhile your government keeps producing those very nice one ounce Canadian maple leaf coins But it's got to buy the gold to do that can't use its own doesn't have any the other half of that question is who's buying it? Why it's the Russian government and the Chinese government. So again, what do they know that we don't know?

[12:00] Why do they not the first world have the lion's share of the world's gold? Well, they're looking at the fiat currency endgame, of course, which is coming soon They're the ones who are gonna have all the gold which brings to mind the golden rule. He who has the gold rules okay, on that note, let me read you a slice of an email from a Canadian listener in fact a Canadian who will be coming to my January 2017 expat insider seminar now inevitably If you talk to a Canadian long enough, you'll hit on four topics Skiing hockey moose and the national health care system all of which they'll have to abandon if they move down to Latin America Now most will gladly jettison three out of the four but many still want to hold on to that national health care thing Now it's true for every Canadian who says the system is absolutely perfection. They couldn't ask for anything better

[12:51] There's someone who says it's an absolute piece of crap And you know now when I hear good news about the Canadian health care system It's almost always coming from a Canadian or Canadian family who would be in dire straits if the Canadian health care system Didn't pick up the tab on some very expensive medication someone in the family's taken. In fact, just the other day I was doing a phone consult with someone who said a family member was on a medication that costs $1,800 a month and the Canadian health care system absorbs all that so naturally Canadian health care in this case is a Lifesaver for him and his family, but then you have to ask how long will that last? The Canadian population is getting older and older more national health resources are being used all the time And in fact the systems broke now not too long ago

[13:36] I spoke to a Canadian surgeon here in Latin America on vacation and he told me within five years They'll have to legislate some big changes because the system truly is broke He said even now when it comes to expensive and intensive surgeries. There are already unacceptable waiting lists In fact recently John Galt from the new expat website told me this story He said he was with a Canadian friend here in Central America and a guy was having a terrible pain in his hip He went to a private doctor's first world clinic down here to get evaluated He told him yes You need a hip replacement and you need it now and the next thing out of the doctor's mouth if you like I can Schedule the hip replacement for next week Wednesday or Thursday. Would that be all right? Well, the guy was stunned and he said listen I need a second opinion and the doc said sure fine go ahead

[14:25] So we shipped all the info and the x-rays to his doc in Vancouver Now the reply from the Vancouver doc was you sure do need a hip replacement and as soon as possible So when you come back to Canada, we will take care of it But remember you must get some rest and be easy on it now because it's not classified as an emergency It'll take about two months to get you an appointment in the office Then we'll set you up an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon Which will be about six to eight months down the line Then he'll schedule the surgery about six or eight months down the line from there. So what's that? Surgery sometime this century, but you know, it's the Canadian National Health Care and you'll get that all for free or The doctor said you could go to the US and pay $40,000 or so and get it done quickly

[15:15] Then you should be completely out of pain. Okay, I know how ridiculous that sounds But I hear stories like that all the time So his choices have it done in Canada for free about two years later or go to the States pay 40 grand Get it done right away or have it done in Latin America a week later In fact, that's what he did and he paid about ten grand out of pocket for that surgery here in Latin America And he's doing just fine. That said here's a comment about the Canadian National Health Care from a Canadian coming down to my next seminar She said yes I too had a friend who had to wait two years for a knee replacement in Canada We usually don't have to pay anything else as our medical Canadian health care covers all costs I think and in another case one of my clients couldn't have a sciatica

[16:03] Operation for six months and had to stay in bed the whole time as she couldn't walk. This is insane stuff. She says Okay, it's me Johnny again So I guess that's the way it is if you have an emergency an accident you go to the trauma center or emergency room Everything's fine. They treat you right away. And if you need drugs or medication cheap or expensive They'll cover that but as it turns out if it's not an emergency and you need an operation You're gonna have to wait a long long time Now I know just mentioning the Canadian National Health Care system I'm gonna get all kinds of emails from Canadians telling me how satisfied they are with it But for every good story you hear a bad story too, but where were we? Oh, yeah We're talking about seemingly enlightened people who don't believe the economy and social structure are in for a devastating hit

