Citizen Bachmann Eritrea Soulmate Bored Board
I hope that you are well, healthy and enjoying unlimited amounts of wonderful weather. Here in Zürich it is warm and sunny. On the other hand, the news was not sunny:
“Michele Bachmann has become a Swiss citizen.”
“Michele Bachmann? No!” Nazy was shocked.
“Yes! She could run for office in Switzerland. Probably on the SVP ticket.”
“Isn’t the SVP the far- right party?”
“Perfect for Michele. Did you know that she got citizenship in less than a month?”
“Less than a month? I thought it took years.”
“Usually decades. But her husband is the son of Swiss immigrants so..”
“So What? Does she have a mastery of the German language?”
“I’m not convinced that she has a mastery of the English language. She seems to have conquered syntax, but semantics is beyond her capability.”
“Semantics?”
“Her syntactically correct statements are often at variance with facts and common sense.” (See here.)
We went through the normal stages that human beings navigate when hearing disheartening news: denial, anger, depression, but we got stuck on ‘acceptance’.
“Perhaps,” I suggested, “‘resignation’ rather than ‘acceptance’ best describes our feelings at the moment.
It turned out that a ‘renunciation’ and ‘relief’ were even better descriptors. A few days after getting a Swiss passport, Michele renounced her citizenship. Like a true politician, she waffled, well, retreated, eh ‘did a 180’ because polls showed that her constituents took a dim view of the decision.
Renunciation was also a topic at a recent Town Hall meeting with the American Ambassador. He wanted to hear how expatriates felt about everything. Expats have a simple definition of ‘everything’
Everything (pronoun, ˈevrēˌθi ng) “Income taxation based on citizenship, not residency, IRS forms requesting, demanding, impossible to obtain information - with stiff penalties for non-compliance, taxation without representation, a simple-minded Congress creating rules they don’t understand.
(In the case of the last item, expats find common cause with citizens residing in the United States.)
The United States of America and Eritrea are the only countries on the planet that tax income based on citizenship. (Eritrea!) Moreover, the tax forms are incredibly complex and the penalties for non-compliance are exceptionally severe. Legislators in the USA believe that “the only reason anyone would work outside of the USA is to avoid taxes or avoid the draft.”
Disclaimer: was more than 40 years old when I took my first European assignment, I didn’t worry about the draft. (For those who remember Vietnam, I also had a high lottery number.) If I made the move to avoid taxes, I was sorely disappointed.
The government likes to cite Homeland Security as rationale.
Try to visualize a terrorist planning meeting: “We must postpone the attack while our accountants file the FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) forms and forms TDF90-22.1 as well as 2555. We are also awaiting clarification on the requirements described in Section 2.1, subsection A22, paragraph 14, subparagraph 32, specification 67.q.2.01.(iv).”
It was claimed that the regulations were put in place to catch rich Americans, who live in America, but are hiding assets abroad. “I’m not living in the USA.” I thought, Why are these requirements applicable to me?”
Everyone, including the ambassador, agreed that the laws are unfair. But, they said:
“You live in a democracy..”
“Switzerland?” I asked.
“Eh, you are citizens of a democracy. You should contact your Congressman and make sure you vote.”
“Contact my Congressman?” Someone asked. “His website doesn’t even allow entry of non-US addresses.”
“I find it interesting to note that the IRS, which has the task of taking my money, has no trouble with my international address, while my Congressman, who has the task of representing my interests, is internationally ignorant.” I interjected.
Note: More citizens live abroad than live in Massachusetts. These seven million people have no representation. Luckily, however, we heard that work is underway to get a representative for Americans living abroad and to revise the tax code. The former effort began in 1958, the latter in 1964.
“Thank God they’ve fast-tracked it,” I mumbled.
The ambassador concluded the meeting by noting that “I recognize that there are unintended consequences of the laws..”
“... passed by people who have never lived overseas and like to pander and primp,” I thought.
Regulations make it expensive and complicated to hire American citizens overseas and effectively act as employment benefits for citizens of other countries - like China, Britain, France, Malaysia, Australia.... well, everywhere except Eritrea. It is not smart for the United States to erect barriers and obstacles that prevent international employment for its citizens because these expats represent the American people.
Enough! Let’s look at a happier topic. Hewlett Packard. An article in the newest edition of Fortune Magazine:
http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/05/08/500-hp-apotheker/?iid=HP_LN
provides a good description of the demise of HP. The tight-fisted financial control espoused by Mark Hurd (and highlighted in this fawning article from 2009)...
http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/27/news/companies/lashinsky_hurd.fortune/
... were carried to a massive extreme as time elapsed:
“Decay had begun to show in some HP offices. Mice skittered the corridors. Spiders fell from cracked ceilings. As the company cut back on trash pickups, detritus piled up, and in one location workers took garbage home in their cars.”
Mark was, as my friend Cormac had predicted many years earlier, a ‘one-trick pony’. The HP board, cooperating with the civility of Montague and Capulet (and the maturity of abused and abusive pre-schoolers) was, and remains, blame worthy. I have concluded that the Board selection process is flawed. It’s like casting director choosing the person that will play Marilyn Monroe from a pool of obese male actors. The selection of Leo Apoteker as his successor was as wise as choosing Herman Melville as a Looney Tunes writer/illustrator.
NOTE: A candid photo of some HP Board members is reproduced at right.
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