Purpose of this thread:
1. Establishing some standard press release text to send on IBS letterhead to journalists and others. The press release would present IBS and our main issues and consensus opinions.
2. A list of journalists to whom to send such press release.
3. Agree on procedures for approving the press release (as of 26 May, this would appear to be a vote at IBS, final editing and approval by Petros and Just Me).
4. Agree on distribution plan for the press release.
Another supportive article
http://www.nationalreview.com/agenda/300475/expats-tax-exiles-and-eduardo-saverin-reihan-salam#
Another with Peter Dunn
http://articles.marketwatch.com/2012-05-18/commentary/31756872_1_bank-accounts-citizenship-tough-irs
@Joe Smith. great article. Roger Conklin’s going to like this one!
@joe “Brink Lindsey has explained this dynamic very well:
Here in the United States and around the world, we have entered what might be called the era of “frontier economics.” Older, easier sources of growth are drying up and, as a result, the prospects for continued dynamism and prosperity hinge more than ever before on the pioneering entrepreneurial upstarts that explore and extend the technological frontier. As a consequence, the political imperative to maintain satisfactory economic performance is putting national economies under ongoing pressure to free up markets and knock down artificial barriers to competition— in other words, to make their particular versions of capitalism more entrepreneurial. The purpose of this paper is to offer a general explanation of this trend and the social forces driving it.
” http://www.nationalreview.com/agenda/300475/expats-tax-exiles-and-eduardo-saverin-reihan-salam#
Thanks for that link
last one for now…
http://recalcitrantdotme.wordpress.com/2012/04/19/my-thoughts-on-u-s-citizenship-for-young-people/
Nationalistic Narcissism
For a long time, when I have thought of the U.S. I have thought of the words “nationalistic narcissism”. Today I decided to do a search on those words. What came up was, what appears to to be a very interesting book called: American Narcissism: The Myth of National Superiority by Wilber Caldwell. The book appears to consider the question: “how did the U.S. become this way?”, (which is what all of us wonder). Here is some descriptive material:
About the Book
Nationalism is not unique to America: it was invented with the birth of modern nations. But nationalism is unique in America. Americans conceive themselves and their nation to be incontrovertibly superior to the other peoples and nations of the earth. When does national pride cross the invisible boundary that separates benign patriotism and malignant nationalism?
Historically, American notions of superiority spring from myths of the unique regenerative power of the new land; from visions of chosen-ness, mission and high destiny; from the indelible legends of frontier self-sufficiency; from the confidence and self-reliance needed to succeed as immigrants; from a powerful sense of AmericaÂ’s isolation and uniqueness; from the realization of abundance; and finally from the perceived universality of American ideology.
This predisposes us to a distinctively virulent strain of nationalism unlike that found in almost any other modern nation. As the unipolar moment fades into memory, this sense of unquestionable superiority — expressed through politics and foreign policy — does not play well before the global audience. In fact, it never did.
Drawing on sources from within the academic disciplines of history, sociology, political science and foreign affairs, the book seeks to decode scholarly jargon and lay bare this corner of the American mind for the benefit of a wider readership.
The discussion is organized in four parts:
Nationalism
The Evolution of the American Superiority Myth
The Presumption of National Superiority
Tolerance And Plurality
In America today, notions of national superiority are far more deeply ingrained and far more potentially ruinous than most of us imagine. This is a journey that slides from reason to emotion, from individual liberty to mass tyranny, and from humanity to inhumanity.
This book will interest readers of US history, current events, and social commentary; and all who wonder, “Why do they hate us?”
I liked the NRO article, but I did feel the author undid a chunk of his good work with “[Saverin] … stole hundreds of millions of dollars from the women and men who’ve actually built Facebook into a successful business enterprise.”
That looks thrown in just to appease the crowd currently baying for Saverin’s crucifiction. As far as I know, Saverin stole nothing. If dubious legalities were involved, they were nevertheless legalities. That’s not theft.
@outraged, the wsj article is a great one to send to people you know in the US who are confused about the issue. I know I will! Thanks!
In case my computer poofs out (showing its age with screen flickering at the moment) I just want to say that JDT’s press release and plan look great to me. There can be no “sound biting” this issue — it’s just too complex with too many subtypes of IRS victims.
@Petros: “By all means mention Isaac Brock Society and our website. But represent yourself as just one writer here, not someone who speaks for the whole. You see what I mean?” Message received. And thank you. I really like spreading the word about the Isaac Brock Society. DAMN I’m proud to be a Canadian!
@ foxyladyhawk
Until all of this FBAR/FATCA fiasco filtered into my life I never thought much about being Canadian or anything else other than being a human being but now I’m at the very least grateful to be here rather than there. There’s no politically ideal country in this world to go to (for me) but Canada is home and I will take it warts and all. I know patriotism is a big thing in the USA but taking it, warts and all, is about as far as I can venture into patriotism. However I’m proud of most of the people here in Canada (extremely proud of Brockers) but not terribly proud of our government which seems determined to sell out Canada’s sovereignty to the USA (or perhaps more accurately USrael).
Em from what we’ve read in news releases Israelis are suffering as much if not even more than Canadians under FATCA.
Israel, Canada and every other country on earth are having their sovereignty threatened by the US.
Mixing personal political views about Israel with FATCA hurts our message. These are two completely different subjects and should not be confused.
If I was a US/Israeli citizen affected by the FATCA situation I might not feel welcome at this website because of posts made by a very small minority of posters. I don’t mean to offend anyone but I think we should stay away from anti-Jewish posts.
I’m not Jewish. I’m Indian. If I have picked up on the anti-Jewish slant, I’m sure a Jewish person would be offended.
