This year’s Agora licensitarian symposium plays off a piece I wrote for LRC in 2009, which got a lot of reaction (”Flight and Fight”). In it I describe alternate responses to the crisis in the US, in terms of limbic reactions. My stats-counter showed me thereafter who was watching those pages and the responses….
And, lo and behold, after a discreet waiting period, the idea reappears with a careful nod to the person who coined the physiological term…which is so well-known as to be in the public realm…… but with no nod at all to the person who applied it to possible libertarian strategies to defend against the financial crisis.
So much for Internet marketers. They’re like the kid who goes out of his way to point out something relatively trivial that he did wrong, hoping that will divert you from the bicycle he’s pinched from the neighbors. Fools some of the people, I guess.
So too elaborate and insincere “apologies” for non-existent/trivial failures of attribution provide cover for continual pilfering that’s never acknowledged let alone corrected.
The right hand shakes your hand while the left hand picks your pocket. The right hand pretends it’s never seen the left hand. And the head stares in the other direction or feigns shock at the goings on below, rather like a prim cat doing potty.
Such pseudo-libertarians turn out to be no better than the statists they fight. The Pseudos steal openly, confusing the “freedom” of the jungle with the freedom of a civilized society, all the while mouthing unctuous platitudes about morality and the family. On the other side, the statists steal under color of law, mouthing pieties about the poor, the third world and minorities, about whom most of them know little and care less.
For honest people, there is nothing to choose between the two groups.
The real problem is public culture itself. Long moribund in the West and much overrated by credulous immigrants sickened by their own cultural failures, it is now visibly and irretrievably putrid.
Only the awareness of the reality of the mind-body will change things, not politics. If this be obscurantist, so be it. The one who knowingly steals from another, steals from himself and from his children. The imperialist who believed his robbery of unfortunate “others’ went unnoticed by fate, finds that fate herself has planned a visit just for him. If the visit is in ten days or ten years, what difference does it make?
http://mindbodypolitic.org/2009/06/15/flight-and-fight/
June 15, 2009
My latest piece at Lew Rockwell, answers some questions readers had asked me about leaving the US:
“My last piece, “Time to Run,” provoked a lot of reaction, almost all of it positive, but some negative.
The readers who liked it wanted advice on where to run. That’s a tall order and I’ll come back to them in another piece.
Those who didn’t like it brandished a few arguments that ought to have a stake driven right through them immediately.
Here goes, point by point.
1. Running away doesn’t help
1. Actually, running away is often the best response to a bad situation.
Speaking practically, when a dump truck turns into your drive, mows down your rhododendrons and heads toward you, do you stand your ground yelling Sicilian imprecations at the driver until he rolls over you too? Or do you leap aside nimbly, take a photo, and call a lawyer? You have as much chance getting through to the poisonous shills in DC with constitutional arguments, as you have charming a rabid pit bull with Shakespeare.
Speaking theoretically, your body and brain are hardwired to either put up or shut up, a “fight or flight” response built into the structure of the autonomic nervous system. That is the physiological term for what you think of as your “lizard brain.” Fight or flight is the either/or response that helped your ancestors survive. It’s not the best way to tackle complex problems, but when it gets down to basic survival, it’s a handy guide.
And how do you know when your survival is at stake?
Check your gut response…..”
Read the rest at Lew Rockwell.
[I will be posting reader email on my blog and will respond there, since my email is often compromised]
Jon B. said…
1
article
From: Jon B.
Sent: Mon 6/15/09 5:42 AM
To: L R
I have thought and am starting to make the plans to leave also, but not just because of the u s situation. Although that adds a little to it.
what countries do you like i am curious.
I country i may be headed to is mainly because my fiancee and our son is from there but there is good and bad about it.
i have always like your articles…..i always read them along with lews, gary north, faber, schiffs and jim rogers…thats my greatest hits.
what descent are you by the way?
06/15/09 12:17 PM | Comment Link Edit This
Al Benincasa said…
2
Fight or flight?
From: “Al Benincasa”
Date: Sun, June 14, 2009 10:04 pm
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
If I was a native, I’d get me a can of shoe polish and I’d be in business. They’d
never let a gringo. You can sit on a bench to get three-quarters starved. You can
beg from another gringo. You can even commit burglary. But try shining shoes in the
street or peddling lemonade out of a bucket and your hash is settled. You’d never
get another job from an American.
http://www.filmsite.org/trea.html
If you haven’t seen it, you oughta.
06/15/09 12:18 PM | Comment Link Edit This
Brian C. said…
3
Subject: thechickenrun
From: “Brian C.”
Date: Sun, June 14, 2009 10:59 pm
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
Dear Ms. Rajiva,
I am an internist. Due to federal price controls, I’m earning a bit more than a
pharmacist. Planning to move to Canada or Australia, been working on it for a few
months. If you wait until everybody wants to leave, then it will be too late.
Thanks for the good article,
Brian C, MD, MSPH
06/15/09 12:19 PM | Comment Link Edit This
Alex D’A said…
4
Subject: RE: Flight AND Fight
From: “D’A Alex (External)”
Date: Mon, June 15, 2009 2:21 am
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
Atta’ tell Lila!!!!
I will GLADLY supply the stake and help you plow it through their
ignorant hearts.
As always, your writing is exceptional.
Keep up the good work!
Alex D’A
Montreal, Canada
06/15/09 12:21 PM | Comment Link Edit This
anz289@gmail.com said…
5
Subject: Flight AND Fight
From:
Date: Mon, June 15, 2009 1:03 am
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
Hi Lila,
I loved what you said as we left 16 months ago for NZ and never looked
back.
Very happy here even though they are socialist. They just don’t have
the political
machine to mess with you if you mind your own business and don’t look
for trouble.
If you ever get this way we would be glad to show you our area near
Nelson.
If you write another article on this you might bring up the point that
it is better
to get out a year early than to be a day too late. When TSHTF people
will wish
they had considered what you recommend.
I have to thank the Daily Reckoning for waking me up to gold in 2000,
the next
time I see Bill I will thank him. We almost went to Australia last
December to see
him at the get together that they had.
Good Luck.
