Ok, ok... I know I'm not the "real" gringo, and not even the only one, but I do have some valid credentials.  By the time I was 17, I had lived in 9 countries and had visited a handful more.  On a regular day I would speak 3 different languages and more people knew me as "el gringo" than by my real name.  My father was American and I went to an American school, but local kids were always the majority wherever I lived.  My mother and a lot of my extended family is Brazilian, but we usually lived in another country altogether.  It was a bit like being an Army brat, except I did not live on a U.S. army base, surrounded by Americans and a PX.  I had certain privileges, but nothing luxurious by American standards.  In each country, I was a minority and often got treated badly just for being American.  Kids can be brutally honest and when you're growing up, your world is your world.  Yes, I know it's not real war, but I did grow up defending my country verbally and even shedding a little blood on some playgrounds. Coming to college in the U.S. at 17 was an adjustment, but eventually I became the all-American frat guy with a full understanding of all that entails.

I don't say any of this to brag, because they are not accomplishments, but all the content on this website is shaped by this unusual experience and view of the world.  On the one hand, I am probably more patriotic than most Americans and have a clear and objective understanding of what makes the United States a great country.  On the other hand, I have gotten to know almost every country in the American Hemisphere from the inside, and also from the perspective of other countries.  Moving between countries at young ages taught me that beliefs often reflect the culture one is born into, rather than absolute truths.  Yes, perhaps there are a few absolute truths, but culture and beliefs have far more impact on economic policies, corruption, crime, and even innovation and technology.  I've also worked in more than 20 countries for American and European multinationals, and I've seen lots of mistakes and violence due cultural bias, tribalism, and political partisanship. 

​​All of this has given me unique (and I think balanced) perspective on different cultures in our hemisphere and how they impact key topics of today:  Immigration, Nationalism, Drugs, Technology, Music, Food, Foreign Aid, Politics, and my primary passion of Economics.  I have also put myself at the forefront of new technologies going back to the first internet boom in 1999, all the way through mobile phones, crypto-currency, and now artificial intelligence.  All of these technologies have caused innovation as well as disruption and I've seen many of the same errors of tribalism and partisanship play out within companies and across borders.  Those are the common threads that run through all of our content, but we divide our content into three categories: