"The chickens have come home to roost" - Malcolm X
I had many reasons for leaving the USA and moving overseas. One of the big reasons was, because of traveling outside of the USA a lot, especially in university days, I began to realize that the story (brainwashing) about the USA being the "Greatest country on earth" (that we were all exposed to throughout our youth in school) wasn't exactly true.
The propaganda involving American exceptionalism and how "we are different (better)" certainly wasn't true either.
Many people's of the world are proud of their countries (rightly so) and think they are living in the best country in the world... I've met lots of those outside the USA. Before I had met these people, I was under the impression that everyone was desperately trying to find a way to escape their country and get to the USA...
Maybe trying to escape to the USA was the dream of most people during World War II. It's not that way today. In fact, it's definitely become the opposite of that today; American people are trying to leave the USA.
I notice that, over this last year or two, this trickle of folks escaping from the USA has gotten bigger and bigger. Of course, the MSM doesn't report it. MSM only reports about important things like what kind of spray tans the stars use, but the fact that entire web sites and blogs, (like my favorites, International Man, or Dollar Vigilante) as well as many other online and offline publications that have popped up supporting expatriation or diversifying out of the dollar, shows you what I told people in the early 2000's: People who can read the writing on the wall are getting out of the USA.
I warned people about that just after the Invasion of Iraq. My friends scoffed. I doubt that they scoff anymore (or maybe they are still clueless or in denial).
Anyone who studied any sufficient amount of history should have seen the parallels of what happens to a country that wages wars of aggression to what that means for the domestic populace. I certainly wasn't the only one who saw it coming. My example was the historical record of the smart Jewish people and some wealthy and educated people leaving Germany and Europe before 1939. By Sept. 1, 1939, even those who wanted to leave, couldn't.
I knew what was going to happen. Many others did too. That the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq were a precursor to today problems in the USA should have come to no surprise to anyone. Of course these types of foreign adventures and wars of aggression lead to a collapse of society; they always have throughout the course of human history. To think that these incidents and wars would not lead to the current US debt, economic problems and a loss of freedom is foolish. To think that foreign wars would not lead to a suppression of the people and a rise of the police state is to ignore history... These economic problems and despair, and other recent examples such as the police beating of OWS protesters were completely predictable (they'll get much worse too!) Or, even this wonderful tidbit about how well life in America is today from Reuters this surprises no one:
I notice that, over this last year or two, this trickle of folks escaping from the USA has gotten bigger and bigger. Of course, the MSM doesn't report it. MSM only reports about important things like what kind of spray tans the stars use, but the fact that entire web sites and blogs, (like my favorites, International Man, or Dollar Vigilante) as well as many other online and offline publications that have popped up supporting expatriation or diversifying out of the dollar, shows you what I told people in the early 2000's: People who can read the writing on the wall are getting out of the USA.
"Perhaps it is a universal truth that the loss of liberty at home
is to be charged against provisions against danger,
real or pretended from abroad."
- James Madison in a letter to Thomas Jefferson
I warned people about that just after the Invasion of Iraq. My friends scoffed. I doubt that they scoff anymore (or maybe they are still clueless or in denial).
Anyone who studied any sufficient amount of history should have seen the parallels of what happens to a country that wages wars of aggression to what that means for the domestic populace. I certainly wasn't the only one who saw it coming. My example was the historical record of the smart Jewish people and some wealthy and educated people leaving Germany and Europe before 1939. By Sept. 1, 1939, even those who wanted to leave, couldn't.
I knew what was going to happen. Many others did too. That the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq were a precursor to today problems in the USA should have come to no surprise to anyone. Of course these types of foreign adventures and wars of aggression lead to a collapse of society; they always have throughout the course of human history. To think that these incidents and wars would not lead to the current US debt, economic problems and a loss of freedom is foolish. To think that foreign wars would not lead to a suppression of the people and a rise of the police state is to ignore history... These economic problems and despair, and other recent examples such as the police beating of OWS protesters were completely predictable (they'll get much worse too!) Or, even this wonderful tidbit about how well life in America is today from Reuters this surprises no one:
A shopper pepper-sprayed other bargain hunters and robbers shot at customers to steal their Black Friday purchases, marring the start of the U.S. holiday shopping season, according to authorities.
Up to 20 people were injured after a woman used pepper spray at a Walmart in Los Angeles to get an edge on her competitors. In a second incident, off-duty officers in North Carolina used pepper spray to subdue rowdy shoppers waiting for electronics.
