Semi Rant inside

"BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion" (pbs) 04/26/2014 at 16:05 • Filed to: None

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Though you can probably guess what it's about...

For reasons I don't quite yet understand, it seems foreigners are under the impression that the Brazilian economy is at an all time high, specially in these times of World Cup and Olympic games, and that we have never had so much purchase power as we do now. So, you guys want to know how well the Brazilian economy is REALLY going? Let me illustrate it with today's trip to the local supermarket, a relatively large chain store with generally fair prices: Apples, oranges, ham, cheese, lettuce, bread, one bottle of shampoo, one of deodorant, two chocolate bars, total price : 109,62 reais.

Yuuup... That's how much a bit of fruit, a bit of chocolate, and living off sandwiches for two days will set you back. Inflation is back too, at a rate of 5,92%, so this is expected to continue for a while. What brings my piss to a boil, though, is why the hell isn't anybody on this yet? People be like "Yeah, inflation, that sucks. Let's not think about that!" Even collecting Diecast cars is becoming cheap because everything else is becoming absurdly expensive, what the hell guys...

Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 04/26/2014 at 16:11

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Here's the odd bit, apparently when countries have a bad economy, they win the world cup. (I'm looking at you, Spain, and Italy).

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy 04/26/2014 at 16:14

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I hope it doesn't happen this time :/

AthomSfere > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 04/26/2014 at 16:21

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Inflation is generally a good sign. 5.92%? That is a bit high, but not a horrid sign of the times...

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > AthomSfere 04/26/2014 at 16:23

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Last time we had any inflation at all, we needed to make up a whole new currency to get out of the hole...

AthomSfere > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 04/26/2014 at 16:30

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Now I am no expert in your economy, but that sounds like an over simplification of both the causes and the effects.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > AthomSfere 04/26/2014 at 16:33

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Probably, yeah... I just don't see much good in prices going up by the day while what we make remains the same...

El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 04/26/2014 at 16:39

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No idea how much 109 reais mean in dollars or what percent is that out of the avg. income...

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 04/26/2014 at 16:46

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To be honest, I don't know either, but it's a lot of cash for half a dozen items. Plus, college students don't have any income... Well, I guess other college students do, but medic school has morning, afternoon and evening classes, so, no time to get a job. We get a small pay for our clinic duty in the third year, but it's something to the order of 40 reais per semester. I don't even know why they bother, it costs more to open up a bank account and transfer the 40 bucks than the money itself.

AthomSfere > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 04/26/2014 at 16:56

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Agreed, but not seeing it...

Try to remove yourself from the experience slightly, some growth (~2%) is ideal, and even 5% or so might be good assuming the GDP keeps pace. In theory, in the long run you will make more, maybe even a higher standard or more real income (buying power not just numbers).

Not refuting your mini-rant by the way, I just always play the other side if I can see it. I am tempted to start looking into your region more.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > AthomSfere 04/26/2014 at 17:21

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See, that's the problem, we never actually see any results of said growth. Stuff keeps getting expensive, infrastructure keeps getting worse, crime rates keep going up, education keeps going down. Our public health care system, which some people somehow claim to be the best in the world, is a joke (trust me, I work there), you're more likely to die in line for treatment than get treated. What's the point of the country becoming richer if we're still getting fucked over?

El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 04/26/2014 at 17:37

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Well, without having those numbers, it's pretty hard to estimate if it's too much or not, but inflation is natural in emerging markets, economy is growing, new money get in, the size of the middle class grows and those two factors are rising general prices for most goods.

Also, Med School? That can be pretty harsh. It can be difficult academically speaking, it can be full of snobs and to be a doctor, you need guts, in more than one way. But because doctors make a lot, I'm sure that banks are generous with your student loan.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 04/26/2014 at 17:56

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Huh, yeah, there aren't really student loans in Brazil, at least none that I qualify for. You either pay upfront or GTFO... As for being too much, well, it's over a hundred bucks for a handful of crap, of course it's too much.

