Voting by Exodus

August 26, 2013

By: Kelly Diamond, Publisher

There is one kind of voting which amounts to picking from the choices given to you by some broken and corrupt establishment.  Then there is the voting which involves physical action and measurable results.

The former is your ballot box voting.  The one that, regardless of whether you show up or not, you won’t like the outcome.  The latter is basically relocation, and you have considerably more control over your circumstances and outcome.

I’ve written several articles now which touch upon the downward trend of the United States.  My inaugural contribution, “If You Don’t Like It, Leave”, addressed that very argument made by those with unquestioning loyalty to geography and government.  The other, “Fifty Shades of Freedom”, touched upon how the states of the U.S. union compare in terms of freedom overall as well as how countries compare with one another in terms of economic freedom.

I don’t find relocation to be much different than shopping.  I will patron a certain establishment and use a certain brand as long as they deliver on the quality and value I’ve come to expect from them.  At any given point, when I am disappointed with their deliverables, I look for a different establishment and/or a different brand.  I see relocation in a very similar light.  If one location offers a better job, less regulation, and/or lower taxes why wouldn’t I think about taking the plunge!?

The United States and Britain are feeling the brunt of that very reality.  To be sure, the United States has been feeling it for several years now, not only on the individual level, but on the corporate level.  American businesses have been outsourcing more and more services to other countries over the last two decades, and it’s not because they hate America.  It’s because America has failed to meet their deliverables of being the “most economically free country in the world”. 

The blind patriot will ascribe virtue to unwavering loyalty to your home country.  That’s why we still taut our taglines of “land of the free” and “justice for all” despite the fact that there is no evidence to corroborate such claims, except an over-romanticized account of U.S. history.  A true freedom-loving capitalist will say, “I’m only loyal to a brand that is loyal to its customers and their demands.”  As they should!

When my preferred brand of coffee fails to meet the standards they’ve met for so long, I don’t try to fix it.  I don’t write them letters or offer suggestions.  I don’t try to reorganize their leadership or call for the termination of all those in Quality Control.  I just find a better coffee… and leave them to figure it out.  I’m not nearly as desperate to give them my money as they are to receive it. 

Likewise, we shouldn’t be particularly startled by numbers which indicate a surge in expatriation from the U.S.  “…Facing tougher asset-disclosure rules under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, more of the estimated 6 million Americans living overseas are weighing the cost of holding a U.S. passport,” writes Dylan Griffiths of Bloomberg.  Besides the costs associated with U.S. tax compliance abroad, Americans are finding it more and more difficult to get basic services abroad because of U.S. regulatory impositions.  Getting life insurance, a mortgage, or a bank account have become lessons in futility for these Americans.

If my life and/or career took me to another country, and my home country was going to make it virtually impossible for me to do so, why wouldn’t I sever ties?  America is no longer that beacon on a hill representing liberty and freedom.  It’s the world’s wise-guy banging on everyone’s door to collect their slice.

Great Britain isn’t really so great anymore either… Whether we followed their lead or they followed ours, in the end, some of the best and brightest Brits are leaving and taking their earning potential with them.  No longer is it just the established folks, but the young, up-and-coming generations who are now looking at the Middle East and Asia as potential landing pads for their savvy.  The difference being, Britain doesn’t tax earnings of their citizens when they earn abroad, like the United States. 

Sidebar

What a load of crap! 

Says Nick de Bois, secretary of the 1922 committee of backbench MPs: “We live in a very mobile, global market people can look around and they can judge where they want to go. My concern is that people are putting their own interests first and looking to beyond the European Union.

“We have to convince those people, who we have invested so much in, to make Britain their first choice. We have to continue to drive lower taxes, we have to keep driving the change and reform in our public services.”

YA THINK?!  Putting their own interests first?  What a totally alien concept!  And “we” have invested in so much?  You mean the social programs you forced their parents to pay for, and forced them to use?  THOSE investments?  The government monopolizes essentials, and then wants THANKS for it later?  We somehow owe a debt to the government for this?  I think the last time I heard such drivel is from the Nazis in the movie “Sophie Scholl”, excoriating her for defying her government after they gave her a life of privilege and education! 

I guess I find a little comfort in this MP recognizing the adverse effects of onerous taxation and a high cost of living. 

Lesson here: Your socialized programs come with some SERIOUS strings.

Moving On…

And by moving, I MEAN moving!  Look within the United States.  This info-graphic pretty much tells the rest of the story for me, but I’m verbose, so I’ll write about it anyway… for emphasis.

The three states which enjoyed the most considerable gains over the last ten years also happen to be the states with some of the lowest tax burdens in the union.  Florida and Texas do NOT have an income tax.  They do have sales and property taxes however.  Arizona has an income tax, but their property taxes are considerably lower than Florida and Texas.  And their sales tax is lower as well.

Between those three, you just have to decide between dry heat, lots of land, or fabulous oranges.  Florida came in at #1 with a $67.3 Billion net gain, Arizona at a distant 2^nd place with a $17.7 Billion net gain, and a close 3^rd goes to Texas with a $17.6 Billion net gain all over a ten year period.

No matter what people are saying in mixed company, at the end of the day, folks are looking out for number one.  Sure, we’d all like to see some improvements in the various government programs… ideally QUALITATIVE ones… but when all is said and done, very few are willing to pay a premium for lackluster services that oft times turn out to be unnecessary.

Regulatory and tax burdens are endearingly altruistic in sentiment, but in practice, it can pull the economic backbone straight out of societies.  It can take a flourishing city like Detroit and turn it into a ghost town.  Detroit is all government and hardly any private industry right now, and it’s both bankrupt and useless.

It would seem many people are indeed taking the advice of their government-loyal brethren: If you don’t like it, LEAVE!  Those who offer such advice should be made aware of the unintended consequences involved with such instruction.  The government loyal statist always asks: “But for government, who would build the roads?!”  The more appropriate question I would pose to those who insist the disenfranchised bunch just LEAVE: “Who will build YOUR roads once I leave with my wealth and talent in tow?”

Chances are I don’t need to sell you on the notion of moving.  If you’re reading this, then you are likely one to look for the financial incentive in any decision you make.  If expatriation is sounding a little more alluring, and perhaps has moved up a few notches on your priority list, contact the folks at The Dollar Vigilante.  No harm in acquainting yourself with the process to know what you’re in for!