Take care,
Larry
06/15/09 12:22 PM | Comment Link Edit This
Mike Rogers said…
6
Subject: Flight AND Fight
From: “mike rogers”
Date: Mon, June 15, 2009 12:51 am
To: “lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com” Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
Bravo again.
Sometimes I feel bad about myself when I think, “Damn! The United States is
one-hell-of-a messed place. Glad I don’t live there anymore.”… Yeah, I
feel bad until I think about my wife and kids and how much more safer and
sane Japanese society is than the USA.
It is, unfortunately, a great relief to be able to watch that place burn
from a very safe distance….
Keep up the good work.
Mike (in Tokyo) Rogers
–
Universal Vision Ltd.
4-20-12 Tamagawa, Setagaya-Ku, Tokyo Japan 158-009
06/15/09 12:23 PM | Comment Link Edit This
Tim T. said…
7
Subject: Flight AND Fight
From: “Tim T”
Date: Sun, June 14, 2009 11:49 pm
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
Ms. Rajiva,
A great column (”Fight AND Flight”) filled with good advice. I
renounced US citizenship after the Patriot Act and have lived in Asia
since 1996. I have never looked back (except in occasional, detached
horror). In my view America is finished for now, but as you suggest,
it may live on in spirit in other parts of the world. The idea of
America is certainly (although not consistently) alive in China.
Kind regards,
Tim T.
Hong Kong
06/15/09 12:25 PM | Comment Link Edit This
John H. said…
8
Subject: Two good places to move to
From: “John H. 163?
Date: Mon, June 15, 2009 12:15 am
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
Hi Lila,
My American friends teaching English in China often say they are only going
back to the US to visit. They make very small money in USD terms, but it is
enough to live quite comfortably here. Locals might not get the chance to
participate in sham elections, but unpopular new laws seem to get repealed
very quickly. In general the government here rules with a very light touch.
I recently had a holiday in the Philippines; heaven and very cheap. In the
country areas the people were extremely friendly, honest and generous. Most
speak English. The food is a fusion of Asian and American. Just avoid the
Muslim conflict zones in the South.
As totally weird as it sounds, I just spoke to a guy who had been living in
Southern Afghanistan. He said all is peaceful there. Who would have thought?
The only thing people from the States need to remember is to be friendly,
humble and respectful to all the people you meet in your new country. The
new country is NOT America, people do things differently. Don’t compare
their systems and methods unfavourably with America’s. They love their
country too.
John
John H.
06/15/09 12:27 PM | Comment Link Edit This
Jane T. B. said…
9
Subject: Hello from Vienna!
From: “Jane T. B”
Date: Mon, June 15, 2009 1:43 am
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
Hello Lila!
I was really delighted to come across your article today on
LewRockwell and through the link read the earlier article, which I had
missed. I did what you are recommending nearly three years ago and
for the very same reasons that you recommend. I was living in Santa
Monica, CA, home to the RAND Corporation, and was watching the city
becoming more and more of a police state each week. The policing
extended to the mentality of the city’s inhabitants and living in a
condo, I found myself spied upon (and acted upon) by neighbors. I’d
been going every year to Vienna, Austria to visit friends and enjoy
the city (am pretty fluent in German) and in May ‘06, I had just
gotten a dog and took the dog with me for a month-long trip in May. It
was such a delight to be able to take the dog everywhere and to have
so many other freedoms that no longer exist in the U.S. that I was
downright “down” after returning and started to roam the Internet
looking for an affordable small apartment. By the end of June, I found
a studio apartment that was very affordable, had lots of pictures
sent, asked lots of questions and had two friends go to look at it and
ended up buying it from Los Angeles. In September I returned with my
dog and stayed for a few months and returned because my mom was ill.
I continued back and forth for a while, but have been pretty much
living here full-time since my mom died in Feb. of ‘07. Now, after
settling in, I have to do something to hook up with an activist
community here. Right now I am here to stay. I have been settling in
so nicely that in November, I decided to rent a bigger apartment and
found someone to take over the apartment I bought which helps pay the
rent in the new apartment. I have been working on a website which may
interest you. Here is the link — http://web.mac.com/Jtenbrink1/Site/Welcome.html
Follow the directions on the “Welcome” page to access each of the 56
chapters. The website is intended as a kind of annotated bibliography
on a wide range of post-9/11 and new world order issues. There is
probably too much information and other imperfections, but I wanted to
get something up and I figured that it was better to get something up
then to aim for something that would take a lot more time (as we are
running out of time!!!!).
Let me know what you think.
I am one example of someone who did what you recommend and I can tell
you that it is working! However, there are several things that
facilitated the transition for me: A pre-existing network of friends,
language, financial resources (am retired early, but have a decent
income).
Incidentally, I have been listening to and responding to the warning
signals by also making major changes in my finances, such as
liquidating my IRA accounts last summer, buying gold, getting
completely out of stock market in fall, etc.
Hopefully more and more people are waking up and realizing that they
need to be pro-active as you suggest and even if they suffer losses as
I did, that it is better to cut them better late than never.
Best wishes,
Jane T. B
Vienna, Austria
Attachments:
06/15/09 12:29 PM | Comment Link Edit This
David B. said…
10
Subject: I agree with you
From: “David B”
Date: Mon, June 15, 2009 3:05 am
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
Dear Lila,
Your recent columns have been illuminating and entertaining and I have
been following them on LewRockwell.com. A lot of what you have written
has helped me to make up my mind. Not to leave the US but to remain
overseas rather than return.
I have been living in Bahrain for the past thirteen years now. A couple
of years ago we (my wife and I) were thinking about going back to the
US, but not now. I keep telling my wife that this is not the time. I
have family in the US and we will visit them on our vacations, that’s
enough.
Bahrain is one of the benign dictatorships mentioned in your latest
article. I live here tax free with free medical care if I want it. The
country is stable and the govt will always have money because of the
banking industry (Bahrain is a great place to launder money) and the
oil. There is a lot of talk here about unpegging from the dollar and
starting a gold-based dinar for the Gulf region. We’ll see what happens.
Anyway, I agree with you. This is not the time to be blindly patriotic,
it is the time to save our butts and secure our families. Keep up the
good work and great writing.
Your fan in Bahrain,
David B.
06/15/09 12:30 PM | Comment Link Edit This
Robert B said…
11
Subject: I ran to South Korea…and I love it.
From: “Robert B”
Date: Mon, June 15, 2009 7:41 pm
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
Dear Lila Rajiva,
Hi! I am an American working in South Korea. I have no intention on returning to the
U.S. I love my job and even though the crazy guys with the nukes is my neighbor to
the north I am happier and feel safer than I did when I was in the U.S.. Keep up
the good work.
06/15/09 12:31 PM | Comment Link Edit This
O E said…
12
Subject: Leaving
From: “O-E”
Date: Mon, June 15, 2009 6:29 am
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
Dear Lila,
Thank you for your work. Undoubtedly, it will benefit many people. To leave or not
to leave? I would say that much personal prayer should go into that decision. I
have done that, myself. I shall not leave. This is my home, and I’ll fight for it
until I can’t fight any longer. Eventually, not matter where we are, we’re all
called to make a stand. I am making my stand here, in my home.
All the best,
R R O, Columbus, New Mexico
06/15/09 12:33 PM | Comment Link Edit This
Ellen F. said…
13
Subject: fighting and fleeing
From: “Ellen F”
Date: Mon, June 15, 2009 7:43 am
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
Dear Lila,
I read your article on LRC today and enjoyed it. You make some good points.
I have contributed a few articles to LRC in the past, and I wondered if
you’ve given much thought to the “fight” side of the issue.
My brother recently made a two-part
video called The Four Stages of Revolution, which uses movie clips and text
commentary to explain the right of rebellion and its relevance today. It’s
long, but it’s awesome, so awesome that you’ll probably get arrested under
the Patriot Act for watching it. Here it is in case you care to take a look:
http://en.sevenload.com/videos/c3kZgM8-The-Four-Stages-of-Revolution-Part-1-of-2
http://en.sevenload.com/videos/FLU9JAR-The-Four-Stages-of-Revolution-Part-2-of-2
Part 1 includes a montage of people throughout history and around the world
who have chose to fight tyranny. Part II answers a lot of the questions that
will be raised after people watch part I (i.e. “Are you crazy?”)
Thought you might find it interesting. I look forward to reading more of
your articles.
Sincerely,
Ellen F.
06/15/09 2:14 PM | Comment Link Edit This
Alex said…
14
Subject: Flight and Fight
From: “Alex”
Date: Mon, June 15, 2009 8:09 am
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
Why not move to New Hampshire as part of the FreeStateProject
(freestateproject.org)?
–
Alex
06/15/09 2:14 PM | Comment Link Edit This
Ron C. said…
15
Subject: leaving the USA
From: “Ron C.”
Date: Mon, June 15, 2009 7:47 am
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
Thank you very much for your articles in Lew Rockwell. You are quietly
sneaking into being my favorite reading material, again thanks, Ron
Cummings, Indiana, gun toting, God fearing, 62 year old grandpa.
06/15/09 2:16 PM | Comment Link Edit This
William F. said…
16
ubject: Travel/Move to Singapore
From: “William F”
Date: Mon, June 15, 2009 8:19 am
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
I have been enjoying your articles on Lew Rockwell lately, the one on going without
health insurance and the 2 on leaving the country.
I am currently retired. Over the last 3 or 4 years I made several business trips to
Singapore. Of course that was on company expense account. I found it a delightful
place and am considering going there to live for varying lengths of time. I am a
bit concerned about cost of living there.
I am primarily concerned about how one can get money out of the country. By that I
mean cash in banks, retirement payments and investments with a broker. It would be
nice to be taxed at lower rates.
Do you have any advice on this?
I also enjoyed your book Mobs, Messiahs and Markets.
Regards and thank you….
___________________________________________________________
06/15/09 2:24 PM | Comment Link Edit This
Matthew K. said…
17
Subject: all true
From: “Matthew K”
Date: Mon, June 15, 2009 8:01 am
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
Lila,
Everything you say in your latest article is absolutely true as long as you
do not intend to take the last and final step and actually fight. Barring
that, yes. Your best course is absolutely to get out. I did a long time ago.
Matt
06/15/09 2:32 PM | Comment Link Edit This
Ricardo D. said…
18
Subject: Re: Flight AND Fight
From: “Ricardo D”
Date: Mon, June 15, 2009 8:01 am
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
Excellent article!
06/15/09 2:34 PM | Comment Link Edit This
Robert G. said…
19
Subject: RE: Flight AND Fight
From: “Robert G”
Date: Mon, June 15, 2009 7:50 am
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
Dear Ms. Rajiva,
I agreed with your first article on the subject, and I agree with this
one.
For far too long Americans have believed that they’re number one. Most
logical thinkers would reject this thesis on its face but, surely, any
thinking person that has, as you have pointed out, interacted with the
imperial federal government since 9-11 knows just how arbitrary this
tyranny has become.
(As a quick aside, look at how the MSM is portraying the recent
election in Iran: as if the USA is some sort of paragon of
representative government. The fact that less than nine percent of 435
House seats were competitive in the last election says a lot more about
the US than the last Iranian election says about them.)
It has been my experience that foreigners are far more able to
differentiate between the American people and the American government
that supposedly represents the people. If only the American people
were that bright.
As I mentioned in my last note to you, I’ve decided on Italy. I look
forward to your next installment.
Best regards,
Bob G, Atlanta, GA
06/15/09 2:35 PM | Comment Link Edit This
Glen L. said…
20
Subject: Flight AND Fight
From: “Glen L”
Date: Mon, June 15, 2009 8:07 am
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
Hello, Lila. Good, thought-provoking articles as always.
My wife and I seriously considered becoming expats in 2007. We did a lot of
research focused on Latin America, which we eventually narrowed down to Panama and
Costa Rica. You can tell your readers that no matter where they decide to run to,
they’re likely to find numerous Americans who blazed the trail for them. This is
especially true in Panama and C.R.