A man was in critical but stable condition after being shot by robbers in a parking lot outside a Walmart In San Leandro, California, at 1:50 a.m. (0950 GMT), Sergeant Mike Sobek said.
The man was in a group of men headed for their car after shopping when robbers confronted them and a fight ensued, Sobek said. The man's shopping companions held down one of the robbers until police arrived and took him into custody.
What's the problem here, officer? Boys will be boys. If you guys can pepper-spray peaceful protesters then why can't this lady pepper-spray a pack of insane and possibly dangerous shoppers out buying crap? I mean, think about it, anyone who would get up early and line up at a Walmart to buy cheap made in China junk must be insane and dangerous... At least dangerous to themselves!
I can write this sort of critique of the USA today, but even 7 years ago, when I wrote about how bad the USA was becoming, in America is Bankrupt, I received lots of hate mail and even a few death threats. Today, from seeing so many different writings and publications on the Internet along the same lines as what I wrote about, talking about USA expatriation is no longer laughed at, but seriously considered by those who matter.
In fact, the window has almost closed, folks. If you can get out now, you should. You won't be able to so easily in the near future.
Jeff Berwick recently wrote an article entitled, "Escape From America":
If you said that they are all top writers or speakers about free markets and/or precious metals you'd be correct. But that isn't their only similarities.
They also all have expatriated from their country of origin. After having read seven articles in a row I realized that every person I was reading has already defected from the USSA or other similar western countries.
Like I said, the smart people have gotten out.
It is not unusual to write about these things today. It was risky to do so seven years ago... But when I first decided to move here to Japan in the early 1980's, there was no one that I could tell my fears to... In those days, if you had told anyone that you believe that the USA was way overstepping its authority and turning into the new Nazi state, American people would have thought you were nuts.
Probably most foreigners, the world over, would have just nodded their head and said, "What took you so long to figure that out?"
To recall an experience when I was working at a company office before I came to the USA allows me to exemplify one case of just how twisted the modern American mindset has become. This is the case of the US invasion of Grenada. For me, this was a quick preview of what was coming for the USA. I didn't like it at all.
I can write this sort of critique of the USA today, but even 7 years ago, when I wrote about how bad the USA was becoming, in America is Bankrupt, I received lots of hate mail and even a few death threats. Today, from seeing so many different writings and publications on the Internet along the same lines as what I wrote about, talking about USA expatriation is no longer laughed at, but seriously considered by those who matter.
In fact, the window has almost closed, folks. If you can get out now, you should. You won't be able to so easily in the near future.
Jeff Berwick recently wrote an article entitled, "Escape From America":
Recently I was surfing the internet and reading some of my favorite writers and thinkers when something dawned on me. I read articles or interviews with the following people – all of whom I respect and enjoy their viewpoints – in approximately the following order:
- Marc Faber, The Gloom, Boom and Doom Report
- Doug Casey – Founder, Casey Research
- Jim Rogers – American investor and author
- Jim Willie – Hat Trick Letter
- Dudley Baker – PreciousMetalsWarrants.com
- Fred Reed – Author
If you said that they are all top writers or speakers about free markets and/or precious metals you'd be correct. But that isn't their only similarities.
They also all have expatriated from their country of origin. After having read seven articles in a row I realized that every person I was reading has already defected from the USSA or other similar western countries.
Like I said, the smart people have gotten out.
It is not unusual to write about these things today. It was risky to do so seven years ago... But when I first decided to move here to Japan in the early 1980's, there was no one that I could tell my fears to... In those days, if you had told anyone that you believe that the USA was way overstepping its authority and turning into the new Nazi state, American people would have thought you were nuts.
Probably most foreigners, the world over, would have just nodded their head and said, "What took you so long to figure that out?"
To recall an experience when I was working at a company office before I came to the USA allows me to exemplify one case of just how twisted the modern American mindset has become. This is the case of the US invasion of Grenada. For me, this was a quick preview of what was coming for the USA. I didn't like it at all.
Ronald Reagan was the president of the USA. He had won by a landslide against Jimmy Carter in 1980. The US invaded Grenada in 1983.
In 1981, I had started working at a Prudential district office as a salesman / broker. The other salesmen were nice guys and most of them were typically at least 20 ~ 30 years older than me and many of them were ex-military men.
One day when I came to the office they were drinking and having a celebration. I walked in and it was a happy scene. A few dozens guys drinking and eating and having several "toasts" to whatever it was they were toasting. When they saw me they shouted, "Mike! Come on in! Have a drink! We're celebrating!"
I grabbed a drink and was very happy to join the party! "Wow! Drinking at work? Cool!" I then asked, "What are we celebrating?"
To which several guys smiled and said to me, "We won a war!"
"What war?" I replied.
A very nice older guy named Jim Cline said, "We invaded Grenada and won a war! The Vietnam war is over! We've won!"
At first, I was happy. But then it dawned on me... "What the hell are we doing invading some Caribbean nation and half these people don't even know where that is?"
The MSM was reporting that we invaded that island nation to save US university students... Then the story was something about 5,000 Cuban regular army on the island building an airport... There were so many excuses. (sounds like Iraq?)
Later, I went to the public library and found out some truths. First off, if you are Cuban, everyone is in the army so 5,000 "Cuban regulars" means about 600 Cuban soldiers, their wives and their 8 kids. The University students were never in any danger and that the UK and several other nations severely protested the US action as US imperialism (Nah! Couldn't be! We're the good guys, remember?) and that a US puppet government was put into power. So much for being the good guys.
Wikipedia says:
While the invasion enjoyed broad public support in the United States, and received support from some sectors in Grenada from local groups who viewed the post-coup regime as illegitimate, it was criticized by the United Kingdom, Canada and the United Nations General Assembly, which condemned it as "a flagrant violation of international law".
I remember thinking that everything the US media was telling us about this naked aggression was a complete lie. I remember thinking,
"Hey! We're supposed to be the Land of the Free! We're supposed to be helping people and spreading democracy (and I don't mean from the barrel of a gun). We're not supposed to be invading other countries!!!"
Just today, another article appeared on Lew Rockwell about how bad things have gotten in the USA. Please refer to: Be Thankful if You Were Not Born in the US:
It's 1939 again... Excepting the fascists have taken control of the USA.
Get out while you still can.
NOTE: Thanks to T. Foley for part of this article's inspiration. T graduated from a top class California University at Santa Barbara. I used to think he was an intelligent guy... That is until he was totally "Gung-ho!" for the Iraq invasion and actually told me before that fiasco started, "We'll be in and out in 4 weeks!" ... I totally lost respect for him and the rest of the "Gung-ho!" people he associated with then. Here were people who were university educated and vehemently anti-Vietnam war just a few years before, but then, at that time, they suddenly became cheerleaders for the US military machine? Extraordinary!
Proof that the US education system has totally gone down the shit can when university educated people cannot see through the lies and propaganda techniques developed in the late 1930's by the Nazi's (use of "Bandwagon") and identified by the Institute of Propaganda Analysis in the USA... I'll even bet these guys don't know that the Germans invaded Poland in 1939 because the Poles attacked Germany in the Gleiwitz incident first! Nazi Germany was merely defending itself from "terrorism"... Ahem...
Not only are these people tools of the state, they are now reaping what they sowed.
Hope you guys enjoy the garden you've planted.
At first, I was happy. But then it dawned on me... "What the hell are we doing invading some Caribbean nation and half these people don't even know where that is?"
The MSM was reporting that we invaded that island nation to save US university students... Then the story was something about 5,000 Cuban regular army on the island building an airport... There were so many excuses. (sounds like Iraq?)
Later, I went to the public library and found out some truths. First off, if you are Cuban, everyone is in the army so 5,000 "Cuban regulars" means about 600 Cuban soldiers, their wives and their 8 kids. The University students were never in any danger and that the UK and several other nations severely protested the US action as US imperialism (Nah! Couldn't be! We're the good guys, remember?) and that a US puppet government was put into power. So much for being the good guys.
Wikipedia says:
While the invasion enjoyed broad public support in the United States, and received support from some sectors in Grenada from local groups who viewed the post-coup regime as illegitimate, it was criticized by the United Kingdom, Canada and the United Nations General Assembly, which condemned it as "a flagrant violation of international law".
I remember thinking that everything the US media was telling us about this naked aggression was a complete lie. I remember thinking,
"Hey! We're supposed to be the Land of the Free! We're supposed to be helping people and spreading democracy (and I don't mean from the barrel of a gun). We're not supposed to be invading other countries!!!"