[16:49] They think life's just gonna roll on as always Yep, that would be nice Wouldn't it best not to know that your pensions bleeding cash or it's 50% underfunded like most of the school and public employee pensions Meanwhile all the first world countries like the US, Canada, Australia All the European countries are in reality nothing more than legal looting machines. That's right legal looting machines And if you think getting a Trump in there or anyone is gonna change that well You can't put the toothpaste back in the tube You know by the way before expat Eddie was in the money before he had those restaurants He was a kind of a poor backpacking type So he figured out what a lot of people might call hacks these days now for those of you listeners who don't know who? Exped Eddie is go back and listen to some of the old shows in the archives and you'll hear a lot of expat Eddie's

[17:37] Stories he's a rags-to-riches guy came down here about 15 years ago with 5,000 bucks And now he's worth millions and for one of his hacks He showed me how he injects toothpaste from a big tube into one of those small travelers sized toothpaste tubes Those small tubes are convenient, but just as expensive as a big old tube that holds about five times as much So Eddie figured a way to use the small tube over and over again by injecting toothpaste from a bigger tube into the small one when it was empty what he did was superglue two toothpaste caps together top on top Then he drilled a hole through them and screwed the toothpaste back onto their caps and squeeze the big one Which quickly reloads the small one so when Eddie was low on toothpaste if he happened to be in someone's bathroom He'd just do a quick squirt in a refill with no one the wiser you do things like that

[18:26] You know when you're kind of a destitute backpacker, so yes You can put the toothpaste back in the tube Kinda oh and speaking of the imminent crashing and burning of the first world social and economic system the other night I saw an old black-and-white thin man movie with William Powell and Myrna Loy It was set during the Depression By the way if you've been wondering yes, you can get Netflix down here Anyway that thin man series was very entertaining and hugely popular back then way before my time by the way however old movies like that Give you a nice snapshot of what things were life way back when now one of the songs in that movie was Buddy can you spare a dime which I understand was a huge hit during the Depression era and what bums were saying

[19:12] Everywhere to people walking by on the street think about it buddy. Can you spare a dime now analyzing that phrase and what it means It pretty much encapsulates how the US government has destroyed the economy little by little since 1913 when the Federal Reserve was formed now get this all throughout the United States up Till the beginning of World War two about 1941 a dime would get you a cheap decent meal at a diner Worth about two dollars and fifty cents today now these days the average person wouldn't expend the effort to bend over and pick up a dime in the gutter Worse yet if you gave a beggar in the States a dime He'd more than likely spit at you and curse at you and even punch you in the face Yes, that's what it's come to thanks to that legal looting machine. We call the government

[19:59] So that's okay. If you think you've got three five even ten years of the good life ahead of you It's alright. If you think your plan B can wait, you know an old expat gringo once told me You know what the four most lamentable words in the English language are can you guess no? It's not sorry you have cancer. No, and it's not Hillary won the election either though I think cancer might be preferable nope the old expat said the four most lamentable words are Told you so don't you just hate it when someone says that so what are you thinking about? You know I've heard all the excuses. I've only got five years left to work, and I get my pension Oh, but I like my house in my neighborhood so much. I could never leave oh and my kids and grandkids

[20:47] They don't want me to go then there's little Johnny. He graduates from college in three more years and on and on yep I've heard all the excuses yeah, and by the way here's something else that pisses me off Why is it always Johnny Johnny this Johnny that Johnny come lately Johnny on the spot stage door Johnny John Doe and John Q Public even Johnny be good which in first Johnny's battle at a times right there's going to the John dear John letters, and here's Johnny Johnny Appleseed the infamous John Thomas little John from Robin Hood and the famous diddle diddle dumpling my son John Yeah, I've been putting up with that basket of cliches all my life But then again, it's better than being a dick. No one wants to be a dick, but some people are we've all met a few

[21:33] Alright, I think it's time for a story now agreed Okay, as I mentioned many times before if you live in a gated guarded community here in Latin America You're probably gonna have your own well called a Pozo Pozo So there might be 10 20 30 50 even 300 homes in your gated guarded community And you'll have one gigantic Pozo for everyone a paha P-a-j-a is the normal amount the average Latin American single-family homeowner is allowed to use each month That's 30 cubic meters or about 7,000 gallons And if you go over that monthly amount your assessed additional punitive fees By the way that amount of water is just fine for a family of four now if you're rent You don't have to worry about that, but if you build or buy you'll have to buy your paha