Costa Rica especially has many things going for it. No army. Anyone can own
firearms, and you’re actually allowed to defend yourself. A large and vibrant expat
community. Still some affordable beach property. Friendly natives. And the Central
Highlands in both countries has a perpetual spring-like climate. On the other hand,
lots of nasty bugs and snakes, and a welfare mindset among the locals (if you hire a
housekeeper you’ll adopt her family as well).
Nevertheless, we finally decided against it because moving down there is just too
complicated for a 62-year old man and his 55-year old wife. So we’re running within
the U.S., down to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. We think we’ll be safe there,
but we have our passports and we’ll be ready to pack up and move if things get bad
enough.
Anyway, I completely agree with you. Every freedom-loving American should do
extensive research about safe havens, and have a realistic escape plan. I think
there will be plenty of economic warning (at least a few months), marked by rapidly
increasing inflation. I realize that a sudden despotic action could take place at
any time (rounding up dissidents?), but we’ll just have to deal with whatever
happens when it happens.
We’re ready to fight if necessary, but flight is easily the best option.
All the best,
Glen L
Attachments:
06/15/09 2:36 PM | Comment Link Edit This
Tim T said…
21
ubject: Flight AND Fight
From: “Tim T
Date: Sun, June 14, 2009 11:49 pm
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
Ms. Rajiva,
A great column (”Fight AND Flight”) filled with good advice. I
renounced US citizenship after the Patriot Act and have lived in Asia
since 1996. I have never looked back (except in occasional, detached
horror). In my view America is finished for now, but as you suggest,
it may live on in spirit in other parts of the world. The idea of
America is certainly (although not consistently) alive in China.
Kind regards,
Tim T
Hong Kong
06/15/09 2:39 PM | Comment Link Edit This
Rick A said…
22
I’m trying my luck in South Korea…j
Hopefully, the Korean work ethic and the humility that seems to thrive in E. Asia will be enough…
06/15/09 3:00 PM | Comment Link Edit This
ellis b said…
23
Subject: wonderful- …RUN June15th article
From: “ellisb”
Date: Mon, June 15, 2009 8:43 am
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
HelloMiss Lila,
It’s been some while since I’ve read you on LR and today’s
article shows what a shame that is–Ill have to catch up through the archives. I
chalk it up to coincidence (??)that the topics you discuss and points that you make
are similar to those that I keep preaching to friends lately.
It does get old to see the glazed- over, non-accepting look
in response so I think(if it’s allright with you)that I’ll do better by just showing
your articles to those I can’t seem to convince/communicate with so well. Perhaps
the mind gets”hard-wired” in a way to dismiss the ideas coming out from one with
whom you’ve disagreed before. Oh well, main thing was that I really enjoy your
writing and wanted to say hello again after this long while.Hope that all is well
with you,
Sincerely ,
ellis
ps on the topic of where to run….. I recently had nothing but
positive , happy experiences in Colombia.so, its one to consider…
06/15/09 3:06 PM | Comment Link Edit This
Jeff W said…
24
Subject: Yur article at LRC
From: “Jeff W”
Date: Mon, June 15, 2009 9:04 am
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
anxiously awaiting the third installment.”WHERE”.
06/15/09 3:55 PM | Comment Link Edit This
Jimmy S said…
25
Subject: re:fight and flight
From: “Jimmy S”
Date: Mon, June 15, 2009 9:07 am
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
Dear Ms. Rajiva,
Another great column today at LRC! Please keep writing on this topic as I
think a lot of people are scared and thinking about the future but this is
an almost taboo subject in America. I think the government is preparing for
something like an exodus because they have recently made it almost
impossible to exercise that most basic right to declare political
independence that our forefathers gave us. I was shocked to read this a
while back and this might be a good subject for another column:
http://www.escapeartist.com/Expat_Taxes/Trapped_In_America/
The author contends that our political rulers have put up a “virtual”
equivalent to the Berlin wall. I think he’s right.
Sincerely,
Jimmy S
06/15/09 4:00 PM | Comment Link Edit This
David C. said…
26
Subject: Flight & forecasting
From: “David C”
Date: Mon, June 15, 2009 9:54 am
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
Dear Ms. Rajiva,
I enjoyed your recent LRC columns on the wisdom of not standing before the
hurricane. I myself consider the tides of history to be all but predestined
based on the patterned aspect of social mood as explained at
http://www.socionomics.net .
In 1995 Bob Prechter published his “At the Crest of the Tidal Wave” which
posited that a cycle of two centuries’ duration was in the process of
turning. His 2003 “Conquer the Crash” has turned out to be nearly a
blow-by-blow road map for what we now experience.
The tides of history are like a large river. Only a fool tries to stand
before the current and divert the flow from its chosen course. The wise “go
with the flow” when it is benign and step up to the banks when it is not.
Best wishes,
David C
06/15/09 4:02 PM | Comment Link Edit This
Shawn M. said…
27
Subject: Fight or Flight
From: “Shawn M”
Date: Mon, June 15, 2009 9:55 am
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
Thanks for the articles.
My wife and three sons (5,3,1) are going to France for three months in
September. They will be joined by my sister, who is fluent in French,
and her two children (3,1). The three oldest will attend pre-school and
get thrown head first into a different language and culture.
If all works well, we plan on repeating this adventure with a keen eye
on allowing the children greater opportunities away from the USA.
Many that object use arguments that are similar to those that argue
against home-schooling.
Keep up the good work.
Shawn R. M
06/15/09 4:04 PM | Comment Link Edit This
David F. said…
28
Subject: TIme to Run…etc
From: “David” CTR USSOUTHCOM JTFGTMO”
Date: Mon, June 15, 2009 10:00 am
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
Lila,
Kudos on the “Time to Run” article and the follow up on today’s LRC. I
shared both with colleagues and an uncle of mine who has been
contemplating leaving for Costa Rica for a couple of years. When are you
coming down to visit us at Gitmo? Hahaha! Keep up the good work. I am
always delighted to read your articles.
David F. W.
