Ecuadorians Are FURIOUS Because of This

[@furrfurr]

I was born and raised in US and had days when I couldn't afford to eat. Privilege is impossible to define because there are so many levels

[@jessasmrcd]

Your friend Roberta is absolutely spot on on her comments about Daniel.

[@WoodyReyes]

Great job young man, all of the things that are happening are not going to stop my wife and I from retiring in Ecuador. We will be in Ecuador March 26th on our exploratory trip, Loja area. Many blessings to you and your family.🙏🏼

[@tracywatts1459]

Congratulations. From Canada 🇨🇦

[@GMAceM]

Please do come on down! Definitely don’t let anything (at least current things) stop you from that! Thanks for your good wishes ✨

[@user-mp4dw8wp8l]

I really love your channel! You’re really helping out foreigners in understand what is life like in Ecuador, and what Ecuadorians think about it. I also like your definition on “real Ecuadorian”. There’s so many American-born and raised “Latinos” who don’t know a word in Spanish who are sooo far from the reality of our reality

[@Mtnshell56]

Well said Sir. All the best

[@chikita7954]

Outstanding video. I agree there is a disconnect between the haves and have- nots.

[@hydrazi]

Thanks for the VAT info! Super helpful. Politicians say dumb things every day. Few politicians are in touch with how it is to live like an average voter.

[@GMAceM]

Always glad to help! You know what the worst part of the ignorance is? It’s the fact that it’s feigned or somehow the politicians lose who they really are in the process. People either were once in the position of the average voter (unless they’ve just always been upper class then ❌) or when they run for office they act like they care and go out and “help” by taking pictures doing selfless acts which just still seems silly to me because at least I never buy it. Like I don’t see you (the politician) doing anything for the 4 years prior to you trying to take office and now all of a sudden you’re saving kittens from trees. This is not the way.

[@user-lc5cg6gd5o]

I give you credit and praise for being able to look at both sides of the coin.

[@guayaco1ize]

Wow Ace I would've title this video "Speaking from the heart as an Ecuadorian" great work hermano! I feel your pain brother.

[@GMAceM]

I really appreciate that hermano. It was hard to talk about that last bit but I had to do it and I just hope things get better. Que viva Ecuador!

[@guayaco1ize]

@@GMAceM yes I could tell it was hard for you to talk about it but the message was sent for people to understand the struggle of a lot of Ecuadorians. Si !! QUE VIVA ECUADOR! 🇪🇨

[@ArkadiuszNiedzwiecki-w1w]

Thank you for a very informative video and for shining the light on Ecuadorian reality.

[@DavidAyotte-p5u]

Thank you , For opening my eyes wider and doing it so respectfully .

[@2CabrasLocas]

Once government gets extra money out of you, they will NEVER stop.

[@claudeprevost3984]

yes, in my experience don't expect that 1% to go away in 2027. Once the government starts collecting more they won't stop they will always spend it. "There will be a 15% tax for as long as you live"

[@msbeecee1]

WOW, what he said was soooo bad & out of touch. He assumes poverty is because people aren't working hard?!!!! Insane ignorance.

[@ghostmandr]

Ace as an Ecuadorian living in the states you make such a great point. A lot of people that have not grew up in an Ecuadorian household don't understand the real struggles families have to go through just to take food to the plate. The president not knowing this struggles should be more aware that people go above and beyond their every day lives to provided for their families. Thank you so much for your excellent work and info. Keep given your best for our beautiful country. Gracias hermano!!!!

[@wendyfielding5649]

Great presentation Ace !

[@GMAceM]

Thank you so much!

[@billobrien4680]

This is a universal truth - those raised in privilege cannot comprehend how day-to-day life is for the common people. The working class has to make choices daily due to limited resources that the privileged do not have to make. Even if the privileged person has empathy for the commoner, they will never understand (experience) the reality in a visceral sense.

[@FastFredRuddock]

Great video and particularly your explanation of social conditions here in Ecuador is useful especially for the English audience. Kudos!

[@GMAceM]

Always glad to help!

[@hugh261]

Yes, telling everyone to work harder isn't going to get the ones who don't want to work hard to do so, and leaves the ones who already do work hard unacknowledged.

