Panama Investor Blog

What would Thomas Jefferson say?

Once in a great while I find something that changes my life in a very positive way that I want to share with the world. About 6 months ago I stumbled on a podcast called the Thomas Jefferson hour and everyday since then I listen to one or more of over 150 episodes of  Thomas Jefferson's view on past and current event.
Clay Jenkinson has spent 20 years studying and playing Thomas Jefferson and he does a weekly interview that shows just how incredible a man the writer of the U.S. declaration of Independence was. Now more than ever, we could all use a dose of our founding fathers wisdom. I encourage each of you to take the time to listen to any of the programs and you will probably be hooked like me. Go here to see a list of episodes. Also available on Itunes.

I'm back!

Actually, I have been back for over a week, but things are a bit hectic with much to catch up on in my personal and business life. On top of that my computer hard drive decided to crash upon my return making life just a bit more interesting. A number of readers wrote to ask if I am "OK" and I can assure you that I am, but I need a few more days to catch up before I can begin posting. I am looking forward to a interesting new year of life in Panama.

Merry Christmas to all, and a happy new year

Well dear readers, I am off for a holiday in fantasy land, AKA Disney World. It is appropriate that we spend our Christmas this year in a world where dreams come true and every story has a happy ending. Checking the hotel occupancy rates show we can expect a lot of company. People are still spending on family entertainment, but I bet the spending at the Disney shops at the end of each ride will be down significantly. I will have an opportunity to spend some fun time with my three sons, two daughters and a brother I have not seen in a few years.

2009 promises to be an interesting year as the Chinese like to say. The challenges that lay ahead for us are unprecedented, but not beyond our abilities to endure and maybe even prosper. Although I am pessimistic about the worlds economic future, I am very optimistic about the ability of the individual to to overcome adversity. Most of the adversities we must deal with have to do with the actions or inaction of government. That is the cause for most of the booms and busts that continue to plague us throughout history. With that in mind I leave you with a few of my favorite quotes. Feel free to add your own. Merry Christmas!

Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide. – John Adams (1814)

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. – Benjamin Franklin

Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner. – James Bovard (1994)

The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground. – Thomas Jefferson

None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free. – Goethe

When the government's boot is on your throat, whether it is a left boot or a right boot is of no consequence. – Gary Lloyd

The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule. – H.L. Mencken

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.' Edmund Burke

[On ancient Athens]: In the end, more than freedom, they wanted security. They wanted a comfortable life, and they lost it all – security, comfort, and freedom. When the Athenians finally wanted not to give to society but for society to give to them, when the freedom they wished for most was freedom from responsibility, then Athens ceased to be free and was never free again. – Edward Gibbon

A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves. – Edward R. Murrow

Can our form of government, our system of justice, survive if one can be denied a freedom because he might abuse it? – Harlon Carter

It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong. – Voltaire

A little government and a little luck are necessary in life, but only a fool trusts either of them. – P. J. O'Rourke

The most fundamental purpose of government is defense, not empire. – Joseph Sobran (1995)

The best government is the one that charges you the least blackmail for leaving you alone. – Thomas Rudmose-Brown (1996)

If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it's free. – P.J. O'Rourke (1993)

New Panama opportunities

From time to time I post opportunities for investment, partnership, specials skills and services directed at the land development industry in Panama. Here are the latest entries:

http://primapanama.blogs.com/panama_opportunities

Flood relief project in Panama needs more help

Last week I sent out a request to my readers in Panama for help with flood  victims in Soloy, a region of the Ngobe Buble Comarca, who are displaced after a catastrophic flood occurred on September 3rd. Many responded and I received a letter from the organizers thanking everyone for the help. They are still working on relief efforts and could use additional help, so I'm sending this out to my entire readership in the hope that you may want to participate in this worthy humanitarian effort.

For more information please go to http://boqueteoutdooradventures.com/soloy

Panama wins first olympic gold

Congratulations to Irving Saladino and to Panama! Joyous news indeed as Panama wins its first gold metal in the Olympics. The local press is full of news about the win and the people are ecstatic. Panamanians are very enthusiastic about their sports and when their countryman is recognized as the best in the world, it is big news. When you consider the size of the country it really is an incredible feat.

More from xinhuanet.com
Panamanians celebrated excited on Monday the gold medal Irving Saladino won in long jump with 8.34m at the Olympic Games of Beijing, since this was the first gold Panama ever won at the Olympics.

This is the first gold medal Panama wins in the history of its participation at the Olympic Games, previously it has won two bronze medals by the runner Lloyd La Bech during the Olympic Games of London 1948.

    David Saladino, father of Irving Saladino, said that "Irving has promised me to win the gold medal for Panama, and he did it" and he added that "I'm the happiest man of the world."

Immigration regulations finally available

What was to be a week or so from receipt of a draft has turned into months, but at last we have the new immigration regulations. These were printed in the gazette so they are official. We are having them translated into English and should have it sometime next week, I hope.

Here is the Spanish version

Download reglamento_nueva_ley_de_migracion.pdf

Panama Investor Blog

So you’re thinking about Panama? Maybe as a place to invest, live or just spend a few months a year.  Well, you need to do your homework and there is no better place than the Internet to find out about Panama. But, you will have to wade through a lot of information in order to get to what you hope is the truth.

That is, unless you consider a free subscription to Sam Taliaferro’s Panama Investors blog. Why trust Sam? What makes him such a reliable source?

It is not because Sam has lived in Panama since 1997 or because he has invested millions of dollars into Panama’s real estate and resort markets. It is not because he is credited with having started the current Real Estate boom that is bringing billions of dollars of foreign direct investment into the country or the fact that he has been quoted by such important publications as the Economist, Fortune, Financial Times and hundreds of blogs and news articles around the world. It should not be because he is married to a beautiful Panamanian woman and that they have three beautiful Panamanian children. None of these are good enough reasons to trust his judgment.