Strategic Debriefer
JTF-JIG-ICE
SIPR:
NIPR:
“It is sobering to reflect that one of the best ways to get yourself a
reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating
the very phrases which our founding fathers used in the struggle for
independence.” – Charles A. Beard
“Perhaps the fact that we have seen millions voting themselves into
complete dependence on a tyrant has made our generation understand that
to choose one’s government is not necessarily to secure freedom. ” F.A.
Hayek ( referring to Hitler)
Attachments:
06/15/09 4:06 PM | Comment Link Edit This
Lila said…
29
Subject: Flight vs. Fight.
From: “Michael R”
Date: Mon, June 15, 2009 10:46 am
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com (more)
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
Dear Ms. Rajiva,
I just read your article and I find myself agreeing with you. Last year I spent 3
months in China with my wife and her family. I thought it odd that on the whole I
felt much more free there than in my own country america.
Mike Racaniello
06/15/09 4:51 PM | Comment Link Edit This
Lila said…
30
Subject: Flight and Fight
From: “stephen c”
Date: Mon, June 15, 2009 10:22 am
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
Hi Lila
The above mentioned article was very well thought out and answered your critics
boldly and concisely. For too many people, no matter where they come from,
patriotism, nationalism and that strange sense of being somehow different from other
humans who live in other countries just gets in the way. I’m from the UK myself but
have spent a lot of my adult life in other countries. A great way to open the eyes
and the mind.
Best regards
Stephen C
06/15/09 5:38 PM | Comment Link Edit This
C Hobbs said…
31
Subject: Time to Run, beyond the why
From: “C. Hobbs”
Date: Mon, June 15, 2009 11:40 am
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Cc: “David B”
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
Ms. Rajiva,
I read your two LewRockwell.com articles on leaving the country and thought
similarly for about a decade. Coincidentally, I’ve occasionally read Mr.
Bonner for the same period, and he might be the reason that I’ve thought
Costa Rica may be the best place to look.
However, I have some essential unanswered questions for those of us lower
middle class folks where the moving cost would equal most of our savings.
What will we do for an income when there? I’ve felt if I had to leave
today, my best option just to avoid starvation would be to join a Mennonite
or similar community. I can’t imagine having my professional skills useful
in a place where land is affordable and life not over regulated.
Nevertheless, I have written on one partial answer that I think worth your
attention. I wrote an article where I
arguedthat people
could/should continue to earn urban/suburban American incomes
while they can still be meaningfully productive. However, these families
and people could/should support like minded pioneering families with money
to finance building homes and farms and businesses to build intentional
communities in a cheaper and freer country so when stuff hits the fan, the
Americans can leave the US and have a place already started where they have
a written or unwritten agreement, contract, or option to join in person
where their previous investment was used to help make the land prepared to
scale-up to be useful and productive for more people.
That said, I have 5 kids ages seven to two, so moving today would be
extremely difficult. However, I do make enough that if I knew enough
likeminded people who were ready to prepare an intentional community in
Central or South America, I’d financially subsidize them to increase their
chance of success and for the option to join them if or when it seems no
longer safe to stay.
I’d appreciate any thoughts on the down and dirty reality of the challenge
of actually surviving, and surviving well with minimal capital or savings.
Regards,
Carlton (aka Lysander’s Ghost)
06/15/09 5:48 PM | Comment Link Edit This
S said…
32
> on the fly –
>
> 30’s divorced female post 10-year marriage, no kids, 2 dogs, graduate
> degree, laidoff as a small commercial banker after 6 years, white, lived
> and did biz in europe and england before in & post the dotcom, now a
> market trader actively interviewing for commodity positions in singapore
> returning from hong kong 2 weeks ago after time there and singapore. it’s
> definitely not as bad. i also considered the mideast. i read newspapers w/
> articles in hk which would never be printed here ‘americans turning over
> their passports in record number’ and ‘brazil and china’ talking of
> forming own currency instead of the global dollar for trade – in the south
> china morning newspaper but not in the states. sad as i have to read
> outside of the country to find out what’s really going on here and in the
> world particularly living in a high-traffic international city such as
> VEGAS, home now 3 years after escaping California after 7 years.
>
> when i announced i was leaving the country in september when laidoff, the
> responses THEN were in a different order than now.
>
> ‘why would you want to leave? this is the free-est country int he world!’
> – fallen to #3 after first from sept/oct of last year.
>
> silence was number three. it has risen to #1.
>
> ‘take me with you’ and envy has risen to second.
>
> my US footprint will be moved to wyoming following my existing car
> registration in wy. while gone interviewing out of the country, the
> nevada state legislature approved $1b of new taxes over the next two
> years. that was another nail in the coffin for me let alone the
> reclassification of my job class to be allowed to ‘keep’ only 61% of my
> earnings. 39% of everything i now make in the states will go to taxes.
> gee, i’m just not as motivated as i used to be. i used to be taxed at 23%.
> the most i’ll pay in singapore making over $500K (didn’t make near that
> last year) is 22%. most folks there pay 12-17% and it is not deducted
> from their paycheck as here.
> http://www.businessinsider.com/obamas-budget-hits-commodities-and-options-dealers-with-surprise-tax-hike-2009-5
>
> i am maintaining ties after being involved in the libertarian party,
> repubs since birth then again for ron paul, and plan on helping as much as
> possible from overseas as the ‘reset’ button is being hit here.
>
> and don’t get me started on the wonderful availability of eligible men in
> asia seeking women such as moi’ w/ similar values of home, work and family
> who are more interesting, certainly well-rounded than the bulk of our
> sedated, tv-watching suburban boys here. my next and last husband is more
> than likely abroad as well…
>
>
> thanks from a broad on the precipice of living again abroad…
> s
>
>
>
>
>
>
06/15/09 6:35 PM | Comment Link Edit This
Mark said…
33
ubject: Overseas
From: “Mark Porter”
Date: Mon, June 15, 2009 12:52 pm
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
Lila,
I believe you are correct about looking for overseas opportunities. Your statements
about fighting for constitutional values in the courts is absolutely correct, the
courts are just as corrupted and ignorant. If I had known ten years ago what I know
today, I would have left in a heartbeat. The system chews us alive with our own
beliefs that somehow the system will work, that the constitution will be enforced.
Fat chance!