[@Whatsupbuddiebud]

I agree and they even want to tax the hard and successful workers more. I say charge the same taxes for all

[@GMAceM]

Exactly. I still just feel that the statement was too general but pinpointing it might’ve been impossible too. I think it would’ve been easier to just not have said that but I guess he kinda got caught up in the moment.

[@Hi-bt1ef]

​​So because he came from wealth does that mean he cannot have any opinion or speak facts? As an American here my landlord's housekeeper tried to charge me more so I left her go. They are also suing Expats and even some Ecuadorians for back taxes and the government doesn't take into account that they themselves also didn't pay into the system. Ecuador only punishes the employer. Its like my hillbilly family back home. They want everything handed to them and are jealous or anyone that reaches success or has more. So I will clean my own dam house.

[@divinaflamingarrow9556]

Thank you Ace!

[@LivingLovingAbroad]

Thanks so much for this ACE! I wanted to talk about this subject but quickly realized my current level of knowledge on the subject was lacking and I didn't have confidence in my ability to translate. Thanks again brother!

[@GMAceM]

When I heard about the topic myself I was pretty surprised that the president said that but also kind of shocked with the reaction online, that’s why I had to talk about it and at least give a bit of detail on both sides you know? Thanks for checking it out brother!

[@johnmontana4898]

I really like your videos.I'm from California.I've been planning to go to Ecuador I was gonna go but cold came that was a 2020. I was gonna go to Guayaquil Ecuador. I'm glad the things are simmering down.I'm gonna keep watching your videos.All thanks john montano

[@kathyandthedogs626]

Ace, Noboa comes across as tone deaf. His comment makes me mad and sad. So many people are truly struggling. The privileged few, whether in Ecuador or another country, don’t have a friggin clue. Your friend Roberta is 100% correct. Hang tough, Ace!

[@loverofsong9830]

Your best yet!! Concise, to the point and dead on. I could see you as a reporter or newscaster.

[@GMAceM]

Thank you so much! Not sure if they’d ever want me for such things tho because of how things are here but appreciate the kind comment 💯

[@Robertsdogs]

Really good presentation! wishing you best bro.

[@wildmangrove3096]

Non processed foods have no VAT in itself, but the oil, gasoline, and all the neccesary for transportation will increase, also the cost of packeging will increase and other things necesary for production will increase. All of these cost will be added to the food price making it more expensive regardless of the lack of increase of the VAT for the food in itself.

[@GMAceM]

I’m glad you noticed and this is something I’ve talked about with my dad before whenever there’s been a raise in gasoline price or even when minimum wage is increased. In fact it was part of my conclusion in this video that whenever there’s a raise in minimum wage it means nothing because everything goes up in price at the same time. Businesses don’t want to lose so they make everything more expensive so they can keep on winning. Isn’t that swell? (Sarcasm)

[@naderkhalighi6740]

All you said were truth. First was a bankerb, and now a millioner baby. Naurally in back of their minds thinking about how to increase their wealth.

[@joanna9242]

Wow, Roberta and you are doing a great job speaking the truth. Meritocracy doesn't exist anywhere, but it is time for those who have high end jobs without high end skills get removed from those jobs. It's time for people to perform for the greater good of humanity or get out of the way of others who have the ability to create a better society.

[@GMAceM]

I feel like those who are in these position will do whatever it takes to not get removed from them. There’s even the thought process over here that people who are seniors in a job can’t see you doing better than them because even that could put your job at risk. It’s truly terrible and I hope things can change to make things better. I’ll be sure to tell Roberta to be on the show more often to talk about more things in the future!

[@2freakout]

I was a foreigner living in Otavalo, Ecuador, in 1976 for 2-3 months, and I can say that I was like a real Ecuadorian living between the poor Indigenous folks, sleeping in a very small room without any facilities and eating very basic food to survive. @GM Ace, I understand where you are coming from. Generally and globally, the rich would never understand the poor or less fortunate. Prayers for all🙏🙏🙏

[@markswanson1564]

“Rea” Ecuadorian & USA would be anyone not worth over $1B. “If they don’t have bread, let them eat cake.”- Queen Maria Antoinette lost her head saying this.

[@christy9850]

Thank you for the video! Do you offer tours to visitors?

[@GMAceM]

Not a problem! If you’d like to talk about anything that I might be able to help with you can reach me at my business email that’s in the about section of my KZbin channel.

