Not so long ago, when someone criticized the USA, I would ask why people were beating down the doors to immigrate here, so much so that we had a massive illegal immigration problem and needed a fence to keep people out. It probably was the case, and still is, that the individual liberty we enjoy is a magnet for those foreigners who cannot succeed economically in their home countries. So I find it strange that our political leaders would want to pass laws to inhibit people from renouncing their citizenship and moving away.
The Brazilian-born co-founder of Facebook, who was raised in Miami, has renounced his U.S. citizenship and is moving to a more tax-friendly country. Senator Schumer is outraged that someone who used the advantage of freedom that the U.S. provides to make billions is now moving away to avoid paying more taxes. The Senator has introduced a bill designed to punish people who relinquish their U.S. citizenship and inhibit citizens from leaving. See Why the Ex-Patriot Act is a Creepy Law. Senator Schumer's bill is not unique or unprecedented. We have had such laws since the Clinton administration. See U.S. Citizens One Step Closer to Becoming Tax Slaves.
Freedom is not a gift or privilege granted by the government. There is no foundation for the argument that the freedom you enjoy obligates you stay here and pay the government for the privilege. And that is not because you have already paid taxes for the time you were here -- although you have. It is because freedom is an inalienable right that transcends government, a principle that is routinely ignored, or has been forgotten, or was never learned. Isn't is interesting that the departure of productive people from the United States to such an extent that the government needs to force you to stay has begun relatively recently with the explosion of government and its assumption of omnipotence.
The Brazilian-born co-founder of Facebook, who was raised in Miami, has renounced his U.S. citizenship and is moving to a more tax-friendly country. Senator Schumer is outraged that someone who used the advantage of freedom that the U.S. provides to make billions is now moving away to avoid paying more taxes. The Senator has introduced a bill designed to punish people who relinquish their U.S. citizenship and inhibit citizens from leaving. See Why the Ex-Patriot Act is a Creepy Law. Senator Schumer's bill is not unique or unprecedented. We have had such laws since the Clinton administration. See U.S. Citizens One Step Closer to Becoming Tax Slaves.
Freedom is not a gift or privilege granted by the government. There is no foundation for the argument that the freedom you enjoy obligates you stay here and pay the government for the privilege. And that is not because you have already paid taxes for the time you were here -- although you have. It is because freedom is an inalienable right that transcends government, a principle that is routinely ignored, or has been forgotten, or was never learned. Isn't is interesting that the departure of productive people from the United States to such an extent that the government needs to force you to stay has begun relatively recently with the explosion of government and its assumption of omnipotence.