The real reason can be summed up in two simple words, honesty and Integrity. Sam has the honesty to tell it like is, the good, bad and ugly of Panama, and has been doing so for nearly four years with his Panama Investor blog. He has the integrity to tell you the truth about important issues that may affect your investment, lifestyle or security in the country, even when it may hurt his own investments. This is why thousands of people from all over the world subscribe to this hard-hitting, “tell it like it is” Panama Investor blog.

At least once a week Sam sends out an email to his subscribers with the weeks headlines that may include information on the many changing laws regarding immigration, taxes, security, banking, real estate, structuring and many other subjects. He regularly post articles from local papers and translate what he considers important to his readers. He also regularly posts about tourism and master planned communities all around the Americas in order to compare them to the real estate opportunities that lay in Panama.

Sam spends hours each day scanning the many news articles that come out and filters it down to the important information you need to know. Each post provides commentary on why this matters to him and why it should matter to you. Over 3000 posts are archived in categories so you can find information on just about every investment subject.

So if you want to read blogs or websites that tell you all the great things about Panama, this is not the one for you. But if you want to know about the safety of investing or living in Panama, from someone who really cares about the future of the country, you should subscribe. After all, it’s free, so what do you have to lose except some valuable time. Let Sam spend his valuable time so you can maximize yours!

Living & Aging Well In Central America

My friend and associate, Paul McBride, has launched a very interesting blog dealing with one of my favorite subjects, health and wellness. With the advent of  age management and other new technologies, we are finding more reasons than ever to be excited about the opportunity to live a longer and happier life. One of the main reasons I chose Boquete as a place to live and work was the healthy lifestyle. Fresh air and clean water are just a part of the reason why so many people live so long here in the high country.

Now Paul has discovered a kind of fountain of youth that has dramatically changed his life and he will be sharing his adventure with readers on his new blog. Like me, Paul is an avid researcher and gathering information and distilling it into something digestible for the layman is one of his skills. If you want to live longer and happier here in Central America or anywhere you happen to call home, I encourage you to subscribe.

Excerpt;

Advances in the science of medicine are increasing at an astonishing pace. A small, but vocal, segment of the medical community is currently turning the idea of health care upside down. Instead of focusing on the symptoms of disease (reactive medicine) they are looking at the root causes of illness and advocating lifestyle changes that will prevent the most common forms of diseases while increasing the quality of life (proactive medicine). Recent discoveries in diet and nutrition, vitamin supplementation, hormone therapy, exercise and other scientific advances are challenging the way traditional medicine views health care and is empowering people to take a more active role in living longer and healthier lives.

The purpose of this blog is to give readers the opportunity to view articles on a wide range of subjects relating to their personal well being including advances in health care science, age management practices, research papers and new breakthroughs that are changing the way we view our lives and our health.

Information is power and through the postings on this blog I will present my readers with articles that will help them make informed decisions about their own health and lifestyle.

Joining me on this blog will be Dr. Octavio Sousa from Clinica Sousa in Panama City, Panama. Dr. Sousa is a practicing physician trained in bariatric medicine and the leading authority on age management in Central America. With over 12 years of active practice under his belt and with experience in treating thousands of patients, Dr. Sousa’s will be providing valuable commentary and insights on many of the articles we post.

Click here to go to Paul's blog...

Advances in the science of medicine are increasing at an astonishing pace. A small, but vocal, segment of the medical community is currently turning the idea of health care upside down. Instead of focusing on the symptoms of disease (reactive medicine) they are looking at the root causes of illness and advocating lifestyle changes that will prevent the most common forms of diseases while increasing the quality of life (proactive medicine). Recent discoveries in diet and nutrition, vitamin supplementation, hormone therapy, exercise and other scientific advances are challenging the way traditional medicine views health care and is empowering people to take a more active role in living longer and healthier lives.

The purpose of this blog is to give readers the opportunity to view articles on a wide range of subjects relating to their personal well being including advances in health care science, age management practices, research papers and new breakthroughs that are changing the way we view our lives and our health.

Information is power and through the postings on this blog I will present my readers with articles that will help them make informed decisions about their own health and lifestyle.

Joining me on this blog will be Dr. Octavio Sousa from Clinica Sousa in Panama City, Panama. Dr. Sousa is a practicing physician trained in bariatric medicine and the leading authority on age management in Central America. With over 12 years of active practice under his belt and with experience in treating thousands of patients, Dr. Sousa’s will be providing valuable commentary and insights on many of the articles we post.

Click here to go to Paul's blog...

Who reads this blog?

Food for thought. About three months ago I placed a free widget on my blog that tracks the location of the IP addresses of visitors. Below is a image of the demographics that you can click to enlarge. You can also click on the bottom right side of my blog to get more details.

When looking at this map of thousands of visitors, it is interesting to consider that we all have one thing in common and that is an interest in this little country.

	distance in which individuals are clustered
	Dot sizes:  = 1,000+  = 100 - 999  = 10 - 99  = 1 - 9 visits

The size of the dots represent the number of visitors from that area since May 6 2008 when I installed the tracker. The legend gives you an idea of where the concentrations of readers come from.
Obviously North America and Europe are heavily represented, but I am amazed that there are readers scattered around all the continents. Even Africa, Greenland, Iceland, Asia, Southeast Asia, India, South America and just about every other corner of the world is represented. To think that an individual can sit in his own home and reach out to people scattered all around the globe, shows the power of ideas and the reach of the internet.  Panama truly is the center of the universe.