But hey, I hope the emerging middle class enjoys their middle classness, because I'll soon be taxed and charged straight out of it.

AthomSfere > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 04/26/2014 at 17:58

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Agreed, just reading some. Brazil seems to have stalled in a lot of ways too. It is funny because Brazil really should be a world power by now, every natural resource is there that would be beneficial now. What isn't there is control of the crime and it seems to stem from top to bottom there.

Your minimum wage is very, very close to ours too, but as memory serves most of your goods are much cheaper than ours. Your recent grocery trip though was a little steep, 109 reais/ 2.24 = $48USD. My last grocery trip was something like

Bunch of bananas

Cheese block (generic)

Peanut butter (Generic)

2 loaves of bread

1 box Cinnamon Toast Crunch

1 Box generic Lucky Charms

2 packages of Bratwurst

2 donuts

$43. I was shocked too, when did the prices of junk food get so high?!

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > AthomSfere 04/26/2014 at 18:04

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It's not just the crime, by the way. Crime, poor education, public transit, infrastructure and health are all consequences, not causes. The problem is that a huge percent of everything the sate collects in taxes (and it's not little, trust me) is used to pay the humongous bureaucratic machine, made up of impressive numbers of public servers, deputies, politicians, all living in relative luxury and with a dozen employees each. That's not corruption, by the way, that's all legal, and extremely expensive. When you factor in the insane corruption within the government, it becomes obvious why Brazil lacks funds to do anything at all.

AthomSfere > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 04/26/2014 at 18:06

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How are the elections now? Just as corrupt as ever?

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > AthomSfere 04/26/2014 at 18:09

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Oddly enough, nope. They don't have to tamper with those anymore, now that most of the hundreds upon hundreds of parties are in on the scheme.

AthomSfere > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 04/26/2014 at 18:21

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Well, at least there is sort of hope that someone could turn it around.

El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 04/26/2014 at 18:51

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Well, found an online currency converter and 110 reais are about $50, or bucks lol, I'm pretty sure that you could've got a better price at Walmart, but at the American Warlmart obviously. Other countries seem to like VAT and other consumption taxes, a little too much.

I've also checked Salary Explorer , and found out a little more about incomes in Brazil, with a median income of 7.500 BRL, those prices are decent, not convenient, not good, but decent. Also, it looks that in Brazil, PR people, get a more than double average monthly salary than people from my field(HR). Something is wrong with that country, let me guess, in Brazil, most doctors don't drive Porsches, right? Lol.

Getting back to you, it sucks that you have to do without student loans, but hey, you won't need to pay back a student loan, once you get a job, and doctors seem to earn more than other types of workers.

And making a target out of the Olympics and the Soccer Cup, isn't such a good idea. Think of all the tourists who will come to see the sporting events, and the money they will leave in the economy. Sure, the country is spending a lot to prepare, but with events like those, most of the money is being spent for infrastructure, something that every emerging economy needs. The critical issue is the cleverness in spending the infrastructure budgets. Greeks for example, poured a large amount of money in the baseball stadium, for the Athens Olympics, only to be almost abandoned, because the Greeks don't play baseball. The British however, were clever, and almost every facility built for the Olympics is either a sports arena that is currently being used for sporting and cultural activities, either other facility that has been designed with more uses in mind, and is now serving the city. For example, the residential area of the Olympic village, has been transformed into social housing and such.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > AthomSfere 04/26/2014 at 18:51

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Not me, though, I'm on my way out...

AthomSfere > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 04/26/2014 at 18:54

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Yea, whats the plan?

I will say, one thing would draw me to Brazil: The women! Holy crap the women!

?w=919&h=690

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 04/26/2014 at 18:59

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Oh boy, you should see our infrastructure "imporovements"... They're nowhere near completion yet, but you should totally see them if they ever are.

