Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire I'm Convinced We're Being Played....

Truth.

But attention whoring is probably a less sinister motive than what I suspect.

You guys crack me up!

I’m just some random dude sitting on his couch watching YouTube travel videos and who also happens to be considering moving to a new home in a few years.

So, having looked at some overly expensive homes in NC, I scratch my head and wonder how can such a beautiful home in another country be built and sold at that price when in the U.S. the same home would probably cost 10x that amount. And then I come up with a few theories and raise the issue here to test those theories, mostly out of boredom.

Now I find out something very “sinister” is at play. So sinister, in fact, that even I don’t know what it is, lol.

Tell me Columbo, what is your theory, lol?

Go outside and take a walk. Get some fresh air.

Been outside where the air is fresh. Also been in the barn a good bit, cleaning up after the grass eaters, where the air isn't fresh.

I took a look at your post history. And decided you're not a plant. Just a hard headed whiner.

Worried about your kids being able to get a home, well help them the [bleep] out. Like I am. Like most sensible people do.

I'm now off to go fishing.

Been outside where the air is fresh. Also been in the barn a good bit, cleaning up after the grass eaters, where the air isn't fresh.

I took a look at your post history. And decided you're not a plant. Just a hard headed whiner.

Worried about your kids being able to get a home, well help them the [bleep] out. Like I am. Like most sensible people do.

I'm now off to go fishing.

Well, it it easy to find a quarter-acre lot in one location that costs more than a 4,000 square foot house on a quarter-acre, in another location.

So saying you want to leave out location makes me wonder how many houses/lots you have purchased in your life.

You cannot leave out location. It is the single most important thing.

I wasn't expecting much, but I thought for sure there would be at least a few folks who could see past the Ecuador/NC example to at least get a glimpse of the bigger picture regarding the state of our current economic system. Most people today wouldn't know free-market capitalism if it punched them in the face. What we have left of free-market capitalism soon won't be able to withstand the onslaught of transgressions it faces in today's world without help from someone or somewhere.

Free-market capitalism revolves around concepts such as scarcity of supply, consumer demand, profit motive and competition. What is currently happening in our economy reflects less and less of that each passing day. Instead we have a system orchestrated by an organized crime ring comprised of the federal government and a corporate Borg. There are a lot of folks who are convinced the federal government is corrupt, that the media is a propaganda machine, that Big Medicine trades off people's sickness instead of health, and that Big Agra and Big Food plies our food supply with toxic seed oils, GMO grains and addictive sugars such as HFCS. But God-forbid if you imply to these same people that what they think is a capitalist economy has been similarly undermined. Well, that's just a bridge too far, dammit!

Someone created a computer program recently to place multiple colored squares onto a square sheet of white paper, where each individual color represents ownership of a particular company. When the simulation is run through the program over and over, what you get is one giant black piece of paper, with a tiny white square representing individual stock ownership. The giant black blob is a corporate hivemind of most all large companies owning each other and the corresponding means of production. Black Rock owns Home Depot, State Street owns Lowes, Black Rock owns State Street, Vanguard owns Berkshire Hathaway, Berkshire Hathaway owns the mortgage lenders and maybe owns or "competes" against your local real estate brokerage. Etc., etc. And regardless of how many individual investors might own shares in these companies, they have no real input or control over how they operate. The incestuous corporate boards handle that.

Presently, on a level playing field (i.e., free-market economy), energy powered by fossil fuels and maybe fission beats the competition nearly every time, in all facets of the game. So why are expensive solar and wind and "clean" hydrogen and electric vehicles and the rationing of energy being shoved down our throats? Well, the government sees an attractive new playing field where it can set new rules in its favor and create more opportunity for its latest players. The corporate hivemind plays along and joins the fun. Why should they care? They own the oil companies and the solar companies and the wind companies and the electric companies and the car companies. They're in a win/win situation and pay the referees handsomely, and the rules of the game are rigged to ensure things stay that way.

News flash. This is not free-market capitalism. This is corporatist totalitarianism masquerading as capitalism.

Ecuador is a very beautiful country beaches and rainforest unfortunately like most countries and exploit the people it should be a very prosperous country. Fortunately a few of the countries are starting to wake up like Argentina and El Salvador. Most of the people are nice and hospitable. Although for South American standards the woman of Ecuador are definitely not the most attractive

So, over the past few months, I started looking at homes to potentially relocate and retire to in a couple years. Coincidentally, I also have a family member traveling to Ecuador in a few weeks. I began searching YouTube for Ecuador travel videos, and the search results return videos that sell real estate, presumably to folks from foreign countries (i.e., expats) looking to relocate to Ecuador.

