Fundamentally, economic progress depends upon having enough honesty and good will in the culture to allow trust. Without trust in your fellow citizen it is **impossible** to make the contracts and enforce the contracts needed to build a local business, a local community, and finally a nation. Without honest good will, trust becomes impossible. The end result is brutal tribalism and loyalty only to a clan or gang.
So...Yes, fundamentally, their plight is their own. If they are failing to make progress, and if they elect corrupt people to lead them, the first place to look is inside their own souls.
Conservatives understand this principle of honest good will. It is why we are so distressed to see the cultural and moral dry rot growing around us. We know that in time, if it continues, the U.S. will be a banana republic as well. We will be ruled by warlords.
I disagree with your premise. So called Conservatives are no less inclined to reap the benefits off the hard working efforts of their employees than Liberals are. Business is business be it either Left or Right and "honest good will" does not exist in the final profit line that determines whether a company will remain open or close down.
Central America has always been a culture of the "Haves and the Have-nots" with not much in between. If questioned about their political affiliations I am sure the "Haves" would have stated overwhelmingly that they were Conservative.
Look at our country's history with the auto industry and the unions. You know why the unions were formed.........
Our country is still rife with "conservative" run companies profiting from the hard work of their employees but thats just the way it is, there is nothing wrong with that.
My issue with the poster I replied to was his condemnation of the people of Guatamala by calling it a dump and blaming it on the people like Mr. Sanchez who made it way. Mr. Sanchez and the other people like him are not responsible for their economic conditions. For most of them politics is secondary to their trying to ekk out a living to provide for their families under the conditions I stated previously. But one thing is assured, there is no welfare state nor free medical assistance for the ill or injured in these Central American countries.
While I vociferously condemn illegal immigration, the Christian humanitarian in me realizes that it is a deeper problem than "black and white", "right vs. wrong" and the abject hatred towards Mr. Sanchez on this thread is very discouraging coming from fellow conservatives who rail against democrats calling us the party of "no compassion".
I have no answers to these questions but I certainly cannot condemn what Mr. Sanchez has done in order to provide for his family........
Given the same circumstances, and not having been priviledged to lead a life of luxury without having to spend my childhood youth cutting cane in central America, I would have done the very same thing..........