www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Since the price per barrel of crude has dropped by more than half, the price for gasoline in the States has down the same. (average price/gallon yesterday Nationwide was $1.81/gallon). Has anyone noticed that the price/liter here in CR has gone down a whopping 8 colones.(15 cents) Hmmm.... I wonder who is stealing what this time. The price is still the equivalent of around $5.00/gallon. I haven't seen this written about in the print media or talked about on TV. The politicians must be getting rich on this one.

And Brother Vegas Bob isn't it true that the petro monopoly here (Procope, right?) gets subsidized petroleum from Venezuela? Or do I have that wrong and Venezuela is not trying to buy friends here? Did they close down that aluminum smelter here in a snit?
Sounds like a "muy Tico" trickle-up theory at work.

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"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED

The question you raised about Recope and where all the money goes is right at the core of a social democracy which is built on government monopolies which are inherently inefficient and ineffective.

It really is inconceivable that any organization which obtains its products at prices below market price; has no competition; and can both set and control prices, does not make a stinking fortune.

Considering the billions that the for profit petroleum companies have made, why can’t Recope do as well?

Something or somebody is getting subsidies.

I saw the price a few days ago... It was c660 a liter. Which equals out to c2310 a gallon. That's about $4.20 a gallon. I believe CR imports all of its gasoline.

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Now, I am back in the game!

Costa Rica imports all of its petrol.

I paid $1.89 per gallon in the Los Angeles area today for gasoline. Last summer it was nearly $5.00 a gallon.

I agree, you really have to ask why there is such a disparity.

Brothers--Look at the history of the Mexican oil industry most especially Petromex, its union officials and the long-time ruling PRI for exemplars of where the CR oil money goes. Sure, there's no doubt all manner of featherbedding going on but it wasn't the workers skimming the huge dough and financing the rulers. These yokums here would run for the hills at the strong hint of a GAO or top-to-bottom forensic audit. But hey let's attack the real problems here--time for another raid on the HDR!

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"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED

The Tico's i talk to think President Arias is pocketing the extra money.. could be..

How hard could it be to "follow the money"? How come no one in the media has thought to ask the question "How can gasoline cost the same in CR when the price of crude has decreased from $147/barrel to $48/barrel"? In the U.S. gasoline prices have fallen in half.Am I missing something? This may become the biggest scandel to ever hit CR. (and that would take a lot) Scandel is the national pastime here.

VB,

Something I learned about a year ago - the price of gas in CR is fixed at one price set by the government. I don't understand how this works, but have confirmed this with my own eyes.

As far as I know, it hasn't dropped significantly. I imagine that since it is government controlled, it will not fluctuate with more free markets like in the US.

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http://TipsCostaRica.com for pratical advice on living in Costa Rica.
In order to write about life, first you must live it! - E. Hemingway.

A few weeks ago they announced that they had approved a 200 colon drop in the price of super.... Supposedly, they are gonna do it in increments... It went down 40 colones last week, but I don't know when it is scheduled to drop more...... Any savings will probably be offset with the dollar dropping against the colon.. oh well, just another day in paradise...

I don't drive here so this is no skin off my nose one way or the other. But I look at it like this. The tax structure here, if you want to call it that, is pretty much regressive, that is, the lower you are on the economic scale, the bigger percent of your 'income' you pay in taxes. The VAT is a wonderful example of that. Everybody gets to pay that, rich or dirt poor, but you can bet that the % of Don Oscar's income that goes to VAT is less than the girl at McDonalds. Property taxes are absurdly low. Income taxes likewise. So where does the money come from to pay for government services? The govt looks at this as a windfall, a way to raise revenue they can steal or reluctantly use to fill a pot hole once in a while or organize a parade against crime.

Despite it's vaunted high literacy rate, the education level in Costa Rica is abysmal. The voters here have no idea that when they vote for Arias' party, they are voting in the party of crony capitalism (sound familiar?). I asked a girl once if she had ever been out of Costa Rica. She said yes, Guanacaste. Don Oscar and his gang of thieves depend on ignorance to rule and steal. End of rant.

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"The only normal people are those you don't know very well." Joe Ancis

Bilko, isn’t that true of any political environment - depend upon the vote of the ignorant. It follows the same pattern as a jury trial.

In a jury trial you try to convince 12 people who are too stupid to get out of jury duty, that your client farts pure air and walks on water and the other guy is evil.

In a political campaign you try to sell the general public that your candidate is a saint; that the other candidate is the devil incarnate. It is a sales job pure and simple based around some fairly complex rules.

When people are honest about why they voted for one person as opposed to the other, the reasons can be very irrational. He had a cute smile, she looks hot, etc.

Brother DiegoC's post shows why it's so important to vote AGAINST the incumbent--or even for a third party candidate. You have to keep the buggers at least semi-honest. What's the incumbent re-election rate in national races? 90+ %? That's why gerrymandering is so important to political parties--to insure re-election. Check out the absurd lengths they'll go to and tortuous districts carved out to insure the "proper" results. Not that I've strayed from the Thread heading or anything..."

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"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED

Inside costa rica says that gas will drop another 152 colones for super by next friday...

I'm not so sure I would say the education system in CR is THAT BAD. I would have to agree there are some weaknesses. But in general, I feel the public system is, on average, better than the US. The weakness is that it is not mandatory. In otherwords, the pretty girls that hang around the gulch aren't forced to go to school. Thus, you have girls that think Guanacaste is in Nicaragua. Probably cuz they have bad or non-existent parents that never made them go to school.

My novia's little brother is in a bi-lingual private school in Rhomoser that is cheap as hell. I've looked at his subjects and his exams and the stuff doesn't look any different than the torture I went through at a private school in the US which cost 12K per year. The Country Day school is on par with any Ivy League boarding school in the US. The public schools that I've seen are open-air (which is different) but better than the schools/prisons with gangs and metal detectors in Chicago. I forget the reading and math level that our high-schools turn out, but I think it is 9th grade or less.

The public school system in America, plan and simple, SUCKS big time IMHO!!!! For our wealth, our literacy rate, especially in urban areas is embarrassing on a global, relative scale. We would rather dump billions on dying car companies, whose executives were just floundering in front of congress yesterday. Probably traumatized because they had to fly first class to Washington, instead of in their own luxury jets.

I have more to say, but now I'm high-jacking and will shut my hole...

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http://TipsCostaRica.com for pratical advice on living in Costa Rica.
In order to write about life, first you must live it! - E. Hemingway.