That Haiti is so poor? I have not googled or studied it enough to have an answer. Kinda strange since the Dominican Republic is not nearly as bad off.

From what little I've read, the DR has had a somewhat less corrupt government over it's life; and Haiti has higher population density, going all the way back to having a larger slave population when it was a colony. In one of Jared Diamond's books, he makes the case that the DR has had less environmental damage from logging because one of the DR's past leaders was actually in the lumber business and prevented everyone except his buddies from logging public land. I assume the biggest issue is their history of corruption, resulting in more poverty and more overpopulation.

Yeah, corruption (human nature) may be a big issue.

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83 SD

84 CD

There is no doubt corruption existed after 1960 when independence was granted. However, in the 25 years following independence, the not so eco-minded greedy lumber people bought out the sugar cane farmers, the rum distillers moved (I knew a guy in one of the rum distilling families named Betaincourt) and deforested Haiti completely, causing much of the topsoil to blow into the sea, leaving what is known as boue-gadoue or slushy mud. Nothing can grow in it, and in places where the water table is low, roads just melt away.

Personally, I believe that the populace lacks the know-how and the will to do what must be done. The earthquake didn't help matters, but other islands have had serious quakes and storm damage, yet they have bounced back.

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Strelnik
Invest in America: Buy a Congressman!

1950 170SD
1951 Citroen 11BN
1953 Citroen 11BNF limo
1953 220a project
1959 180D
1960 190D
1960 Borgward Isabella TS 2dr
1983 240D daily driver
1983 380SL
1990 350SDL daily driver alt
3 x Citroen DS21M, down from 5
3 x Citroen 2CV, down from 6

^Wouldn't surprise me.
They didn't learn from Easter Island.
Seems even Banda Ache has rebuilt.

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83 SD

84 CD

Debt to the West; mostly to French and the US.

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1979 Black on Black, 300CD (sold), 1990 Black 300SE, Silver 1989 Volvo 780, 1988 300CE (vanished by the hands of a girlfriend), 1992 300CE (Rescue).

Some debt has been forgiven, don't know any details tho.

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83 SD

84 CD

It wasn't the pact with the devil?

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

LOL, forgot about that.

I'll blame the population. Its their country, if its so bad they need to fix it. Either vote the corrupt leaders out of office or hang them, one way or another fix it.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

A few years ago in Nat'l Geographic I think, or maybe Scientific American, they had a world map, color coded by arable land (that stuff will grow in). There was almost a 100% correlation between arable land and wealth. Even in industrialized areas, there was a correlation to agriculture. So if you can't grow anything there then that is an issue.

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1998 C230 330,000 miles (currently dead of second failed EIS, yours will fail too, turning you into the dealer's personal human cash machine)
1988 F150 144,000 miles (leaks all the colors of the rainbow)
Previous stars: 1981 Brava 210,000 miles, 1978 128 150,000 miles, 1977 B200 Van 175,000 miles, 1972 Vega (great, if rusty, car), 1972 Celica, 1986.5 Supra

"A little revolution now and then is a healthy thing, don't you think?"

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1982 300GD Carmine Red (DB3535) Cabriolet Parting Out
1990 300SEL Smoke Silver (Parting out)
1991 350SDL Blackberry Metallic (481)

"The thing is Bob, its not that I'm lazy...its that I just don't care."

The numbers are staggering, an estimated 150,000 dead. But the total population count is even more incredible - they must have been barely surviving as it was.

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1985 380SE Blue/Blue - 230,000 miles
2012 Subaru Forester 5-speed
2005 Toyota Sienna
2004 Chrysler Sebring convertible
1999 Toyota Tacoma

I don't agree. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Peru, Ecuador, all have very little land, but either used other resources or created new industries like Abu Dhabi and UAE.

On the flip side, most of Central America is poor and highly arable.

It's the will of the people and their tolerance for corruption or incompetence.

For example Michigan is very arable but poor, mostly because of the tolerance for corrupt leaders like Kwame Kilpatrick, the felon-mayor who lives in a gated community but only has 6.00/month to pay as disposable income on his restitution bill of $1,000,000.00.

Not to mention greedy leaders in the UAW, GM and Chrysler who ruined their companies and the state for personal gain.

Then there's the incompetence of the Michigan legislature.

I could go on and on. Instead I will say:

HA HA I don't care, my boss just sent me to ORLANDO for a week and it's sunny everywhere! I have left the dungeon-state!! Haven't been back in 25 years since I lived here.

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Strelnik
Invest in America: Buy a Congressman!

1950 170SD
1951 Citroen 11BN
1953 Citroen 11BNF limo
1953 220a project
1959 180D
1960 190D
1960 Borgward Isabella TS 2dr
1983 240D daily driver
1983 380SL
1990 350SDL daily driver alt
3 x Citroen DS21M, down from 5
3 x Citroen 2CV, down from 6

Makes sense.
Check out the link.
The U.S. is behind Haiti.

http://www.sitesatlas.com/Thematic-Maps/Arable-land-and-permanent-crops.html

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83 SD

84 CD