dreadlocks previously said:

Atabey says

What's wrong can't find scientific backing and can only rely on family connection and Sports Blogs as your source material

trying to downplay the worthiness of a relative of mine as an expert smacks of jealousy. hey, Atabey, it is no fault of mine that nobody in your bloodline advanced beyond jugando gallo. it is what it is. it is called ¨raw material¨. you cannot make silk purses out of pigs´ears. your kids still have a chance to become great exemplars of humanity. that, however, would necessitate that you vacate the post of role model, turning it over to someone who can teach them that chicanery, skullduggery, and tigueraje will only get them into Riker´s.

stillhere previously said:

Wooooooooowww did this get a little off topic???????


US$110 billion in infrastructure ..... was that not the topic????

I really think you guys have more in common than you would both like to admit and your both caught up in a personal tit for tat about nothing that has to do with the topic at hand... try to agree to dis-agree and leave the personal insults in the playground.

I got to about page 9 before I skipped to the last page, as I could see nothing of any use being said.
Don't get me wrong, all have brought up relevant arguments about the question of money and infrastructure and yes I agree with most and see truths in all argument about how people work in different climates.

The most skipped thing about South Korea analogy is "Education"
http://www.visualeconomics.com/how-countries-spend-their-money/
And here we can't even pass a 4% education.

Ok back to the money and infrastructure.. These are my thoughts and you may agree or dis-agree and I'm always willing to learn and listen to others ideas, so feel free to respond with insights and thoughtful comments.

I see one big problem with large amounts of money being spent on infrastructure here. The people who get these contracts to do the work get payed before the job is done. From contract work I have done in other countries is, you put in a your quote including all cost, you get the contract and go and get finance or a deposit to start if needed. You do the job and when the work is finished to the satisfaction of the client you get your money.

Now before you all start I'm not saying it all works this way you may get running cost payment and so on, but it seem to me there are to many contracts payed in full before any work is done.. eg last week on the news, a road was paid in full and not one day of work had been done or even looked to be done any time soon. Until government contracts are given to the company that can give the best price for the best job on time and no money under the table to get the contract, things will not change.
Now this is just one of many things that need to be addressed in regards to corruption under the table deals and wasted money in this country.

look forward to constructive comment and ideas.
Sorry if this went on and if you think I could of said it fewer words??? hahahahhaha

Atabey previously said:




Yes, you point out one important and crucial part of any large scale scheme to modernize and transform the infrastructure of DR. But the issue that began to divide us was whether or not massive infrastructure development could be viewed independently as a trans-formative experience for the DR's drive to modernize. I stated that while it was true that modernization was more than just infrastructure, this development was vital in achieving the goal of development in the DR. And then it got into some questionable "racial and cultural issues" later on corrected to mean just "Cultural accumulations practices" that created roadblocks for DR's modernization drive, etc. You can check out the posts.

I don't question the fact that the DR has many deficiencies at hand and that changing poor practices throughout society is not a necessary condition for advancement. I question the notion that it'll always be so. Dready and others have a half-empty inclination, I and some others have a half-full inclination regarding these developments. And as one example I pointed to the sacrifice and determination of many young boys in the Dominican Republic to excel at the sport of Baseball. How the quest to help the family and for fame and fortune did raise the level of individuals to even reach the highest most monetarily compensated reaches of that Global professional enterprise. Change is possible and Dominicans aren't some damaged population with little chance to break loose from the poor practices of yore.

dreadlocks previously said:

this is a worn out subject, but i would like just a simple answer, Atabey. what exactly does some impoverished youth from a wooden shack in a rural backwater SACRIFICE in order to play baseball? given the fact that the dictionary defines SACRIFICE as giving up something important in order to achieve that which one perceives to be more important. so, just what, exactly, is this IMPORTANT THING, or things, that a 15 year old youth gives up in order to play baseball?