The Libertarians have always been correct and they’re certainly correct about the
future of the U.S. Anyone who has studied sound economic theory knows the eventual
fate of this corrupted monster, it’s about to fail bigtime.
Sincerely,
Mark Porter
06/15/09 7:00 PM | Comment Link Edit This
Mark P said…
34
Subject: Spying
From: “Mark Porter”
Date: Mon, June 15, 2009 1:00 pm
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
Lily,
From your quote:
“I’d rather live under a benign despot that left me to my own devices from day to
day, than in a democracy where I’m spied on and manipulated constantly.”
No doubt whatsoever, the spying efforts are horrendous and without true cause. What
a un-American criminal joke.
Sincerely,
Mark P
06/15/09 7:26 PM | Comment Link Edit This
Robert S. said…
35
Subject: Czech Republic
From: “Robert S.”
Date: Mon, June 15, 2009 1:31 pm
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
Dear Lila:
I am not going to say it is perfect, but I had my blood pressure taken by a
doctor in Prague: 120/80. For this past two decades in the USA, that was
a low figure; I usually was at 130/90 or more, sometimes at 150/110.
I am trying to heal from a half-century of living in a psychotic,
psychopathic nation. What is interesting about Slavs is that the level of
evil within them, as a whole, is far less than what it is in America. What
is interesting also, is that they know it, and the sharper of the lot know
why.
I am working with libertarian-types here. I am getting the Kocher Analytic
Papers series translated by a legal translator who is putting them up on a
web site. This is his pro bono work.
Your contribution to the Lew Rockwell website was great and well-written.
So when are you getting out of Baltimore?
Regards,
Robert S.
06/15/09 7:46 PM | Comment Link Edit This
Thomas Talionis said…
36
I love this country for what it is. If it ceases to be that country, what is there to love? It’s ironic that the socialists have long accused the Right of being blind patriots and extreme nationalists. If we move too far to the Left I have no qualms about leaving.
Like many of your readers, I have put a good amount of thought into the possibilities. My first choice would be Dubai. But if I wanted a more tame lifestyle I’d choose Ireland.
06/15/09 7:50 PM | Comment Link Edit This
Myron P said…
37
Subject: Running away
From: “, Myron CIV USN NRL-DC” Date: Mon, June 15, 2009 2:09 pm
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Cc:
Priority: Normal
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Lila:
My dad “ran away” from German occupied Austria into
Switzerland in 1938. The Swiss turned
in his traveling companion to the Germans- but, because my dad’s Uncle
lived in Zurich – allowed my father 30
days in which to find a place to get to (England followed by America).
Had he not been successful, I
would not be writing this.
I was thinking of Belize as a place to retire to (English
speaking and not that expensive) –
after all, how can one ever retire and live in a Weimar-Zimbabwe
inflationary time?
Myron P
06/15/09 8:47 PM | Comment Link Edit This
Cam said…
38
Subject: About your 2 most recent articles on LewRockwell.com
From: “C. Ned”
Date: Mon, June 15, 2009 2:01 pm
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
If I had to move anywhere, I would recommend Switzerland. The markets are pretty
free, and a lot of governmental control is left to the Cantonal level. People are
allowed gun rights. Of course, I might be looking through rose-colored glasses,
because I speak German.
Both of your articles are great, just fyi. Thank you for your time.
– Cam
06/15/09 8:49 PM | Comment Link Edit This
John H said…
39
Subject: Article in Lew Rockwell
From: “J & P H”
Date: Mon, June 15, 2009 3:23 pm
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
Hello
Well said indeed!
I live in Southland, New Zealand (a wee town called Winton) and thus
far your recession/depression doesn’t seem to have reached us here — we
have our own problems, an economy (Southland) based on dairy which your
paradigm-of-capitalism-and-free-enterprise government’s introduction of
subsidies for your dairy industry is threatening. All good fun for some
and sure beats competing on quality or value …
We watch the American capacity for self-delusion with awe and wonder
and take bets on exactly when your once-great nation will implode.
Personally I like Americans and very very much respect and admire your
foundations and early principles. But your present governments stink
and are destroying you step by step, administration by administration —
and you-the-People let it (but be honest, what else can you do?).
I think that I am in the right place … when are you coming down?
Best regards
John H
06/15/09 10:00 PM | Comment Link Edit This
Hrvoje said…
40
Subject: Great Job on [Flight AND Fight]!
From: “Hrvoje”
Date: Mon, June 15, 2009 4:05 pm
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
Dear Lila,
I absolutely loved your first article *Economic Collapse, Time to Run?* and
even more so the sequel *Flight AND Fight*.
“There are times to fight and there are times to sit out the battles for the
sake of the war.”
I have been debating this inside my head and someone finally has eloquently
put it in words. I left the USSA in 2006. I couldn’t take it anymore.
However, I find it important, which I don’t think you mentioned, that those
living in reality who’ve made the conscious decision to stay behind in order
to save as many people as possible certainly do not fall into the category
of the delusional. I applaud them. They are, in a sense, the Dietrich
Bonhoeffers of today. Some of us can’t stomach it, some can. Some of us have
gifts or talents that allow us to be more effective abroad, others from the
source.
It is like the plight of missionaries, they are needed abroad, but they must
be also supported from home.
http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/TopicIndex/4/3200_Do_you_think_everybody_should_be_a_missionary
Who is the missionary and who the support in this instance? Historically,
peoples have always fled lands of persecution for lands of freedom.
Often, I find, the effectiveness of those who flee is through their actions,
the pick up and go. The delusional that remain at first stand in
bewilderment of those in exile. As the situation slowly deteriorates,
reinforcing the cause of those in exile, the delusional gradually begin to
face the truth. Of course, the majority will not realize until it is too
late. Until they have lost much, all or are on a cattle car.
Thanks a lot.
