Disappointed in Panama
The title of this blog post should be "disappointed in the CATO institute" for publishing this rather one sided article written by Juan Carlos Hidalgo. It also appeared in National review online. I support and respect the CATO institute, so when I read this article I was indeed surprised and disappointed. My friend Bob Bauman of the Sovereign Society
wrote me last week asking for my comments and unfortunately I only today got around to answering the major issues raised in the article regarding the Martinelli Administration.
This is the article title in La
Prensa regarding the increased government spending for 2011. Although there has been increases in tax revenue, all is dependent on the world economic climate and things are not looking so rosy. Yet governments continue to increase spending based on an optimistic view of the worlds economy. This article gives us a good overview of all the areas of expenditure and expresses some of the concerns about meeting them. I especially like this question from the writer. "
The projected behavior of debt, the budget of 2011 and all strategic plans of government find their reason for being in a strong pace of economic growth. What if this assumption is not met?" Good question.
This is a great article on coffee, the worlds favorite drink. As Boquete produces the best and most expensive coffee in the world, I thought it appropriate to post this story which is a bit off my beaten path. From Conducivemag.com
Ah, coffee. What would we do without you? For centuries, people have worshiped the brew. It has long been such a prominent feature in social life that it has been memorialized in music, poems, literature, and film. For many in the United States, coffee, anyway you brew it, is an important part of a daily routine. It is habitual–perhaps even ritual.
This is one of the first manufacturing operations I have heard of in Panama. Interesting and expected statement from the company, "Benalal argues that it has been difficult to find qualified personnel in Panama,
so there are workers from other reg
ions who will be working for the project locally."
If you drive between David and Bocas del Toro, you will see a large pipeline running along the road near lake Fortuna. This pipeline was put in may years ago to run oil from the Pacific to the Caribbean. Over the last year they have reversed the flow to go from the Atlantic to the Pacific and built large container tanks on either side in order to increase storage capacity. This is nearly a $500 million investment
into the new system. During the last administration there were serious negotiations going on between a consortium including Occidental Petroleum and Panama to put in an oil refinery in Chiriqui which was an investment of about $8 billion.
Nothing new in this article about the Trump project, but a nice puff piece for the developer to send
aro und an d maybe get a few sales, not that they need them. Machine translated from Americaeconomia.com
Panama is getting very serious regarding tax collection as I pointed out in a post several weeks ago and it appears they will get even more aggressive as they identify areas where large tax leaks are occurring. Anywhere folks can make cash deals to eliminate sales taxes you can be sure they will take advantage of it. Even though the free zone in colon is to be exempt from taxes, this does not apply if the goods
are going to end up in Panama. Many folks head to the free zone jewlery stores to buy goods they wear as they walk out of the zone and no one is the wiser. I guess they will have to begin strip searching to nail this one down. In any case, this half billion expected loss over a four year period is probably more guess work, like the U.S. believing that bizillions are lost to offshore tax evasions. Either way it justifies more aggressive tactics by the powers that be.
Panama needs over 12000 hospitality workers! A recent article from La Prensa highlights the challenges facing the hospitality industry in Panama. They
expect another 10,000 rooms to come online in the next few years and there is already a shortage of skilled hotel workers. Everyone I know in the industry complains of this situation and there seems to be little being done to mitigate the situation. I guess like many things in Panama, they will put that fire out when it is burning out of control. A list of the new hotels, their opening dates and number of rooms is included in this article.
The Darien Gap is so named because it is an area within the Darien jungle of Panama where the road has not been completed
connecting the two countries of Colombia and Panama. It is only a gap of 80 kilometers, but it may as well be a million miles as there is no way to drive any further south than Panama. There have always been rumblings of a plan to complete a highway and I believe if it were not for the Farc rebels and civil war in Colombia, there would be an eagerness to complete the road linking the two countries. At this time Colombia's old and new president are harping on Panama to complete the road as the
government of Colombia is investing over $600 million into a road that will basically dead end at the Colombian border. If Panama keeps it word to keep the gap as it is, Colombia will have built a road to nowhere. Here is more details on this controversial road from La Prensa.
Live work and play at Panama-Pacifico town center
Surrounded with every imaginable convenience, the Town Center is a defining community, a contemporary blend of environments in which to live, work and play. Home to private schools, supermarkets, health clinics, retail centers, restaurants, hotels and community gathering places, this is where you will go to pick up life's daily necessities, drop the kids at school and spend endless hours together with your family strolling its intimate streets and reveling in its vibrant
atmosphere. The balance of eco-friendly development, green space and walkable infrastructure is precedent setting in Latin America, creating a Town Center that offers business an unrivalled environment and its residents an incomparable lifestyle.
I found this to be an interesting article from the Korea Herald about the relationship between Panama and the government of South Korea. Besides the fact that things are hunky-dory, a number of interesting statistics come to light.