Also, average income is moot, since the distribution of said income is extremely biased. You have a handful of people making a lot of money on large, tax exempt companies, and you have people who work 5 monther per year only to cover taxes.

And no, the majority of doctors don't drive Porsches, the majority of nobody drives Porsches, the majority of everybody pegs the Corolla as a luxury car, including Toyota, for pricing them well into the 80 grand area. For a Corolla.

But yeah, I get it, Brazil's doing awesome! We're so rich right now, we earn so much money, our infrastructure is flawless and we're all friendly, beautiful, hospitable people! Asses! Cachaça! Soccer! Carnaval! Fun!

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > AthomSfere 04/26/2014 at 19:01

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Oh yeah, because every woman in Brazil looks like that. My plan is pretty obvious, graduate, figure out an internship or whatever in Canada or New Zealand (because the US is kind of a bitch to pull off), never come back.

AthomSfere > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 04/26/2014 at 19:03

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They don't? The internet lied to me?

Tough choice on the two countries there, Canada is bigger and more preferable in some ways but way too cold for me. I want to move somewhere it never gets below about 50.

New Zealand would probably win for me.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > AthomSfere 04/26/2014 at 19:04

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Cold is probably the main reason I'd move to Canada. I can't stand anything over 15°C.

AthomSfere > AthomSfere 04/26/2014 at 19:11

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Weird, ever lived in the cold? Its horrible!

El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 04/26/2014 at 19:55

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Haha, you remind me of my grandpa. I never said that everything is great in Brazil, but I do watch my fair share of documentaries, and I think I've watched like 3 or so, about Brazil(one about all the infrastructure that's being built for the Olympics and World Cup(including a huge dam to produce cheap electricity), one about military like police squads who try to put the drug cartels in their leash and one about Brazil's road from basically a third world country to one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Oh, and there was another one about a British nimrod traveling all over the world, and one episode featured Brazil.

Obviously the country has its problems and many people can't get a new car that easy, but it is in a better position than it was say 20 years ago, and even in the US and EU, are families who can't afford a new car, the Porsche thing was a joke, we have around here, about the Porsche addiction that can be found at American doctors and lawyers.

Brazil doesn't have Mexico's advantage, of being in NAFTA, and a rivaling entity of SAFTA wouldn't bring the same advantages as the other large enough country in the region to trade with, is Argentina, and its economy isn't very pink either.

Still, if you want to blame someone, blame history. The countries that were colonies of Britain, did good, as the British wanted developed colonies, so they can benefit from trade with them. Spain and Portugal on the other side, backed by the Pope, believing that God created the new world especially for them, only cared about the gold, and natural resources, and not so much about the development of their colonies(well, because of their conservative nature, they didn't care too much about their own technological development, as during the industrial revolution, they fallen behind countries like Britain, Germany, and even their Latin cousins of France and Italy).

El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! > AthomSfere 04/26/2014 at 20:09

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I'm thinking what Japan could've done if it had Brazil's resources. Probably would've kicked the combined ass of the US and China.

Oh, and giant real mecha. robots everywhere.

El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 04/26/2014 at 20:12

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So, you say that avg. Brazilian women are ugly?

AthomSfere > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 04/26/2014 at 20:15

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Your damn right! Even some of the resources of some of the other nations doing nearly as well. No ore, little land, lots of people... How has this nation been in the top 2/3 nations for so long? How does it not look more like Brazil or Jamaica for example?

I'd bet if Japan owned even half of the resources of Brazil or the USA they would be leagues ahead of us. In other words, if they had been successful in China in the 30's/ 40's and not bombed Pearl Harbor we would likely be the 2nd wealthiest nation.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 04/26/2014 at 20:41

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Yeah, well, and I've watched a handful of documentaries on the amazing military technology deployed by the US in the middle east, and we all know how that turned out. I'd love to live in the Brazil featured in those documentaries, I really would, but that place doesn't exist. All those pretty numbers, averages, fastest growing economy ranks, all of that stuff is bullshit until you've lived here. Until you've had your car break down because of adultered fuels. Until you've had half your early income taken away in taxes for services the government will not provide. Until you've had to pay a second time to get said services from a private provider.