[@patriciaflaherty]

Maybe stores will see a nice increase in sales before the increased VAT goes into effect. Now is the time to replace those aging appliances and computers. Hopefully that results in some great deals on Facebook marketplace (and other local sources) for people who have been living without those luxuries. Unfortunately, all politicians have lived such privileged lives that they can't even relate to the average working person.

[@GMAceM]

Gotta look at the positives! As for the politicians, it’s important to call out these things not to hate or because I don’t believe in Noboa (I highly do believe in what he does) or anything but to hopefully make them aware that they’re living a completely different life than anyone else. I do believe they know this but never hurts to be sure.

[@JonJubal]

This video was fantastic. You do us proud. I think your videos about this topic could benefit from breaking down the subtopics in smaller chunks. A lot of people could benefit from your discourse, but they may not have the patience to sit through a 26-minute video. Smaller length videos reach a wider audience. Also, it would be amazing if you produced this same video in Spanish. There are so many in my family that I would love to share your video with.

[@JonJubal]

I agree with many of the sentiments you expressed.

[@GMAceM]

Thanks a ton for the comment! Unfortunately due to time constraints and the reality of the audience I have, I can’t strictly make videos in Spanish. I do have closed captions for various languages on every video and while I can’t vouch for all of them I know that the English captions are perfect and the Spanish closed captions are good. The longer video format just kind of happens and in that same way sometimes I have smaller videos. It all really depends but I’ll see if there are smaller topics to talk about that I can outline in shorter videos. Thanks for watching!

[@ndthat]

Life is difficult for everyone. Some have bigger hurdles than others but the truth is that "you don't have what you want because you don't want it enough". Great things only come from great effort. I wish everyone the strength to achieve their goals and enjoy a happy life.

[@alrent2992]

Mr. Noboa needs to set the example!! Allowing his governments employees to go to europe, argentina is poor decisions. Weak leadership!

[@prieten49]

Politicians are usually more clever about what they say publically. I think Naboa is still inexperienced and I hope he learns fast. On the subject of taxes, every country needs sufficient revenues to provide a decent infrastructure and a sufficient social safety. My country, the USA, is beset by selfish people who want to use public infrastructure but not pay for it. Paying taxes is oppression to them. They hate the poor because they think they are lazy and are getting free money. But everything has been set up by the rich and corporations to make maximum profit in the USA. Our housing costs, medical costs, and education costs are the highest in the world because the monopolists in each of these industries control our politicians. Rather than change these politicians, Americans allow themselves to be scared by propaganda about migrants, silly cultural issues, and are encouraged to live out their racist tendencies. So they vote for the same right wing politicians who have set up everything to serve the rich. Back to Ecuador, I think Ecuador has just come out of a very difficult situation in which drug cartels threatened to take over the country. President Naboa and the authorities seem to be doing an effective job in saving Ecuador from that fate. I hope Ecuadorans don't descend into petty politics before Naboa's anti-terrorist policies have succeeded. This is a time for Ecuadorans to pull together.

[@tracywatts1459]

Ace. In British Columbia Canada. We have had a 5% goods and service tax since 1991. Plus our provincial sales tax is 6% plus On top of the we pay another near 8% on our income. We also have hidden taxes on fuel that is factored into the price then the 2 taxes on top My question to you is …foreigners can apply for a rebate on our GST. So if you visit our province and saved your receipts you can apply to get your money back.

[@GMAceM]

All I saw was “tax tax tax” and it made my eyes hurt 🥲 I think I remember hearing Don talk about getting a sort of tax refund here and I know there’s a system for it for Ecuadorians too but for Ecuadorians I’m not sure if it’s that you get money back or if you get some things exempt IF you spend a certain amount during the year. The thing is for most of us we’d never really see that kind of exemption or rebate since I doubt our salaries or spending reach the threshold needed for that. I’ll have to look into it some more to be sure. One thing I’m sure of is if you make your own receipts that you have to pay like 10% of your salary to the IRS monthly but that gets refunded around this time of the year.

[@PurpleRoseThomas]

All the snack you mentioned are full of sugar anyway...is not good for your health, I wouldn't miss buying any of it.

