What piqued my interest is that Gallup imputes the 'youth and the least educated' as having to prefer the US as the ideal place for relocation, in contrast to the second ranked Canada.From Gallup:
Together, the number of potential migrants who would like to move to the United States, which represents 24% of adults who would like to move overall, and Canada, which represents 7%, make Northern America the most desired region to move to in the world. But individually, both countries appeal to people from different parts of the world. Gallup finds the U.S. appeals more to the youngest and least educated adults, while those who choose Canada are on average slightly older and more educated. (bold highlights mine)
And interestingly, people from Asia and Africa appear to be the sectors most in favor of the US.In a choice between the US and Canada, I'd also be in the minority camp. But if I would be granted the opportunity to relocate I would choose as my priority one of Asia's key financial centers Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan, or perhaps even Australia or New Zealand as alternatives. That should make me stand opposite to the conventional wisdom as posited by the polls.
Well, various forms of perceived opportunities constitute that the incentives to relocate. Here is Gallup again,
``The United States and Canada attract potential migrants for various reasons -- personal, political, or economic -- but opportunity is the common, overarching theme. People may see moving to these countries as a chance to reunite with family members who have already moved, to find jobs, or to provide better lives for their children. Immigration policy and migrant policy, too, could play a role in the talent each nation attracts. Health and social services available to them as newcomers, and their future benefits as citizens, may be yet another factor."(bold underscore mine)
Again I would be in the opposite camp, as political and economic opportunities, for me, appear tilted to the East more than the West, especially if America's "gradualist" political trend to emulate Europe's social democracy is likely to get entrenched which obviously would have unfavorable ramifications on both her financial balance sheets aside from diminishing civil liberty or personal freedom.
The Greece crisis seems merely a prologue of the gamut of ailments that will plague these welfare states. Yet America's leadership seems steadfastly navigating her political economy into the same trap.
And a growing number of Americans appear to be renouncing their citizenship seemingly shares this view.
From the New York Times (bold emphasis mine),
``The Federal Register, the government publication that records such decisions, shows that 502 expatriates gave up their U.S. citizenship or permanent residency status in the last quarter of 2009. That is a tiny portion of the 5.2 million Americans estimated by the State Department to be living abroad.
``Still, 502 was the largest quarterly figure in years, more than twice the total for all of 2008, and it looms larger, given how agonizing the decision can be. There were 235 renunciations in 2008 and 743 last year. Waiting periods to meet with consular officers to formalize renunciations have grown.
``Anecdotally, frustrations over tax and banking questions, not political considerations, appear to be the main drivers of the surge. Expat advocates say that as it becomes more difficult for Americans to live and work abroad, it will become harder for American companies to compete.
``American expats have long complained that the United States is the only industrialized country to tax citizens on income earned abroad, even when they are taxed in their country of residence, though they are allowed to exclude their first $91,400 in foreign-earned income."
More...
``Stringent new banking regulations — aimed both at curbing tax evasion and, under the Patriot Act, preventing money from flowing to terrorist groups — have inadvertently made it harder for some expats to keep bank accounts in the United States and in some cases abroad.
``Some U.S.-based banks have closed expats’ accounts because of difficulty in certifying that the holders still maintain U.S. addresses, as required by a Patriot Act provision."
I find the articles' incoherence in suggesting that taxation isn't a political problem, when it notes that the primary incentive in relinquishing citizenship has been out of onus of regulatory and taxation compliance.
Taxation and regulation is a product of politics, so how can these not be related? For instance, $1.42 trillion in fiscal deficits in 2009 to "save favored sectors", which would obviously leads to higher taxes in the future isn't about politics?
Going back to the original topic, while the US of A would seem like an ideal place to relocate, this would seem more of a delusion, unless we see a dramatic around in the current political trends.
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