You say Brazil is better today than it was 20 years ago? Fuck that. I say it's worse today than it was 4, 5, 10 years ago, and it's likely to get even worse because what little actual improvements were made by the governments active towards the end of the 90's have been sistematically disassembled by the last few governments. You want a documentary? Here, watch this:

That's the Brazil we actually live in.

Also, I fail to see the point in blaming history when the country is still going to the shitter because of what's being done today. Yeah.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 04/26/2014 at 20:52

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I've no idea what the "average Brazilian woman" looks like. I'm trying to say that if you expect to walk down the street and feel like you're in the middle of a Victoria's Secret show, you're gonna have a bad time.

Kickplate > AthomSfere 04/28/2014 at 02:14

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Good god man. WTF? You must crash hard in the afternoon.

Kickplate > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 04/28/2014 at 02:25

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So you spent like $50. I don't know the qty of everything you bought, or if you bought $20 shampoo and artisan chocolate bars. But I do know that in the US if you buy good quality foods, meats that don't contain ammonia, breads that don't contain petroleum fillers, nothing with colors produced by crushed bugs, then you could easily spend $50 per day for two people. From what I understand, the Brazilian inflation rate isn't quite as bad as it was in the US in the 70s. But your government has gotta get that shit under control because it's devastating to the health of an economy.

AthomSfere > Kickplate 04/28/2014 at 06:14

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What do you mean? From all the crud there?

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > Kickplate 04/28/2014 at 08:05

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That stuff isn't even available where I live, I bought the brazilian equivalent of america's mass produced goods. I could understand fruit being expensive if it was imported, but that stuff's grown here!

Kickplate > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 04/28/2014 at 09:18

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You're very lucky in that regard. Americans are all fat as cows because of the low quality foods they eat combined with general inactivity. What's definitely concerning is the rapid rate that basic foods are increasing.

Kickplate > AthomSfere 04/28/2014 at 09:22

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Yah. Except for the bananas and maybe the peanut butter. I'd be a zombie by 2pm with the stuff on this list.

AthomSfere > Kickplate 04/28/2014 at 12:53

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Most of that stuff is meant to be spread over a week or by the kids, not for me ;)

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > Kickplate 04/28/2014 at 13:28

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To be honest, it's not too different here. Junk processed foods are cheaper than stuff like ham, cheese and fruit. Ramen is like 2 bucks a pop. If I were to make an actual meal, I'd spend well over 60 bucks on meat alone.

El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 05/03/2014 at 18:42

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Haha, I had to take a look on my blog the realize that I forgot to answer you.

Well, history can leave marks on the mindset of a country, they way a country is forged can influence the way it thinks and acts in the present. Fox example, a society who was exposed to the ideas of the Age of Enlightenment, is more likely to be more tolerant, opened to democracy and governance for the good of the people(as opposed to governance for the good of the leaders), than a society who wasn't exposed. Or the Eastern European states are almost in every aspect, years behind the Western European states, mostly because the Western states never been exposed to the direct influence of the Byzantine Empire, Ottoman Empire and the Soviet Union.

El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 05/03/2014 at 18:58

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I obviously don't expect that, but I do expect them to smile a lot, and do more exercises than the American women, you know capoeira on the beach, in the morning, samba during the evening. Am I right?

Or should I stop reading tourist brochures.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 05/03/2014 at 23:43

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Yeah... about those brochures, I don't know where they get those ideas. I don't live near a beach, but I don't think I ever saw anybody doing it when I go, same for samba in the evening. People only do that on TV. :p

There's a large park near my place, people go there to walk and run, ride bikes, hang out, play ball and LARP, nothing too exotic