the pernicious Ponzi scheme, captioned above, has hit the DR. this is sad news, given Dominican propensity to spend money on gambling and other get rich quick schemes. i can just see hordes of poor, unsuspecting rubes getting wiped out by con men, left ,and right. the government should step in, and declare it illegal, to protect the uninitiated. that will never happen, as politicos are probably lining up to get on board, and fleece the public, in yet one more way.

It is sad and unfortunate, but in most cases it is usually the most needy, who in some cases even borrow what they dont have, only to get fleeced, digging themselves deeper into the hole further down then where they first started.

absolutely, guillermone. there are those who will offer the argument that the people who spend are adults, and should be able to exercise their choice to bankrupt themselves by stupid decisions, because, after all, this is a democracy. there is another take that suggests that such destructive behaviors have adverse effects on the larger society. the people who bankrupt themselves become a burden to society, in that government, oftentimes, has to subsidize their existence. the second thing is that there is no such entity as information symmetry. you and i can read, and analyze. we have the power of history on our side. we know what a Ponzi scheme, and a pyramid, really are. the average rube, who digs yuca for a living, does not, and will not. does government have a responsibility to protect the least amongst us from outright fraud? it is not the same as putting a prohibition on liquor , and cigarettes. every citizen has heard of alcohol related diseases, and lung cancer, and many have family examples of these outcomes. there are not too many people living in some village on the outskirts of Manzanillo who have ever hear of Ponzi. should the average peasant be protected from getting himself into a situation wherein he is destined to be a certain victim? should foreigners be allowed to come into this country, and victimize the poor, with fraudulent schemes, while the government sits idly by?

In Australia they are known as "chain letters" and are illegal, but difficult to eradicate. I agree that these would be very attractive here due to the Dominican desire to get rich quick, preferably without working.

I was surprised that Amway has only just hit our village - I would have thought they have a big presence here by now. Perhaps those in the exclusive upper-club are aware that Dominicans pirate everything, so there would be no market for the motivation tapes, CDs and DVDs, which are the only things that actually make money, not the laundry-power or vitamin-pills.

Also Dominicans are particularly susceptible to the "ensemble effect" as evidenced by the success of Evangelical churches here. Organizations like Amway use the ensemble effect in an almost evangelical way, to promote similar non-products - heaven on earth through miracle cures and financial windfalls.

Protecting people from their own stupidity and greed is an interesting political question. I believe it is a question of balance between authority and responsibility. If the government is expected to have some responsibility towards people in need, then it should have the authority to tell them what they can and can't do.

actually, it is exactly because of the Dominican propensity toward trying to get rich quick that i believe they need to be saved from themselves.