dreadlocks previously said:

and Gizmo, you attacked me with unexpected vitriol , simply for suggesting that the DR look toward import substitution, and reduce its dependency on foreign inputs. that, my friend, is an expression of concern, not a put down. in case you are unaware, the current account deficit is expanding exponentially every year. that is caused by excessive foreign currency outflow. do you believe that Papa John just allows you to use their name and ingredients because you write them a polite letter of request? do you believe that the orientals would be where they are if they simply allowed everybody else to set up shop in their country, displacing local entrepreneurs by strength of cash? how many chinese heads do you count when you go into McDonalds in the USA? i know, you can get Big Macs and starbucks in Beijing, but the USA owes chinese sovereign wealth funds over a trillion dollars, not the other way around. so, before you allow some personal dispositions to cloud your judgement, inclining you to attack people, understand the gravamen and intent of the post. if you find self reliance offensive, you cause me to wonder.

dreadlocks previously said:

Mr Lautaro, there is hardly a foodstuff in any country which sells more than bagged snacks , like potato chips. everyone likes them. kids eat them for lunch. adults love a nice, salty , potato chip with their beer. they represent a massive fraction of the money spent on foodstuff in any nation, if only because they are convenient, not for their nutritous merits. now, i ask you, why on God's green earth is every bag of potato chips in this land labelled Frito Lay? are you telling me that dominicans cannot make a potato chip? it is not like making a space shuttle, fellows. housewives in Madison, Wisconsin, and Boise , Idaho, make them in their kitchens when company comes over for the tupperware party. why is it that you find that the other caribbean territories have their home grown bagged snacks, but in this country ,a foreign based concern is producing a simple thing like banana chips, and repatriating the money it garners from sales to kids in El Limon? i guess that Gizmo will invite me to start a factory, since it takes capital and expertise. i guess we have no capital to build a potato chip factory, and Dominicans cannot learn to operate a slicer and an oven

dreadlocks previously said:

Mr Lautaro, that is too powerful for me to respond to, but i will try. part of the problem is that we have fallen victim to self doubt, and the belief that the foreigners are our betters. so, we have guys who opine , in lunatic fashion, that the advent of Papa John's Pizza is a sign of progress. au contraire, mon frere. what would be a sign of progress is the opening of a major Dominican chain, and THE ACCEPTANCE OF IT BY DOMINICANS. instead of reflexively expecting it to be inferior, because it is locally conceived, if people supported it wholesale, that would be progresss. but, as you say, the gold chain and FUBU shirt gang, with the 200 dollar Jordan sneakers, have Belkis mesmerised. so, it is a sign of lower status to buy a 700 peso cellphone, because all good folks in Zoo York are using 15,000 peso blackberries. and God forbid one should contemplate buying a pair of sneakers in a flea market. that is just beneath dignity .what Manolo forgot to tell Belkis is that the gold chain and scorpion pendant really belongs to his friend from the pawnshop, who expects it back on the first monday after his return, or he forfeits the security deposit he paid to rent it for the week.

dreadlocks previously said:

and, Mr Lautaro, let it be known that countries like Japan started out after the wars with very little, except for self reliance, and planning. so, when they bought the oldsmobile or the packard, it was not in order to show off on the neighbors: it was to study and copy it. to this day, they protect local industry with an iron fist. i am not a protectionist by philosophy, but a balance has to be struck. entrepreneurs have no chance if every day some mammoth operations from diverse parts of the planet, announce yet one more "investment" here, to produce some simple thing like coconut macaroons. fellas, there are some things simple enough that we can master. the other guys are not that much smarter than us, for God's sakes!