Kitty asked If I would add a perspective. I have 2 properties in
Belize, one a house in a small town of 15,000
(http://www.kumquatcottage.com) and also a 93 acre piece of jungle.
In the jungle I have paths cut where I grow 60+ species of fruits (I
am farming this way to prevent damage to the ecosystem--instead of
the often used clear-cutting of several acres.)

I am planning to live there year round eventually, making money in
the US at the present.

A small country really changes your perspective on government
control. In a country the size of Massachusetts, but with a
population of only 275,000 (the size of Saint Paul where I reside in
Minnesota) the government is basically non-existent. It just can't
function on all the control levels that the US or Canada can. So
while some items might not be readily available, there aren't any
agencies that have time to be concerned with what I am consuming nor
how I am obtaining it (the exception is with marijuana and other
drugs that the US officials keep an eye on.)

[How exactly do US agencies interfere in any activities related to marijuana or
other US regulated chemicals by the residents of Belize? --Paul]

[This is interesting as here in Iceland which has just about the same population
(just over 300.000 residents) the governmental agents appear to have plenty of
time as they inspect nearly every single shipment of supplements I order.
-°Olafur]

[Good point, Olafur. I suspect the difference is because Iceland is much more
technologically and commercially advanced than Belize, and thus, has the money
to afford all this government. And unfortunately its citizens appear to want all
this government interference with their lives and are willing to pay for it. I
suspect that they want it because they have been brainwashed to want to be
"equal" with the citizens of the European Union. --Paul]


No one sends you a
income tax or property tax bill-- they don't have the money to do it
(while I voluntarily go to the capitol of Belmopan to pay mine every
March,

[Is this a property or income tax that you pay voluntarily? In either case why
do you pay it? What services are you getting for this payment that you could not
get otherwise in some other manner? --Paul]

[Don't you own the property on which your house resides and didn't you pay the
full price for it when you bought it? If so then why on earth would you want to
pay anyone for being there, it's your property right? You're not renting it are
you? -°Olafur]

[Olafur, you owe us all an explanation of how government in Iceland gets its
money for all the services it provides to various Icelandic citizens. I know
there is a large VAT (value added tax) but is there not also tax on property
including real estate owned which pays for the city services (police, utilities,
garbage, etc - not that this should be provided by taxes, but I assume it is)?
What government taxes do your parents pay on the apartment/condominium they own?
In addition to property taxes, what income taxes do they and you pay? Does your
tuition at school fully pay the cost of your schooling? (Olafur is bogged down
with studies right now, so he'll have to respond in a follow-up.)
Governments get their money from the people who live and visit or do business
within their geographical boundaries - or in the case of the US, also citizens
living elsewhere; property taxes is one of the many schemes they use. **Kitty]


many of my neighbors say they haven't kept up with taxes in
years.) The funny part is that people have built up more of an
honor system than I have ever seen anywhere else.

[I suspect this is a result of smallness, lack of anonymity and everyone easily
knowing everyone else. This kind of atmosphere is also extant in small towns in
the US and Canada, and it used to be even more often found before the enormous
ability to travel far and communicate indirectly came about. In my childhood
most people in a small town knew of or about each other and all interacted as
neighbors. --Paul]


"Well, I pay my
taxes because I agreed to, and they need that money to pay teachers
and other workers."

[Is this quote an example from someone else of the reason s/he pays taxes, ie.
of this "honor system" as it relates to paying taxes? If so to whom and in what
way did this person "agree" to pay taxes. Perhaps you did as a condition of
being allowed to live there. --Paul]


Of course everyone is related to everyone else
so that teacher or policeman is your cousin's wife's brother.

[The teachers, police and other government workers should be paid for services
by those people who use their services or want them to be available in case they
are needed, just as with any other purchase of a product or service in the
marketplace, rather than simply because the money is needed by those types of
service people. --Paul]


I didn't invest in Belize with the notion that it was the best place
for self-government, and perhaps it is not. But I am amazed at the
ways that everyone polices themselves and the social networks built
up everyone "owing each other favors" rather than paying money for
many services.

[This barter arrangement is totally reasonable so long as the "favors" are
clear, are as evaluated by the person owed and are eventually paid. They are no
different than work done or property sold with delayed payment whether in money
or in equivalent services or property as evaluated by the person owed and
clearly specified up front. If there is no clarity and full eventual payment,
then this system can be every bit as frustrating and divisive to personal good
will as is any money based system. The fact that the people there appear to
"police" themselves, ie, they act responsibly to actually make the payments of
the "favors" is the key ingredient to make such a system work well. --Paul]


It has certainly made me rethink the the false sense
of security and safety that citizens of the US have.

[I don't see how this statement follows from the previous ones. --Paul]


As for life extension chemicals, perhaps I will have to import them,
or perhaps I will go into business and start a lab. Don't know
yet. But the government "approval" would be the least worry:
everything would be about capital and whether there is a market for
the services.

[Thanks, Preston, for giving us some information about Belize and what you find
sufficiently worthwhile enough to want to live there. Of course as you can see,
there are questions we 3 hope you will answer. **Kitty]