[@czmax7652]

This is only going to make matters worse including for the exstreme poor, I suggest you get what Ecuador needs a leader with great economic and political experience this is no time for newbies or know-it alls. Get ex president R. Correa to save Ecuador from complete stupidity that we can all see, read around the world or you are all go down the drain for many years to come.

[@rantiksadventure1920]

Honestly it just sounds like a lot of complaining to me the increase’s are very minimal and only on things you don’t actually need. This is to have funding to get rid of crime. With less crime comes more tourism more tourism means more income for Ecuadorians and a better life. Increasing minimum wage means all prices go up so you effectively do nothing to help the poor. In California the minimum wage was $15 an hour and a hamburger was $10 minimum wage went up to $20 an hour and now that hamburger is $16-17 dollars. This tax is an investment in the future of a more appealing and safer Ecuador. As a president you have to see the bigger picture this minimal tax increase doesn’t effect the poor that don’t waste money at the movies or fancy restaurants. He was speaking to the middle class, the ones that always bare the burden of tax increases. In the states I pay 30% tax right off the top of my pay check then there is the $10,000 for health insurance every year plus tax on everything we buy or sale. Ecuador has free health care. In the states you have to have health insurance or you are fined. Honestly if the Ecuadorians want a better life then they just have to suck it up and get over it.

[@Whatsupbuddiebud]

I agree but they rather take money from the US government

[@MeMe-DGAF]

So true ..

[@rantiksadventure1920]

@@Whatsupbuddiebud well the US government takes the money from me and wastes it. I much rather send it to Ecuador. For example in California they raised the gas tax to fix the roads then we find out they used the money for gender affirming care. At least even if this tax in ecuador didn’t get used for the right things you could argue that its just paying the government back for all the good that they have done so far in regards to the crackdown on the cartels and gangs.

[@Roxcare]

Si no vive en Ecuador con un sueldo mínimo de 460 dólares mensuales para el 70% de los que tienen trabajo, mejor no de su comentario, pues no sabe de que está hablando

[@Roxcare]

​@@Whatsupbuddiebudthey? You mean the politicians. Besides they ask for money that never used in population.

[@southernstyle8835]

How is a guy that was born in Miami FL is president of Ecuador??

[@alrent2992]

Corruption!!

[@lvovodessa]

Ecuadorian parents. Some countries don’t allow presidents to have double citizenship but Ecuador does.

[@alrent2992]

@@lvovodessa that's not the issue. No honest and dignified country need foreign born person as president. Ecuador obviously approves of a foreign born leader. Goofy.

[@FallofftheMap]

I think the IVA increase will backfire. It is unlikely to raise more revenue for the government for two reasons. I think it will push more of the economy underground where it’s untaxed. I think it’s also likely there will be a paro to try to reverse the tax increase, and the economic disruption caused by the paro will wipe out any potential gains.

[@luisdetomaso867]

A 1% increase is not enough to "backfire". It will be fine; good decision making by Naboa

[@GMAceM]

I had a big concern about that too because the back door/underground deals always seems to be what people go for when things don’t work in favor for the people. Literally yesterday me and my dad were talking about the guys from the power company going around checking the “medidores” to see who’s out here stealing electricity to save on their electric bills. Then there’s the paro which I’m very surprised hasn’t happened yet. I think a week before or the first week of April is going to be an important time to look out for and not just because of the paro, but because of how close the state of emergency would be to ending.

[@FallofftheMap]

@@luisdetomaso867 it’s not a 1% increase. It’s 3% at first fazing back down to 1% eventually. It’s also coming on top of rolling back the exit tax to 5% which absolutely kills investment in Ecuador. Look at the history of paros over relatively small increases in just fuel prices.

[@luisdetomaso867]

@@FallofftheMap In December Naboa said he was holding the exit tax at 3.5%. Was there a more recent announcement?

[@davereed5414]

And yet Naboa and the army have approval ratings in the 80% range. Ecuador ranks 115 out of 180 countries in the corruption index (34 out of a possible 100 points). The bureaucracy to start a business here is terribly complicated. With the high level narco extortion (la vacuna) no one wants to start a business anyway. Three parties supported AG Salazar's caso Purga arrest of 12 yesterday, including 7 judges and an ex-assemblyman, whose party quickly condemed corruption. One party did not cindemn corruption.

[@dec13666]

Looks like Noboa didn't listen to your _"To the future president of Ecuador"_ video...