The writing was on the wall for me. I hated my job and, because I studied television and media in university I understood how this brainwashing business worked (thanks Mr. Al Miller). I could see what kind of right wing America we were heading for. I was surprised that no one else saw it coming, it seemed to me.
I was still young, cocky and believed I could do anything I wanted.
And I wanted to be free. I left the US police state. Now there are many following.
I do feel vindicated. I feel sorry for those in the USA who fail to see what's coming. I am still, to this day, astounded that even university educated people (like my family) in the USA support the vast US empire and military industrial complex. Their day of reckoning is almost here.
Just today, another article appeared on Lew Rockwell about how bad things have gotten in the USA. Please refer to: Be Thankful if You Were Not Born in the US:
.....Inside their borders, as Americans get tazed, pepper sprayed, beaten and caged on a regular basis, they are beginning to realize that the land of the free and home of the brave was a catchy jingle from centuries ago. It is now the land of the fee, home of the slave.
TRAPPED
Today, as the American government works to erect a wall and conducts unmanned drone flights on the border with Canada, many in the US are awakening to the fact that they are becoming trapped.
The US Government has even made it so all student debt is now completely inextinguishable in bankruptcy... meaning that for students who wasted 4-8 years of their life getting what is often a worthless piece of paper and six figures of debt, they will be enslaved for life and, as we are predicting at TDV, will be forced into the military to pay off their obligations.
GIVE THANKS IF YOU WERE NOT BORN IN THE US
In an erstwhile change of fortune, what was once the best place to be born, between 1623-1970 has now become one of the worst. Only those born in North Korea and Cuba, and a handful of other despotic regimes, can be said to be much worse off.....
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It's 1939 again... Excepting the fascists have taken control of the USA.
Get out while you still can.
US Government Hypocrisy. Watch this:
NOTE: Thanks to T. Foley for part of this article's inspiration. T graduated from a top class California University at Santa Barbara. I used to think he was an intelligent guy... That is until he was totally "Gung-ho!" for the Iraq invasion and actually told me before that fiasco started, "We'll be in and out in 4 weeks!" ... I totally lost respect for him and the rest of the "Gung-ho!" people he associated with then. Here were people who were university educated and vehemently anti-Vietnam war just a few years before, but then, at that time, they suddenly became cheerleaders for the US military machine? Extraordinary!
Proof that the US education system has totally gone down the shit can when university educated people cannot see through the lies and propaganda techniques developed in the late 1930's by the Nazi's (use of "Bandwagon") and identified by the Institute of Propaganda Analysis in the USA... I'll even bet these guys don't know that the Germans invaded Poland in 1939 because the Poles attacked Germany in the Gleiwitz incident first! Nazi Germany was merely defending itself from "terrorism"... Ahem...
Not only are these people tools of the state, they are now reaping what they sowed.
Hope you guys enjoy the garden you've planted.
13 comments:
It appears to be a great deal more tiresome than even you believe Mikesan.
Are you all aware of Senate bill 1867 to hit the Senate floor this Monday? (link to bill: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112s1867pcs/pdf/BILLS-112s1867pcs.pdf) that apparently authorizes the military to pick up anyone, including Americans, anywhere in the world (including their own home) and confine them in a US military prison without pressing charges or giving them a trial? If that sounds as incredible and horrendous to you as to me, check out this article:
http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/senators-demand-military-lock-american-citizens-battlefield-they-define-being
Here is a quote from the article: "The Senate is going to vote on whether Congress will give this president—and every future president — the power to order the military to pick up and imprison without charge or trial civilians anywhere in the world."
First the William Millay strangeness, and now this? Does anyone else think something big is going down?
edit: I should have mentioned, I think the part of this bill that deals with this is in Sections 1031 and 1032, but I read on another site that there are sections missing from this public version of the bill, so I'm not sure now. Anyone know anything more about this?
Oh and I forgot. Apparently, if a US citizen wishes to renounce his or her US citizenship, it will cost half of your assets and so on……sounds like one heck of an expensive divorce !
