The rich are leaving America
- Thread starter shuggy
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A little about the hosts of said "news" site..
A 2011 Rolling Stone article described Jones as “a giant in America’s conspiracy subculture,” with a subsequent in-depth profile adding that he made Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, “sound like tea-sipping NPR hosts on Zoloft.”
Gosh he sounds fair and balanced.
A 2011 Rolling Stone article described Jones as “a giant in America’s conspiracy subculture,” with a subsequent in-depth profile adding that he made Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, “sound like tea-sipping NPR hosts on Zoloft.”
Gosh he sounds fair and balanced.
Yes & add to this tax increases every year hence forth. In the eighties the total tax take from the top bracket was 70%.
Mind you the proposed millionaire tax has one real purpose. It's there to sell the idea of increased taxes to the masses, but it's those same people - the bulk of the middle class - that'll really get hit with the hikes. Even if they tax everyone 100% it wont pay the repayments on government debt.
The U.S. is awash with cash & 40% of what the government spends is borrowed. Historically the average level of debt to expenditure that leads a country to hyperinflation is guess what, 40% - after about four years (Germanies was 60% & resulting inflation in 1923 where prices doubled every two days). Perhaps the USD has some leaway as the the de facto world currency. But how long will that last, isn't India buying oil from Iran using gold now, & China using Yuan?
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My brother's even more of a doom and gloomer than I am, and lives out in LA.
He's planning on setting things up so that he can bug out if things turn nasty, and expects serious civil unrest at some unspecified point in the future.
Similarly, someone he was working with a few months back had plans of how to get clear of the city in the event that it all kicked off. And this is an educated, Prius driving type too.
It's possible that there's an undercurrent in California that's making some people nervous, and James Cameron is picking up on this.
Then again, he's about to start production on parts two and three of Avatar, and is likely to need to be in NZ until 2015 or 2016.
I've always known/thought Americans to be provincial in their outlook but a lot of Aussies are too. I also have a Prius driving friend working for Google at Mountain View in CA who also has emergency escape plans if all hell breaks loose. Another mate is an accountant in San Diego who has weathered better than most yanks but still cautious about the future. Agree with your thoughts that there is definitely a nervous undercurrent wafting through the US that you could only understand if you were on the ground.
The dentists in Thailand are VERY good. My regular dentist has just left to study in the UK for the next 3yrs to advance her education. A mate's dad who is a Sydney dentist visited him recently in Thailand and said their gear was much more modern than many dentists back in Oz.
Thailand is the sex change capital of the world.. I'd recommend anyone wanting breast implants to go there where a surgeon probably does 5-6 a week compared to the inexperienced Aussie surgeon only getting a few jobs a month.
Interesting first post, welcome, however I don't see anything conspiratorial about the article.
The problem with tackling the US deficit is deadlock. There Republicans refuse to countenance any sort of tax rise, whereas the Democrats are opposed to cuts to social programmes. Neither side is willing to compromise.
I'd agree with .toe that there's a lot of money in the States, and there is an opinion that the country could afford to balance the budget if the political will was there. Hitting the millionaires isn't necessarily a bad thing as they've had some big tax cuts courtesy of Bush Jr., and have largely been unaffected by the recession compared to the poorer 99% of the population.
(As an illustration, my brother mentioned that house sales in the million dollar plus bracket are strong, whereas the cheaper end of the market isn't. The exception is that a lot of places are being picked up on the cheap, given a basic clean-up, and then offered for sale at inflated prices by rich flippers.)
Shuggy, thanks for the comment about your friend at the Googleplex.
A lot of these people with bug out plans seem to be educated, frequently comfortable to wealthy, and probably of a more liberal outlook. They're not the swivel eyed, right wing nutters of popular imagination.
No idea if they're right in their concerns or not.
I'd agree with .toe that there's a lot of money in the States, and there is an opinion that the country could afford to balance the budget if the political will was there. Hitting the millionaires isn't necessarily a bad thing as they've had some big tax cuts courtesy of Bush Jr., and have largely been unaffected by the recession compared to the poorer 99% of the population.
(As an illustration, my brother mentioned that house sales in the million dollar plus bracket are strong, whereas the cheaper end of the market isn't. The exception is that a lot of places are being picked up on the cheap, given a basic clean-up, and then offered for sale at inflated prices by rich flippers.)
Shuggy, thanks for the comment about your friend at the Googleplex.
A lot of these people with bug out plans seem to be educated, frequently comfortable to wealthy, and probably of a more liberal outlook. They're not the swivel eyed, right wing nutters of popular imagination.
No idea if they're right in their concerns or not.
I just got back from a trip visiting friends in Mountain View/Palo Alto/Cupertino and there is certainly no recession in that part of the Bay Area.
My observation- admittedly over only a three-week period - is that things were starting to look up in the US. I am more optimistic about the US than I am about Europe.
Are you sure about that? I have a friend who is a US citizen, because she was born there.. she lived in the US for about 2 years as an adult, and 6 mths as a child. I'm fairly confident that she doesnt file a US tax return.
I have alot of American friends, ranging from Texan rednecks to Jersey ultra-liberals....fairly broad cross section economically, although no ultra-wealthy ones. There is alot of frustration, particularly the last couple of years from those in Cali, with teachers not getting paid etc. But no sense of panic from them, or building bunkers etc.
(apart from the Republicans who are panicing a bit about their presidential options..... I have one particular friend who is a very right wing, ultra-conservative, Religious right, tea party Republican, who writes a political blog, and is active in campaigning, particularly amongst his friends and family!! His choices of candidate keep getting knocked out and you can see the struggle to find someone to support. I'm not sure who he sees as more of a threat - Mitt or Obama. He is the only one of my friends who is in a panic. )
I think Thailand is becoming very strong in medical tourism overall. I work for a medical device company, and probably 80% of our Thai business is to wealthy Arabs who come to Thailand for surgery/ treatment.
Am I sure about that? No! But that fact she doesn't file a return doesn't prove I'm wrong either. It may just prove she doesn't know the Inland Revenue tax act.
Re-read my original post. I don't think I claimed any "authority".
Alex Jones right?
Conspriacy nutcase.
Not worth even reading. It's like going to an ultra-miltant website for a balanced interpretation of the theory of evolution.
He is a laughable hack of a man. The sort that the white trash militia supporters flock to because they are looking for a secret organisation to blame for their own manifest failure in life.
I didnt mean it in an "accusing" way... just curious as to whether that was definite or not. When i see her next, I'll ask her if she's looked into it.
Penny, I've just done a search and found the original article. It was a Whiskey & Gunpowder email. In part it said: I just read about a young lady from Canada who got a nasty letter from the US IRS demanding back taxes. She was born and raised in Canada of American parents. I don't know if the parents ever listed her as a citizen or not but the inference from the article was that they did not.
If you care to PM me your email, I will forward the whole thing.
Thommo.
An interesting vid on why some Americans may choose to abandon ship:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u24nH03NccI&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u24nH03NccI&feature=player_embedded
At the bottom there's a lot of comments. Here's a couple re septics paying taxes when o'seas..
adamsmith says:
February 3, 2012 at 6:27 am
Everyone should keep in mind that fleeing to New Zealand or anywhere else won’t help as far as taxes are concerned. As a US citizen, he is still obliged to pay US taxes no matter where he lives. As a matter of fact, for people who earn a lot of money, the ex-pat taxes are usually worse because the foreign-tax-paid break they get from the US isn’t that great, and they have to pay the taxes of their host country. If you think you can move and just not file, think again. The US has negotiated agreements around the world with foreign countries to report bank accounts and incomes of US citizens. This is why more and more people are renouncing citizenship. We are one of the few countries that tax people even when they work abroad. It’s sad that the Land of the Free has turned over control to those who don’t pay taxes and want to feast off those of us who do.
Arius says:
February 4, 2012 at 10:25 pm
Revenue Canada taxes Canadians on their worldwide income just like the IRS.
adamsmith says:
February 3, 2012 at 6:27 am
Everyone should keep in mind that fleeing to New Zealand or anywhere else won’t help as far as taxes are concerned. As a US citizen, he is still obliged to pay US taxes no matter where he lives. As a matter of fact, for people who earn a lot of money, the ex-pat taxes are usually worse because the foreign-tax-paid break they get from the US isn’t that great, and they have to pay the taxes of their host country. If you think you can move and just not file, think again. The US has negotiated agreements around the world with foreign countries to report bank accounts and incomes of US citizens. This is why more and more people are renouncing citizenship. We are one of the few countries that tax people even when they work abroad. It’s sad that the Land of the Free has turned over control to those who don’t pay taxes and want to feast off those of us who do.
Arius says:
February 4, 2012 at 10:25 pm
Revenue Canada taxes Canadians on their worldwide income just like the IRS.
That's a great little video. I didn't realise entitlement spending was as high as that. I keep hearing stories about the US having problems financing the war in Afghanistan and Iraq and being a major cause of the debt problems but those costs are a drop in the ocean compared to the entitlement spending.
US citizens living abroad are required to submit tax returns.
In fact, a serious pain for oz banks atm is deciding how/if to comply with new US regs that require institutions that bank US citizens to submit required financial info or face various forms of punishment from the US govt.
Such are the complexities/risks, not banking US citizens at all may well be an easier approach for smaller institutions.
In fact, a serious pain for oz banks atm is deciding how/if to comply with new US regs that require institutions that bank US citizens to submit required financial info or face various forms of punishment from the US govt.
Such are the complexities/risks, not banking US citizens at all may well be an easier approach for smaller institutions.