[@Marionette7]

Watching this got me overthinking. No wonder my crush doesn't even have time for WhatsApp 😭 May all the people's dealings be made ease, given strength & faith in these challenges, Ameen 🤲❤

[@GMAceM]

Things are tough no doubt and even I find it hard to respond in general because if I start I’ll never stop (me and my long comments/responses 🥲) but what I will say is that when it comes to relationships people do respond quickly regardless of if there’s a crisis or not. Let’s hope things get better for sure! 💯

[@Marionette7]

@@GMAceM Hi Ace, it's 5.10 a.m. here & I just finished my suhoor (eating meal before fasting for the day) since it's a 1st Ramadan in my country. Thanks for replying & Happy Ramadan to all Muslims in Ecuador (if there's any 😅) Stay strong 🙏

[@alrent2992]

Doesn't the president have intelligent advisors??

[@dianamayfield5615]

In my experience, I've found the Ecuadorian people to be incredibly hardworking. This duality you mentioned between the very wealthy and the common man exists everywhere. In my opinion, as an outsider, raising the IVA is probably not the best solution to the financial difficulties of the Ecuadorian economy because it taxes the very poor a disproportionately higher amount than those on higher incomes. Instead, perhaps Noboa should examine the income tax structure. Those making over a certain amount should have their incomes taxed at a higher rate. For instance, instead of 30% for those over $60,000 increase to 35%, over $90,000 increase to 40%, and for over $120,000 to 45% or whatever amounts necessary to make up the shortfall. These could be temporary increases and reviewed at a later date. This way those of lower incomes will not be forced to pay for things they simply cannot afford.

[@GMAceM]

Being hard working over here sometimes feels not worth it because the compensation doesn’t make sense but for sure people do work quite hard (those who want to and have a job of course). While I do wish the taxing were more fair I don’t see it happening anytime soon because then the people or businesses who are doing well would probably take their business elsewhere which is something that wouldn’t benefit the country. To look at it another way, if a big business wanted to invest in Ecuador, they’d probably avoid doing so if they knew they erred going to be taxed heavily. It’s not fair because they have the means to pay high taxes but similarly to what I said in a different comment, the big businesses don’t want to lose and they’ll find any way possible to win.

[@lavillacis]

Hi; I wish the president the best; in my opinion his words, likely as you say, are not ill meaning, but do show lack of empathy and understanding of the majority of people in Ecuador. The government has many options to help the deficit; his company and all of those other millionaires can pay back taxes that he forgave; his company alone owes 80 million; why forgive those big companies? The referendum alone is about 60 million; when those questions are so basic that no one is going to oppose, unless they want to send him a message. Why spend so much money in a country that needs so much; lowering the taxes, motivates people to buy and increase the money going into the government. This increase in taxes is going to increase the prices in every single item. The government doesn’t need to increase taxes to pay for security and he has shown it. Empathy with the average people would probably make people reconsider those choices. Best wishes

[@marcocisneros6982]

True it sounded callous and bad but cut Noboa some slack, he's a young brand new politician who just stuck his foot in his mouth but he is doing the right thing by stabilizing Ecuador at this moment. The guy is erring on the side of action and being proactive as opposed to being politically lethargic like Lasso. Consider that so far no cases of corruption and this IVA is destined to fund the war on crime.

[@BigSlimyBlob]

I mostly agree with these changes. It's always good to have no tax on necessities, moderate tax on entertainment, and high tax on luxury or unhealthy things. That way, the poor (who buy necessities almost exclusively) pay virtually no tax, and the rich (who use the vast majority of their expenses on entertainment and luxury) pay a lot. It is, however, a mistake to tax necessities like basic home appliances, basic shoes and clothing, or toilet paper. Taxing internet/phone services, PCs, computer classes and the like is also bad; Ecuador will be left behind the rest of the world technologically.

[@Whatsupbuddiebud]

Yep let's tax the rich...the ones that worked hard and probably earned it while continuing to allow others to play the victim . Let's punish them darn rich 😅 Also they and other countries need to stop taking money from the US and clean up their on messes like El Salvador did.