X,
a student somewhere in Europe, walking amongst the new world kings
06/15/09 10:06 PM | Comment Link Edit This
David S said…
41
Subject: flight or fight
From: “david s”
Date: Mon, June 15, 2009 8:30 pm
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
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Lila,
Good couple of essays. You really struck a nerve with me–my wife and I have a
house in Canada, and with all the crazy goings-on, I’ve had the strongest urge for
the last several months to just pack up and move to it. I really don’t know whether
Canada will be safe or not if the US implodes, but it’s got to be some improvement
on being on this side of the border. In the meantime, we’re renewing my wife’s
Canadian passport, and it looks like my US passport is expired, too–how convenient,
May 2009. Hmm. Thanks for the wake-up call.
David S
06/16/09 2:46 AM | Comment Link Edit This
Art said…
42
Subject: Flight…
From: “art r”
Date: Mon, June 15, 2009 9:00 pm
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
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Hi Lila,
I actually expected THIS article. And what an article it is!
… “Why defend the values of the free market in a country that rejects it?”…How
true!
Can’t wait for the sequel. Should I disclose where I am headed? Hint: “The Treaty
of Trianon”
Thanks Lila, you are very talented!
Art
06/16/09 3:23 AM | Comment Link Edit This
Joe N said…
43
Subject: Economic Collapse
From: Joe N
Date: Mon, June 15, 2009 10:40 pm
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
Hello
I just read your article “Economic Collapse-Time to run?”. The quote you have from
Gerald Celente, doesnt surprise me. I have thought for a couple of years at least
that, this would happen. I believe that people will be rounded up and put into
interment camps soon. The problem is convincing people, especially American born
people. They are so brainwashed into believing that it could never happen here, that
they are going to be so unprepared for it. My mother was born in Thessolniki,
Greece. My grandfather was assassinated right after WW11, by Greek partisan
fasicsts. He was accused of being a communist. But, my mom told me when I was a
child(she has Alzheimers now, and no memory), that anyone who complained about being
hungry, was accused of being a communist! You couldnt complain about hunger, for
fear of being targeted by the partisans, right after the war. My grandfather wasnt
afraid, they killed him. Assassonos! Assassins! my grandmother screamed as
they killed him, my mother still remembered all these years. I was born in this
country, my father was American.but my whole life I had adifferent perspective
about things. I dont trust anyone, and I believe in evil, cause I know it exists
and has existed always. I’m afraid of what is going on now in this country, and
wish I had my grandfathers courage. I am thinking of leaving the country, I could
get dual citizenship, because Greece allows this for someone whose parent was born
in Greece, and is of Greek descent. Was just wondering your thought.
Joseph N
06/16/09 4:55 AM | Comment Link Edit This
clark said…
44
Joe N said the scariest things.
06/16/09 6:04 AM | Comment Link Edit This
Mario L said…
45
Subject: comment
From: “mario l”
Date: Mon, June 15, 2009 12:22 pm
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
Don’t let anyone tell you to stay here and fight. These people
can not be dealt with. All these “fighters” are thumbsucking bedwetters as are
most phony “conservatives” and are scared of their own shadow which is why they like
a police state and bombing people to protect them against an illusion. As far as
going overseas I don’t think it as good as you think but like you say the best thing
to do is to go there. I have read that Panama is one of the best. I still think that Colorado or N mexico or Montana would be better. it is so beautiful there and they
could never get to you. You have really changed your thinking in a short while. I
wonder what made you see the light.
06/16/09 10:40 AM | Comment Link Edit This
John said…
46
Subject: Flight and fight
From: “John L K”
Date: Tue, June 16, 2009 10:10 am
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
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Lila,
You’re wrong because you generalize besides not citing a specific country to flea to.
I fleed Bolivia 3 years ago. Here my wife and I got much better jobs, have many
more options, even if we lost our jobs (there is in California, as troubled as it
is, help for the unemployed until you find a new job, which does not exist in
Bolivia, or Nicaragua, countries like that, no matter how “well” they may be doing).
In Europe their governments have huge problems also.
The American economy is very powerful (a lot of jobs out there) and, in general,
capable people have a better chance of finding work, of surviving, than anywhere
else. It is better for a worker to be in a prosperous country.
China is a powerhouse but it’s relative even in its case. I don’t hear anyone
recommending that people flee there.
Your advise is bad. It’s as if you need to travel the world a little bit. I have
a friend who thought like you about feeing the U.S. He did it. Went to Bolivia
first, then to Peru. Very tough. I came here instead.
John
06/16/09 4:43 PM | Comment Link Edit This
clark said…
47
Maybe terrible was the word I was looking for, rather than scary.
What person would want to have happen to them what Jon N.’s grandparents went through. Few things are more terrible than that.
Prosperous country… Some people see the trend, some don’t, especially the coming change in the meaning of state, “help”.
I’m not afraid, but courage is a slippery thing.
06/16/09 6:55 PM | Comment Link Edit This
R said…
48
John,
You may disagee but she is not wrong. Genaralization si what all good thinkers do as its impossible to sketch out a specific piece of advice for every single one of the 7 billion humans in the world. You need to reread her post–living abroad is not for everyone. She is very clear as to who should consider a move. The issue also is not about economics per se. Also, there is no one country to suit everyone. If I spoke German I would be in Austria, Germany and or Switzerland. I don;t speak Japanes or Korean so those places do not work for me. Again, you need to read the post its clear you miss the point(s) of the orginal post and the rejoinders in the second post. If I were an amerindian from Nicaragua, bolivia or ecuador wanting to do food service or gardening or other labor its clear the U.S. offers great advantages as you face very low opportunity costs. For many of us facing a 50% tax rate and increasing survielance and state intrusion its less appealing. As things have arisen in the u.S. it works best if you are very rich or very unskilled with opportunites and public assitance beyond what they can get in their native lands. So for us in the middle and in the professions with skills and some capital–its makes sense to expand our horizons and leave the U.S. to the Plutocrats and the low wage/government dependent—yes I am generalizing.
06/16/09 7:38 PM | Comment Link Edit This
mb4 said…
49
Hi Robert –
very true..
I also think that people who work on the net, or are interested in farming, small business, or are starting out, may do better.
You can’t go to Bolivia or Peru and expect to have the job opportunities of the US. The comparable markets for DC and New York are London, Singapore, Sidney, Toronto, Zurich, Frankfurt, Paris..
For farming, you could consider parts of Latin America..
For outsourcing businesses, you might look at South Asia..
