ABOUT THE LIVING LIFE IN COSTA RICA BLOG

I (Vicki Skinner - aka "THE Sarong Goddess") created this blog in 2007 to share DETAILED Finds•Lists•Info•Events•Experiences to help bring more EASE to people living in, visiting or thinking of moving to Costa Rica since DETAILS are NOT easy to find!
I’m NOT an expert (an "expert" 2 ME knows 101%-NOT me). I believe in sharin info•helping where I can! And with over 2,200 entries, so some things might be out of date, so if you find old info PLEASE help each other by getting the updated info & sharing it with me to revise. At least you have some basic info to get you started.
VOLUNTEER TO HELP:
Better yet - do you have extra time on your hands & looking for a volunteer project? Since this blog is a labor of love & RARELY does anyone share a donation (even though MANY have said how much it's helped them), I could REALLY use help updating info. Spanish speakers ESPECIALLY welcome since my VicLish can be somewhat limited at times!!

DONATE:
Has my blog helped in any way? Helped find something•brought more EASE? More exposure or business?
I welcome you to show YOUR appreciation for my efforts!
ANY size DONATION is APPRECIATED!
(see below other ways to show your appreciation)
The easiest way is with PAYPAL - Attn: LivingLifeInCostaRica@gmail.com
(you do NOT need to have a PayPal account to do this - just a credit or debit card)
ADD INFORMATION:
Do YOU have/know of a Business•Event•News•Place•Things 4 Sale•Rent to add? Email:
LivingLifeInCostaRica@gmail.com

OTHER WAYS TO SHOW YOUR APPRECIATION FOR THIS BLOG

• APPLE LAPTOP - Do you have a Laptop you're not using? Mine recently broke so I'm using a lender. Must be new enough to run current Skypes & have an SDCard slot.
• Amazon.com or GoDaddy.com Credit•Gift Certificate (attn: SarongGoddess@gmail.com)
• Something else to share?? A gift certificate or invite for your business? I'm open!! (at times I'll add other things here that I'm seeking)

Saturday, October 13, 2012

CAJA Problems - Another Possible Different Way to See It???

The media in Costa Rica has recently been talking a LOT about problems within the CAJA (Costarican Social Security Fund) and they're now mainly saying this "sharp decline" happened between 2007 and 2010 (see an article below).

Well, if you read my things, you KNOW that I OFTEN look through life/at things through very different glasses and I have a VERY different take/thing to question on THIS topic especially!

I'm QUITE sure there are MANY factors to this - from the numerous companies (some BIG ones) that have not been making their payments on time (if at all - one of which WAS [have their paid it off?] the embassy from a major country) as WELL as the administrative "situations" they've mentioned.

But I can not help but wonder if a contributor to this problem that is DRAINING their system (I'm NOT saying ALL of it) MIGHT have to do with an increased amount of members of the CAJA services being from NON-Nationals (meaning people with "Residency" - EXpats [a LARGE % of the ones I've known that are getting a LOT of the surgeries/more serious treatments have OFTEN - NOT always - been people that have never worked a day in their lives here let alone paid more than their monthly $30 to usually WELL under $100 a month mandatory contribution] a month) draining the services from the Nationals/people who were born here???   I see SOOOO MANY non-nationals coming here and getting all sorts of surgeries/medical care and I'm hearing/knowing more Tico's having to wait for Y6-12 months to get treated for things like cancer or other serious things.  (and how many of those non-nationals are the same ones that were complaining about the Mexican's taking from the U.S. medical system or "ObamaCare" [which was NOT "HIS" creation as some form of it has been in the works for AGES!!]???  MANY I've heard!!!).   Makes one (with a conscious) step back and question that a bit eh?   I never really seen/heard of many people looking at/talking about that from THAT angle have ya'll?? 

Some people have contacted me saying the expats are only a SMALL % of the system (which is true), but I'd bet that if they did a study, they'd find that especially the American population is eating a large chunk of that up as STATISTICALLY Americans are the "sickest nation" (in part because of their diets, their eating of processed and GMO foods and MANY other reasons).

Now, if you're one of the rare people that has been living here for YEARS and working legitimately and paying into the Social Security system of Costa Rica - than I'm not talking about you.

To ME, one POSSIBLE way to HELP the PEOPLE of Costa Rica (Tico's) MIGHT be to have a SEPARATE program that NON-Nationals pay into that costs more (even if it's $100 a month to OFTEN get LOTS more in care [heck, I know MANY people that just their meds cost more]) and when those non-Nationals have drained that - THEY'RE the ones suffering, not the people who were born here and contributed their whole lives!!!

AHHHHH - I can hear it now!!  There go a few more "fans" (ah - but more things to talk about in the sad little lives for those that LOVE to bitch about me so I'm giving them a "gift" - especially since it's low/slow season!!) - OH WELL - the TRUTH can sometimes hurt eh??  Luckily I was raised with enough self-confidence to not worry about what others think about me - ESPECIALLY when I'm living AUTHENTICALLY and speaking MY Truth (which SOOO does NOT mean it's YOUR Truth and that's ALL ok!!!)!!  (it wouldn't be the first time today I've triggered someone's unresolved issues!!)

I want to do as LITTLE as I can to take from these people that have allowed me the privilege of getting to live in this country I'm calling "home" for now!!  I want to leave as little an impact/footprint to harm their land.  I just want to give back and help where I can!!!!


From another chapter in "The World According to . . . Vicki!"



A more indepth article on what's going on:
CRHoy.com/patrimonio-de-la-ccss-decayo-entre-el-2007-y-el-2010(if you don't speak/read Spanish - just lift the web address and translate it in Translate.Google.com or something like that)

1 comment:

Rob said...

I thought the paper said the Caja's problems were mismanagement. The paper mention poor medicine ordering and too many administrators. Also, the number of expat's is a small percent of the population and contributing more while laudable would have little impact.