[@BigSlimyBlob]

@@Whatsupbuddiebud The vast, vast, vast majority of the rich didn't get rich because they worked hard, they got rich because they exploited other people. They don't pay their employees as much as their work is worth and they overcharge their customers, all to unfairly funnel money from other people to themselves. That's why we live in a world where a rich guy can buy a 5 million dollar watch while countless children are malnourished and people die of curable illnesses.

[@BigSlimyBlob]

@@Whatsupbuddiebud "Probably earned it"? The vast, vast, vast majority of the rich didn't get rich because they worked hard, they got rich because they exploited other people.

[@BigSlimyBlob]

@@Whatsupbuddiebud The vast majority of the rich did not, in fact, earn their money.

[@Whatsupbuddiebud]

@@BigSlimyBlob and the vast minority of keyboard warriors don't have any common sense ...thanks 4 proving it

[@JohnWick-c137]

Bro I’m in Ecuador

[@GMAceM]

That’s awesome! Hope all is well here 💯

[@samuelpallottini5108]

He raised tax on convenience items. People buying these items already have disposable income.

[@loverofsong9830]

Toiler paper, toothpaste, shamooo, and moisturizing lotions are convenience items?

[@samuelpallottini5108]

@loverofsong9830 didn't hear those particulars, I must have been typing. The vast majority are as I said. Those necessities you spoke should not be. Anything necessary to daily life for the poorest should not be included. The list should be scrutinized by the people and resubmitted to the president for negotiations. He is on your side, but there have to be tough changes to improve and move forward.

[@Chris-l7n-c6v]

No income is "disposable". That is an American term which reflects carelessness and wastefulness. Every dollar one spends should have a return on it. That's why Americans retire in Ecuador, because they blew too much of their "disposable" income.

[@BeyondBorders202]

Regarding your definition of a real Ecuadorian, you did throw yourself way under the bus. I'm sure the idea of getting info from a Real Ecuadorian compared to an expat made your views more accurate, I personally did not see the issue. His comment may have sounded condescending and privileged however, the [ep[le knew they were electing a silver spoon person. He did not grow up in a lifestyle that would allow him to understand the negativity of his comments. People should also realize that he was speaking to a particular group of people and because of the interview misspoke by not clarifying the intended people. This happens a lot here in the States but the people are used to it. As far as tax increases our politicians increase taxes all the time just because they can. For example, income taxes under Trump went down for the top 5% of income earners while everyone else's taxes went up. We also have sales taxes in every state which go up often, Here in Florida though our governing bodies State level and lower can't raise any taxes unless the general population votes yes on it. This includes ALL taxes.

[@GMAceM]

I had to be real about it and the reality is that since I’ve lived through both situations I had to say it as it was. I had a decently good lifestyle in the states which of course was a result of my dad working Monday-Sunday (due to overtime) and my mom being able to find a job as well. Over here, well it’s not even close to the same and each month is truly a gamble. We actually had a money issue this weekend which stacked with the issue of “new month new bills” and it’s just terrible to think about. The president’s comment really did sound privileged so I felt I needed to talk about it to give the opinion from both sides because both sides do exist, they very rarely don’t. The problem with tax raises here is that even if we view every raise as “only a few cents” or “not a big deal of other places have taxes too” is the fact of how it affects a small household that earns minimum or less than minimum wage. A few cents added up just means things being even more tight than they were before and that is of course not a good thing. Of course I do know why it was done because I support the positive changes being made (which of course means I support the president) but I can’t just overlook the people who are gonna have it hard especially considering I don’t exactly have it easy right now either.

[@terryashley4674]

I wish I could translate Spanish to English. 🥺

[@alrent2992]

Click on the c.c. = closed caption. Upper right is a symbol.

[@terryashley4674]

@@alrent2992 I mean I wish I knew Spanish.

[@davereed5414]

Play it into Google translate

[@walterdavies6434]

its just an april fools joke. april 1st

[@mclokjmrk7263]

I suggest to do a better research on my country, you don’t have a f clue what you’re talking about, if the president say we need to work hard we should work hard for a better life and look make better out country

[@mundoblanquiazul3747]

I MEET A LOT OF PEOPLE FROM NOBOA’S COUNTRY WHO HAVE CHILDREN WITH AT LEAST 2 DIFFERENT WOMEN AND LOVE TO DRINK ALCOHOL. STOP WHINING AND START WORKING. NEW GENERATIONS JUST WANT FREE HANDOUTS