I may get alot of flack for making this post but I don’t want us to be portrayed as a group that has a beef with Israelis.
@Em, I agree with you, and on second thoughts about my impulsive outburst above, nationalism per se can be a dangerous thing. What I really mean is that I am very pleased to be in the company of the people here on this site, and to be part of this movement against the abusive practices of the IRS. Canada is a large and diverse and therefore fascinating place to be. But I feel about Canada as I feel about the US, namely that the people are great, but the governments they choose are not. As HL Menken said, democracy means that the people know what they want, and they deserve to get it good and hard.
@OMG.. I’m solidly with you. We cannot afford to be seen as anti anything other than anti US policy regarding expatriats and former US persons, and extra-territorial overreach, etc. I personally am uncomfortable if I pick up on any negative tendency toward any nationality, race, religion or whatever else puts a bug up someones you-know-what. And I am just a mixed bag of I don’t even know how many nationalities. Keep it clean, keep it on point. that will get our message across.
@JDT, Count me in. I can translate if you like or check yours (I have two lovely young native French speakers here at home). Can also check with some friends connected to the MSM here to see who we can contact in France. Would be delighted to work with Don or anyone else who wants to be the lead for Europe.
A vos ordres, mon Général!
@ omg
The USrael insert was not to do with who or what suffers more or less from FATCA — sorry if it was interpreted that way. It merely reflects my belief that Israel via AIPAC and other resources has an undue influence over US foreign policy. And by Israel I by no means mean the people of Israel, only its government. I do not mean any slight to the people of Israel anymore than my criticisms of the Canadian government are a slight to Canadians. I’ll just leave at that — don’t want to tarnish IBS in anyway.
@Em, understood. It’s one of the common difficulties with writing online, or emailing. Nuance doesn’t get picked up, and often sarcasm is taken at face value, unintended meaning can be read.
@Jefferson
The main themes that I think need to be emphasized [JDT 26.05.12 I copied these suggestions to the top of the thread]:
1.) CITIZENSHIP-BASED TAXATION must be repealed! America’s founders refused to tolerate it, why should anyone else. we.
2.) EX-PATS have NO REPRESENTATION in congress. To be specific, there is nobody in congress with voting rights who is elected by and represents the interests of EX-PATS.
3.) EX-PATS do not use US highways, bridges, dams, power grid, schools, hospitals, fire, police, courts etc. They are not able to receive unemployment benefits or Medicare. EX-PATS receive NO SERVICES from the from the US government other than a travel document, which they pay for.
I am not a fan of either side of the double-headed one party system of the US. Both sides have done their fair share of damage to expats.
However, IMHO the Democrat side has been more aggressive with anti-expat legislation and policies than the Republican side.
In any case, I think our focus should be on reaching out to journalists rather than politicians and academics (unless already empathetic to expats).
JOURNALISTS are supposed to report facts, which we know is not always the case. Our story is only just now being told. Even if they are anti-expat in outlook, our plight is interesting for them to write about.
POLITICIANS only care about votes and campaign contributions. We carry no weight with them. In fact, we are a danger to most of them.
ACADEMICS are supposed to conduct independent research, which we also know is not always the case. And once an academic takes a position on an issue, it is almost impossible to convince him / her of the contrary because academics think they already know everything and to change position costs them too much in credibility.
In conclusion, I think we will get the most “bang for the buck” reaching out to journalists (pro and anti-expat ones) and also to pro-expat politicians and pro-expat academics. Trying to enlighten unknowing / unfriendly politicians and academics can consume an enormous amount of energy and yield little results.
In short:
Primary Targets: All JOURNALISTS to build public awareness and support for our plight.
Secondary Targets: Ex-pat friendly POLITICIANS and ACADEMICS.
Politicians will follow public opinion. Academics for the most part need to come to their conclusions on their own.
@Jefferson,
Another important theme I forgot to mention is many if not most, ex-pats left America with empty pockets.
The money in their savings and pensions was earned in their countries of residence, not the US.
I once contacted the Tea Party Patriots about the tax situation with non-resident US persons. This was last year and they didn’t know too much about it but were VERY interested in knowing more. I couldn’t bring myself to call myself a “patriot” and didn’t pursue it any further…
re:interview with Peter Dunn
http://articles.marketwatch.com/2012-05-18/commentary/31756872_1_bank-accounts-citizenship-tough-irs
Very articulate Peter – and lovely photo!
: )
Another thing we have is discrimination on many fronts, one of the most glaring any assistance in our own countries for the complexity of the reporting we have to do. I received this back from my submission to TAP:
From: Taxpayer Advocacy Panel
Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2012 11:47 AM
To: calgary411
Subject: [Taxpayer Advocacy Panel]
RE: More International Discrimination:
Thank you for your suggestion regarding International Discrimination. Your comment has been forwarded to the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel for review. Based upon this review, your suggestion may be elevated to the Internal Revenue Service for action. We sincerely appreciate you taking the time to let us know your concerns and suggestions about the Internal Revenue Service. Your comments are important to us, so please contact us if you have additional suggestions for IRS improvement.
——————————————————————————–
This is a reply to the following comment(s):
From: calgary411
Date: 5/5/2012
Message: For Canada non-service: http://canada.usembassy.gov/consular_services/taxpayer-assistance.html
@FromTheWilderness I agree. All journalists first. Once our story and the abuses we suffer get out in the press, then we might be less of a danger to politicians if they listen to us, as the people will know more about the issue.
The danger with the academics in the US is that they might take an Amerocentric stance. I would address academics that have a more international outlook, actually have read foreign constitutions, and know about the UDHR.
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