[22:20] When you first move in usually around 500 bucks a one-time charge Now paying that one-time charge only gives you the right to use 30 cubic meters a month You'll still have to pay a fixed monthly charge whether you use it or not. I know I know it doesn't make sense But this is Latin America So for example if you go on vacation for a month and don't use a drop of water You'll still have to pay the monthly charge So what you're doing is you're buying the right to purchase 30 cubic meters of water a month at a very low rate That's why you pay the initial 500 bucks. I know I know it's weird However, if in any given month you go over that 30 cubic meters of water You'll get nailed with a heavy extra fee for example Let's say you have one paha you're paying 15 bucks a month and a paha is 30 cubic meters

[23:10] That means you're paying 50 cents for every cubic meter of water Well, let's say maybe this month you're filling your swimming pool or you haven't got a swimming pool, but you've got a broken toilet valve It's in the guest room or the maids quarters and it's been leaking for weeks And you never noticed it because you never go in there that does happen You know and that's why I always recommend if you leave your house for more than a 24-hour period you turn off the main Valve to your house There's generally a shutoff valve by your meter and by the way in the house as I've built I've always had an extra shutoff valve put near the back door or even in the kitchen where the main line comes in In the closet or laundry room so that you can turn that thing off without too much difficulty from right in your house By the way since in a past life. I was an engineer I like to tinker with gadgets and I actually installed an electric solenoid so I can flip a switch in the house and

[23:59] It cuts the water main automatically, okay Let's say this month you filled your pool or had a leak and you used 33 cubic meters of water You've gone over your monthly quota of 30 meters by 3 cubic meters now at 50 cents a meter That should be an extra dollar fifty on your bill, right? But it won't be could be an extra ten bucks even fifteen or twenty bucks on your bill That's the kits if you go over it by just one cubic meter the assessment could be very heavy So you really want to stay within the bounds of that once again having a master shutoff valve is a very important thing If you go on vacation a lot or leave town in fact I know of two or three people who've had bills on the order of five or six hundred bucks Just because they had a leaky toilet in the maids quarters And if that water is leaking slowly you're made with only her sixth or seventh grade education is not gonna think anything of it

[24:50] In fact to her it's more or less normal since Latin America is the land of leaky valves pipes toilets and faucets And you see the average middle and lower middle class Latin doesn't even care about such things because they're hooked up to the Municipal water supply and most of that stuff's not even metered you just pay a monthly charge of a couple of bucks In fact my maintenance guy said he pays around a buck and a half a month for his municipal water And you know that's the problem with communal anything that's run by government basically. It's socialism light When everybody gets the same bill and can use as much of it as they want there's always abuse So that's why when pipes and toilets and valves and faucets leak like sieves in middle and lower middle class neighborhoods No one really cares because everyone pays the same amount regardless

[25:39] In the end all suffer because the water is only on about eight or ten hours a day when it could very well be on 24-7 however, there's so many leaks. It's been shown that at least 50% of the potable water is lost But where was I going with this? Oh, yeah, the Fontanero He's the guy that takes care of your poso if you live in a private gated community He'll read your water meter once a month and stick a bill in your door anyway about a month ago He came by in his wretched beat-up old motorcycle, and I noticed soon enough his gas tank was leaking It was dripping one drop at a time on to my driveway I said let's have a look at this and I noticed where there was a deep dent He had a tiny wad of plastic or newspaper or something holding the leak to a minimum

[26:24] I said, you know You really have to do something about that and I went in the house got a roll of packing tape and taped it up Temporarily no more leak then the next day I saw him driving through the neighborhood He had done something about it He'd bought a roll of the same packing tape and completely wrapped up his gas tank I guess he figured if the gringo did it it must be good, right? Then I flagged him down and said hey, you know, that's not a permanent fix. You got to do something about that Then yesterday I saw him again. The tank was shiny and silvery He'd taped the whole thing up with duct tape. Yep, only in Latin America. Okay We're getting towards the end now and I'd like to remind everyone once again You can still sign up for my January 2017 expat insider seminar One of the best ways ever to get started on your plan B

[27:11] Remember you'll walk out of there with the kind of expat knowledge and connections You can almost never achieve by trying to do it on your own Just go to www.thenewexpat.com and click the link at the top of the page and finally do check out my youtube channel It's getting great reviews Just go to youtube.com slash the expat files You've been listening to the expat files living in Latin America coming to you twice a week from somewhere south of the border Email me the expat files at gmail.com And if you want me to help you sort out your own Latin American plans schedule a one-on-one Consult with me just send an email and let me know at the expat files at gmail.com. No spamos

[27:57] He knows