The Warts of Panama and Other Odd Subjects

　
　
　
　

　

     Wow!! What unexpected reactions!!
     After my first blog saying Baby Boomers were screwed, I had hoped to follow with postings about subjects like
… the slow, sad death of public television;
… the futility of thinking (or even dreaming) there will ever be peace in Iraq;
… the disappearance of simple courtesy in our society;
… the joke of campaign finance reform;
… and a posting about the most short-sighted city in the history of the United States:
Key West, my home and most favorite place.
     But the Baby Boomer blog struck a nerve with people who raised questions -- mostly thoughtful and a few suspicious -- that demand answers..
     So here goes.
     First, to ye of little faith: I am NOT ‘getting an honorarium from the Panama Tourist Board’. There are at least ten other countries that come immediately to mind where
Baby Boomers can live bigger, better, cheaper and safer than in the US.
     I used Panama as a prime example because the country WANTS retirees (from anywhere) to live there. Why else do you suppose it enacted laws to encourage them to do so? Why else are there 50,000 condos being built in the country right now?
     But I did NOT say it was for everyone or that it’s a perfect place. In fact, you must read the following email from a friend who lives in the same building where, five years ago, I bought a condo (now rented) in the big bad metropolis of Panama City:
     “Panama City is part New York City and part Dodge City. Laws are merely suggestions. Money is everywhere (in the upper class). There is no viable middle class. The upper class is usually anyone making $300 or more a week.     People are used to deprivation. Bridges are almost falling down, so motorists make the sign of the cross when crossing. Mass transit is chaotic, so commuting workers get up several hours earlier than necessary. Housing is based on very extended family units.    The Panamanian character is hopeful and cynical. Strongly democratic, though wishful for a strongman who can get the buses running on time and the Metro built.We have a Looney Tunes mayor whose claim to fame is that he won the local ’Dance With the Stars’ contest. His most genial idea: build an outdoor ice skating rink. Trash pickup has been terrible .. but improving.     A word about the ambiance. BTW, a private hospital SUITE costs $160 a night!     So yes, Panama does have warts .. as does anyplace. And keep in mind, my friend’s view is just of Panama City, a metropolis of 1.5 million people. The rest of the country is quite different .. with different warts.
     One thoughtful reader wondered how long my ‘rosy picture in Panama’ can last.
Good question. My hunch is it will last for the foreseeable future which, in this case, is about twenty years .. by which time the last of the Baby Boomers will already have slipped into retirement. I also believe that Cuba will open up in the not-too-distant future .. and possibly even Venezuela when Chavez finally exhausts his suffering country. But Ecuador, Nicaragua. Guatemala, Costa Rica and Belize, among others, are there right now. And if you don’t care about distance, there’s Argentina, Indonesia (Bali), Spain, Melanesia and Thailand.
     Take your pick .. but pick carefully.
     A few readers also asked what impact a mass migration of gringos might have on the environment of a country like Panama. Well, for starters, twenty-five percent of the total land mass of Panama is covered by national parks!! And that’s not counting sixteen wildlife refuges. How many countries even come close? Damn few. And there’s still plenty of empty space.
     But what’s curious is that no-one asked what impact it might have on the environment and on energy conservation in the States. Well, let’s say 350,000 Baby Boomers migrated to Panama. That’s 350,000 fewer homes that need heating in winter, and almost as many that won’t need air-conditioning in summer. That’s at least 350,000 fewer cars, and as many as 700,000 fewer people consuming food that has to be diesel-trucked or flown thousands of miles. (In Central America, at least, you drive much less, use far less A/C, and eat meat, fish, poultry, fruit and vegetables raised, caught and grown locally. It‘s so good you get spoiled. Tomatoes that taste like tomatoes? Impossible.!)

     In writing about the Baby Boomer generation, I’ve tried to make the point that there are real and viable options to watching millions of people slowly descend toward poverty as their incomes erode and their quality of life deteriorates. (AARP seems in large part to agree. Try the link at
     But my overriding purpose has been to get Baby Boomers to FOCUS on the problem. As people grow older, they often rationalize that time will solve everything and that looming issues will eventually go away. One reader (a possible candidate for what I call the ‘NaivTea Party’) actually thinks the sheer number of Baby Boomers will be enough to form a powerful voting bloc. But that’s like thinking you can stop a supertanker but putting it in reverse. By the time it stops, it’s too late.
       So please --whether you agree with every point I’ve made or not -- spread the word both to Baby Boomers and to their children that they must get out of their comfort zones and away from unreal hopes and false rationalizations. They are facing sunset years that are stark, uncomfortable and profoundly disappointing.
     That is a no nonsense, indisputable fact. Yet -- with a bit of courage and imagination -- they can still do something about it by leaving the country that has let them down.
　
Please check out my next blog: The Slow, Sad Death of Public Television
Till then, feel free to comment -- good or bad -- on this one.
Nice to be with you again.

     I love picking up my meds over the counter and paying one quarter of what they cost in the US. My doctors charge $40 for an office visit, minus 15% discount, and a little more for a house visit. I have one internist, a neuro-surgeon and a cardiologist within walking distance; the same distance from huge shopping malls and three medical centers.
     I was just in the hospital for ten days with a spine that was bleeding out from Coumadin. They got to it before I lost leg function. CAT scan, MRI, all meds ( 100 bags of painkillers mixed with antibiotics), around-the-clock medical attention and the surgeon, three doctors, pain management specialist, anesthesia and four hours on the operating table and I am now as good as new. Total cost: $20,000.
     I love it here.
     I’m a salt water fisherman and go out all day for $500, shared with four other friends. Marlin are as plentiful as rats, but I prefer the 20-40 pound dolphins. And for $150 for the whole family, nothing beats the short drive from Panama City to go peacock bass fishing. Try catching twenty to thirty per person (one to three pounders) in a morning.
     Keep up the blog, my friend.http://aarp.org/home-garden/bestplacestoretireabroad/ for a second opinion.)