Here's a link to an article discussing it.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/americas/truth-justice-and-becoming-un-american/article2112388/
Leaving the USA is a lot easier said than done. I am here in Japan right now(for over a month now) and unfortunately I am having to return next week. I have looked for work and gotten interviews and right when everything goes well and I tell them I am on a toursit visa and need a sponsor I am told they just can not sponsor a visa. To make matters worse I am an american citizen and since the USA does not take part in working holiday visa programs with other countries, japan does not do one with the USA. All this advice about getting out of America is good, however it is advice for people who can afford to pay off the government of the country they wish to live in to buy a visa. For the rest of us common folk we are stuck in idiot land. I dread returning back to my so called homeland. the women here are beautiful(even though I am not able to date any because i do not have a job so they do not want to date a jobless man and so i can not even get a marriage visa) people are a lot skinnier and look happier and there seems to be a less amount of idiots, but to live here thanks to both USA and japanese government I am just not able to do it.
http://www.renunciationguide.com/Renunciation-Process-Step-By-Step.html
This site seems to have more concrete information though, so please ignore my earlier post in favor of this one as there does not seem to be a delete option here.
Dude! How about you set up a company and then pay yourself basically zero. Deduct all your expenses through taxes.
Sell off everything you own.
Move to Hong Kong.
Here's a link to a lady regarding education who worked for Reagan.
http://www.deliberatedumbingdown.com/
Hello Mike!
A humble suggestion: have a matchmaking contest to fix up American and Japanese citizens. I bet if you floated the idea around, especially on lewrockwell.com, your email box would be bursting at the seams. I'd bet that there are hundreds, if not thousands of readers in the USA, who would love to escape this "armed madhouse."
As to the powerful reaping what they've sown... How often does that happen? Isn't one of the main aspects of power the ability to be irresponsible? Because if trouble does come, they can either buy their way out of it, collude together, or flee...
Are there any publicly available statistics regarding the number of Americans who either renounce their citizenship or are living outside of the USA?
The Exit Tax requires Americans renouncing their citizenship to mark to market and pay capital gains tax on all assets they own, but there is a fairly large size exemption.
BE AWARE, the Exit Tax also applies to non-US Citizens who forfeit or turn in their green card (ie end permanent residence status).
So if a Japanese person moves to the USA, gets a green card, and then they marry an American with significant assets, the entire family's assets are subject to the Exit Tax. Further, any assets the Japanese person acquired both PRIOR to and after moving to America will be subject to the Exit Tax if the green card is not renewed.
Thus, a Japanese person moving back to Japan would be forced to give up the green card, triggering mark to market of both their assets and their USA citizen spouse's assets and payment of Exit Tax.
If America was so great, then why do they force people to pay in order to keep them from leaving?
All good questions, Andy. I've looked for stats on people leaving but cannot find any. I think the smart way to do it would be like Fred Reed.... Before you leave, give away or sell everything!
I wish it were that easy to legally move to another country. A country where you might actually want to live and maybe make some sort of living. A country like Japan or any 1st world country where they have great health care systems and try to help their citizens.
Secondly, about T. Foley. Lesson learned. Just cuz someone graduates from college don't make them smart. :-)
Andy In Japan said:
"If America was so great, then why do they force people to pay in order to keep them from leaving?"
Here's an interesting little bit of trivia. In order to leave Germany between 1936-1939, you had to have an ausweis issued by the Gestapo. Since there were very strict exchange controls, you had to leave all your assets behind in Germany. Some people no doubt discovered their exit was easier when they 'sold' their property to well connected Nazis.
I grew up in the late 1950's when cold war hysteria was near peak. I actually participated in one of those stupid 'get under your desk in the event of a nuclear explosion' drills in kindergarten. One of the large propaganda items we used to get inundated with concerned how hard it was to get out of Soviet Russia. You had to have an exit visa and I seem to recall that the KGB was involved in the issuance.
Now, the only difference I can see between the two items above and present day USA is the fact that homeland security/FBI is not issuing your visas (yet).
Great Blog Mike.
"I feel sorry for those in the USA who fail to see what's coming."
Unfortunately, I do not "fail to see what's coming." In fact, I have seen what was coming for many years now. In addition, few family members or close friends are blind to the realities of what is happening. It is not the country I was born into. When I was born, it wasn't the country my grandmother was born into. We have been on a downward decline for more than 100 years. Our decline has just been on warp drive in recent times.
We (spouse and I) discussed this topic a number of years ago, but we decided against it. We must live with our decision.
I know several people who have residency permits in other countries and are happy with their decision; they have improved their lives in some aspects and have decreased the quality of their lives in other aspects. As aside, I understand that residency permits are getting more difficult to attain.
Currently, things look very bleak for us, but when the the dust settles, it will be difficult to know which country will be have a better quality of living than another. I am guessing that, like most things in life, it will be a matter of opinion.
G.
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