www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Employees of the INS (insurance monopoly here in CR) have negotiated themselves quite a sweet deal over the years. When an employee stops working,EVEN IF HE OR SHE IS FIRED FOR CAUSE,,he or she is entitled to one years pay for each year that he worked.(no minimum age for retirement I believe) A few hundred employees are currently quitting because they fear that the agreement will be changed and they will no longer be eligible for their money.Some employees are currently eligible for in excess of $300,000 in retirement benefits. It appears that some people in desk jobs are doing quite well. Basically this means that the employees are making double their stated salaries. No wonder they don't have any money to fix the infrstructure of the Country. Story on page 2 of yesterday's AM Costa Rica

Seems kind of like the deal U.S. congress members have cut for themselves...does it not?

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Que ???
Paz,
Sluthog

If there ever was an in your face example of why this country needs free trade agreement and less socialism, this is it. With these kinds of employee laws and protectionist monopolies...this country will remain in the economic dark ages for a long long time. Let alone, no motivation for employees to perform and excell. You see this blasee attitude of employees wherever you go in the country. Now you understand part of the reason.

The purest form of free enterprise that exists in the country is exhibited everyday at the Hotel Delrey ...

Its even worse. The INS is a monopoly that charges extremely high rates for every type of insurance. It then sells off the risk thru the normal reinsurance markets of the world at a much lower rate. It then is left with lots of free money that all of the politicallly connected insiders have figured out how to siphon off. This is exactly why the people of Costa Rica need CAFTA.

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If it floats, flies or fucks, rent it, dont buy it.

The other day the INS employees held a rally and a march down the main street in front of the big INS building. They actually had te shirts that said (roughly translated) "No to opening the insurance monopoloy!"
I couldn't believe that they would actually state that openly. It is either a sign of very poor political savvy or a sign that the country has a long way to go before it understands what needs to be done to come out of 3rd world status.

Why would the slogan "No to opening the Insurance Monopoly" surprise you? It certainly is not a secret that the only insurance available in CR is through INS. If you are an employee of INS you are more concerned with maintaining the monopoly than advancing out of third world status.

As to "political savvy" perhaps demonstrations by public employee unions in the US have no effect but it has been demonstrated, in the past, that street demonstrations in CR are very persuasive in influencing the political process. Public employee union heads have a lot of political savvy and know how to use it very effectively.

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine