Captain Rawles,
In response to your mention of people voting with their feet – I believe this is much more prevalent today than people realize. According to the best data I can find, there are currently more than a million Americans leaving the United States each year. And while the vast majority will choose to retain their US citizenship, and their reasons for leaving are varied, the net effect on the American economy will be great. Here’s why: The people who are leaving are, almost to a family, high income earners. Many of those replacing them in the US are coming to take advantage of our generous “entitlement” system, and this phenomenon will result in a net drain on the system that will only accelerate the demise of our current economy.
The light went on for me on election night. I realized, with perfect clarity, that this administration had spent the previous four years using MY tax dollars to aggressively create as many economic parasites as possible, and then promise them even more of my money in return for their votes. As a fiercely patriotic American who has fought and bled for this country, this brought me to a painful decision: I must take drastic measures to stop supporting such a corrupt system.
One of the reasons we’ve had such a hard time winning the war in Afghanistan is that our aid to that country has been used to support both sides of the war. For example, when we paid to build a new highway or school, for example, the Taliban would show up and extort about 15% of the total project cost as “protection” against the contractor’s equipment being destroyed. In this way, our money has been supporting both sides of the conflict, which is a recipe for perpetual war (until the money runs out).
This is what I believe has happened in America. Hard working taxpayers have been milked nearly to the breaking point, and our money used to solidify the voting base of the current administration. This will only continue until we find a way to stop sending them our money.
For me, that prompted the decision to leave. I sold my businesses in the United States before the end of the year and moved my family to a safe, stable Central American country where I will seek residency and be able to live on much less in order to give away much more.
Essentially, I’ve gone into tax exile. I am choosing to keep less of what I make this year, but rather than be a slave to the US government, I will voluntarily give away much more to worthy causes that support the Kingdom of God. In this way (and with the help of the still-legal “Foreign Earned Income Exclusion”) I will minimize my support to the US kleptocracy for as long as possible.
Here’s the interesting part: The real estate agent I dealt with here in Central America told me he’s been absolutely swamped by calls from wealthy U.S. citizens who cannot get out fast enough. He has fielded literally dozens of calls and visits in the final few weeks of the year.
The IRS stopped reporting the number of US citizens living overseas, but the number is exploding. I believe as many as 3 million Americans will leave this year alone. And the way I see it, this is the most patriotic thing I can do.
One last thing: the country where I am now living has some common-sense rules on getting a gun permit – one must get an eye exam, take a drug test and get a mental health exam. After that, a permit is issued and I can then own any kind of weapon I like – from sawed-off shotguns to standard-capacity handguns or carbines. And I can carry them anywhere.
May God Save Our Republic. – A Patriot in Central America