As R said, professionals – especially libertarians – don’t use government assistance, so they wouldn’t feel its loss.
People with savings who want to retire on what they have are likely to prefer going abroad.
L
06/16/09 8:03 PM | Comment Link Edit This
Mark P said…
50
Subject: U.S. Dollar
From: “Mark P”
Date: Tue, June 16, 2009 6:11 am
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
Hi Lila,
Consider this, the only thing holding together the corrupted Empire is the dollar’s
reserve status. If we should lose dollar reserve status, it’s over, the Empire
would crumble overnight. The only question left is how long?
I find it remarkable that few American’s understand the thread we’re hanging by.
Mark
06/16/09 8:45 PM | Comment Link Edit This
clark said…
51
Mark P. said, The only question left is how long?
I read a financial paper saying it’s just like a poker game, the hand of the US is two 2’s using a bluff. The hand of the BRIC is a straight or full-house and they are just deciding when to clean house.
If you’re BRIC, what advantage is there to waiting? Selling off or repositioning your holdings? Getting something more into the pot to be won? What is left that they want to win? Sorry, I’m going off into strategic planning.
06/17/09 3:18 AM | Comment Link Edit This
Daniel P said…
52
Subject: where to go?
From: “Daniel P”
Date: Mon, June 15, 2009 8:03 am
To: lilarajiva@mindbodypolitic.com
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file
Hi Lila,
My husband and I tried to fight in our court system an eminent domain case and, big
surprise, we found out our constitution is indeed null and void. When my husband,
who acted as our attorney, told both the judge and the other attorney that both of
them were in violation of the state and federal constitution because we would
neither sign a contract nor take any money from the utility company planning to put
two high-power poles on our property, neither of them said a word but just continued
to talk about how and when they would take possession of our land. Now we are
facing living 45 feet away from a 138,000 kilovolt power line.
My question to you is where should we go? Do you plan to write an article VERY SOON
about where to flee? We were thinking about taking a vacation in July, but maybe we
need to visit South America instead – but where in South America (or anywhere else
for that matter)???
Please let us know as soon as possible. These poles are literally going up next
week and we have four young children living with us.
Thank you,
Dan and Kris P
06/18/09 2:14 PM | Comment Link Edit This
clark said…
53
That is terrible Dan and Kris P, but I’m not surprised. I agree, we have no constitution, if we ever really had one to begin with. Your situation is an example of how things here aren’t so different than in China? Some people would non-violently protest, but knowing how things work you’d just wind up in jail and made fun of on the news, eh?
I’ve been reading about Argentina, Belize, Costa Rica, Panama, The Philippines, Ecuador and Uruguay as my top considerations. Here is what I’ve found so far, I’m probably incorrect in many places, but it is a start? I used gun laws, because they are a good reflection on how they treat property rights.
If guns are important to you (they don’t allow rifles)and giving up a DNA sample is not something you want to do, Panama is out.
If you like to own a gun with high capacity clips like an AK-47, Ecuador is out too, their military is too involved in the decision process.
The Philippines will let citizens have guns and they have a dual citizenship program which is good, but I don’t think they let you have more than two guns (limited to 38 cal and under) and you cannot have AK-47’s, I think. Importing a gun into the Philippines is said to be a bad idea (high import tax, long salty humid storage times) better to buy one there. They basically don’t allow concealed carry, much like Thailand. Funny thing was The Philippines has rent-a-gun until you become a citizen.
Argentina requires a psychiatric evaluation prior to obtaining a gun. I suppose that is ok for many, but I have something against the whole idea, it’s too much government prying into a persons personal life and it‘s a bit like begging. I thought they would have less restrictions, to avoid more of that whole, “disappeared” thing.
Costa Rica has so many fees and time limits it’s crazy, no rifles there either.
Belize won’t even let you have a gun, I think. The online newspapers make Costa Rica and Belize seem like they are going in the opposite direction from freedom.
But Uruguay sounds great. You have to take a class maybe, and show you can shoot well. I forget if they have dual citizenship or not, dang it, that is important.
I’m sure I made lots of errors, but that is from my memory of last nights extensive reading, I wish I would have kept some notes as I went along.
Uruguay is my top choice. The rest of the seem to be embracing the worldwide popular socialistic push for world disarmament, which in my opinion leads to genocide and makes the individual easy prey for criminals when they take your property or your life. Hopefully this will be a good push for Lila to make an all encompassing article?
06/18/09 11:35 PM | Comment Link Edit This
clark said…
54
From what I’ve gathered second hand: It’s all about the money you have, it seems, in Uruguay. You have to be able to speak Spanish or be able to hire someone who can. There is no income tax but there is a 23% sales tax with an approximately 10% food tax, on top of high export taxes.
It’s not a great job market.
There is a lot of paperwork involved with moving there, one person claimed it takes four months to get fingerprints from the FBI to the Uruguayan Gov’t., in addition to having to provide sequential statements proving you have the income stream. The paper chase, as it’s called. But, you don’t need to be a resident to own land.
It is common to read that more people are leaving Uruguay looking for better job prospects than are entering. The wealthy retired people seem to be happy.
It does seem to be less regulated in many ways.
On the other hand,
While the people down there seem nice, pleasant, content and all,… all the world seems like a giant cesspool of socialist gone communist or some such.
These two statements I found by people who live there was discouraging:
“….You mentioned that “capitalism demands a remedy”…. people seem to forget that for 100 years UY was a country with a very developed soliciast system, and for the last 4 years it has finally got the socialist government to match….”
Argentina is now headed in the same direction. The result is that more and more industries are giving up on the country and relocating to Brazil.
.A major section of the economy is run along the basis of old-style socialist welfare-state command lines. When the government wants to “tackle inflation,” prices are reduced not by fiddling with interest rates but by Presidential decree. There is a vast army of funcionarios who see their job as preserving the status quo. Entrepreneurs are discouraged at every turn and employers treated as wicked exploiters of the common man. When it comes to state pensions, former workers get almost three times the pension of their former employers.
My final thought tonight is that Flight is for the rich.
06/20/09 4:43 AM | Comment Link Edit This