I came across several homes in Ecuador that are amazing values compared to U.S.-based homes. Of course, folks will say it's all about location. However, let's set location aside and focus just on the material and labor costs of these homes. Something doesn't add up. In the examples below, I'll compare a 971 sq. ft., 3 bedroom 2 1/2 bath home on a 5,227 sq. ft. lot located in North Carolina for $338,000 to a modern home in Ecuador. Honestly, the NC home basically looks like a shed. If someone told me that they purchased it as a kit from the local hardware store, I'd believe them.

Now, compare it to the five bedroom, six bath, two-story, mostly brick and glass home located on a very nice lot in a beautiful setting with gorgeous views in Ecuador for $275,000. Each bedroom has a private bath and access to a patio or balcony. There is at least one brick fireplace, and a very nice outdoor cooking area. Granite countertops in the kitchen and what appears to be marble tile in the bathrooms. A Covered car port is integrated into the design. The property includes about a dozen various types of citrus trees and more banana trees with an irrigation system to keep them healthy. The list of features goes on.

Obviously, the biggest difference might be the cost of labor. But, how many man-hours of labor could it take to build the NC house-shed compared to the brick and glass home in Ecuador? Even if the labor is cheaper, I gotta believe there is a heck of a lot more hours of labor and craftsmanship required to build the Ecuador home to balance out the cost difference. The cost of materials used to build the house in Ecuador has to dwarf the cost to build the house-shed in NC.

Furthermore, Ecuador's official currency is the U.S. dollar, for whatever that is worth.

Again, just comparing the cost to build these two homes and ignoring the location, can someone explain to me what the heck is going on with home prices in the U.S.? I suspect there is something rotten going on in our economy, and it's probably connected to all the other BS. There is no shortage of (or doesn't need to be) oil, gas, chicken, beef, steel, lumber, electricity, etc., yet these necessities are becoming less and less affordable for the average hard-working American. Now, you can lump basic housing into the mix of unaffordable items. Something tells me there are folks who don't want us to have these things, and so they are artificially being priced out of the reach of most Americans. By now, we've all probably heard the saying "you will own nothing and be happy." I think the way this is being accomplished right under our noses is by making it nearly impossible for anyone to own anything because of cost.

I'm sure some Campfire Capitalists will come along shortly to tell me that I'm just a broke-dick moron who is too dumb to understand economics and too lazy to afford things. That may or may not be the case. Regardless, if this keeps up, we are lost....

Please explain this to me in a way that passes the laugh test.

Link:


Brevard, NC House-Shed

But, it's not just that lot in small-town western NC selling for $200k. It's almost everywhere in the country, and there is no REAL scarcity of land or construction materials that would be driving those costs in a REAL capitalist society. It's a fake, perverted economy that has been orchestrated and foisted onto the world.

I find it hard to believe that folks are OK with the fact that a 971 sq. ft. poorly built shed-house sitting on a 5,200 sq. ft. lot costs more than a third of a million dollars, and everyone is fine with it so long as they're convinced that it's just how capitalism works. Why can't you build a house that is similar to the home in Ecuador for your same money here, with maybe some additional labor costs? It's not, or it shouldn't be, the cost of materials. I doubt lumber and concrete and copper and polished granite and glass and tools are in any shorter supply in the U.S. than they are in a near-third world country. There is much more available land here, too.

Never mind that a significant percentage of single-family homes are being purchased by Wall Street investors so that these homes can then be rented to people who can't afford to buy them because they are competing with Wall Street investors from who knows where or what countries and probably using interest-free money they receive from the corrupt federal government through phony housing tax credits while the private individual is expected to pay in full plus an 8% usury fee, um, I mean mortgage.

I must say, up until I made this post, I would've felt like a total dumbazz for paying 1/3 million dollars to purchase a 971 sq. ft. shed-house in a no-name town sitting on top of a 5,200 sq. ft. lot without even a basement. I can't wait until a Booger King value meal costs me $50, then I'll know for sure that the 'Fire's version of capitalism is working.

But, I'm so glad I made my original post. I now realize what an idiot I am for questioning the "official" narrative about the cost of living in the U.S. and the fact that soon nobody will be able to afford a home. [bleep] our children. Let those poor, greedy little bastards figure it out. Let them eat cake....

Soon, no one will be able to afford even a modest home. Soon after, nobody will be able to afford a privately owned vehicle or the fuel to operate it. Then, no one will be able to afford clean, healthy food such as beef, chicken, fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs and milk, but I hear ground cricket flour tastes like chicken. Certainly electricity on-demand will be reserved only for the wealthy. And, this totalitarianism will all be accomplished under the guise of capitalism, so it'll be fine, and we can rest easy. Of course, our "capitalist" masters won't be giving up any of these things.

What do you think you'll ask for your home when you leave for Ecuador?