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Guest Post: America - The Grim Truth
Originally posted (but seemed timely once again) by 'Lance Freeman' at AmericaTheGrimTruth blog,
Americans, I have some bad news for you:
You have the worst quality of life in the developed world – by a wide margin.
If you had any idea of how people really lived in Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and many parts of Asia, you’d be rioting in the streets calling for a better life. In fact, the average Australian or Singaporean taxi driver has a much better standard of living than the typical American white-collar worker.
I know this because I am an American, and I escaped from the prison you call home.
I have lived all around the world, in wealthy countries and poor ones, and there is only one country I would never consider living in again: The United States of America. The mere thought of it fills me with dread.
* * *
Let’s start with your diet: Much of the beef you eat has been exposed to fecal matter in processing. Your chicken is contaminated with salmonella. Your stock animals and poultry are pumped full of growth hormones and antibiotics. In most other countries, the government would act to protect consumers from this sort of thing; in the United States, the government is bought off by industry to prevent any effective regulations or inspections. In a few years, the majority of all the produce for sale in the United States will be from genetically modified crops, thanks to the cozy relationship between Monsanto Corporation and the United States government. Worse still, due to the vast quantities of high-fructose corn syrup Americans consume, fully one-third of children born in the United States today will be diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes at some point in their lives.
Of course, it’s not just the food that’s killing you, it’s the drugs. If you show any sign of life when you’re young, they’ll put you on Ritalin. Then, when you get old enough to take a good look around, you’ll get depressed, so they’ll give you Prozac. If you’re a man, this will render you chemically impotent, so you’ll need Viagra to get it up. Meanwhile, your steady diet of trans-fat-laden food is guaranteed to give you high cholesterol, so you’ll get a prescription for Lipitor. Finally, at the end of the day, you’ll lay awake at night worrying about losing your health plan, so you’ll need Lunesta to go to sleep.
With a diet guaranteed to make you sick and a health system designed to make sure you stay that way, what you really need is a long vacation somewhere. Unfortunately, you probably can’t take one. I’ll let you in on little secret: if you go to the beaches of Thailand, the mountains of Nepal, or the coral reefs of Australia, you’ll probably be the only American in sight. And you’ll be surrounded crowds of happy Germans, French, Italians, Israelis, Scandinavians and wealthy Asians. Why? Because they’re paid well enough to afford to visit these places AND they can take vacations long enough to do so. Even if you could scrape together enough money to go to one of these incredible places, by the time you recovered from your jetlag, it would time to get on a plane and rush back to your job.
If you think I’m making this up, check the stats on average annual vacation days by country:
Finland: 44
Italy: 42
France: 39
Germany: 35
UK: 25
Japan: 18
USA: 12
The fact is, they work you like dogs in the United States. This should come as no surprise: the United States never got away from the plantation/sweat shop labor model and any real labor movement was brutally suppressed. Unless you happen to be a member of the ownership class, your options are pretty much limited to barely surviving on service-sector wages or playing musical chairs for a spot in a cubicle (a spot that will be outsourced to India next week anyway). The very best you can hope for is to get a professional degree and then milk the system for a slice of the middle-class pie. And even those who claw their way into the middle class are but one illness or job loss away from poverty. Your jobs aren’t secure. Your company has no loyalty to you. They’ll play you off against your coworkers for as long as it suits them, then they’ll get rid of you.
Of course, you don’t have any choice in the matter: the system is designed this way. In most countries in the developed world, higher education is either free or heavily subsidized; in the United States, a university degree can set you back over US$100,000. Thus, you enter the working world with a crushing debt. Forget about taking a year off to travel the world and find yourself – you’ve got to start working or watch your credit rating plummet.
If you’re “lucky,” you might even land a job good enough to qualify you for a home loan. And then you’ll spend half your working life just paying the interest on the loan – welcome to the world of American debt slavery. America has the illusion of great wealth because there’s a lot of “stuff” around, but who really owns it? In real terms, the average American is poorer than the poorest ghetto dweller in Manila, because at least they have no debts. If they want to pack up and leave, they can; if you want to leave, you can’t, because you’ve got debts to pay.
All this begs the question: Why would anyone put up with this? Ask any American and you’ll get the same answer: because America is the freest country on earth. If you believe this, I’ve got some more bad news for you: America is actually among the least free countries on earth. Your piss is tested, your emails and phone calls are monitored, your medical records are gathered, and you are never more than one stray comment away from writhing on the ground with two Taser prongs in your ass.
And that’s just physical freedom. Mentally, you are truly imprisoned. You don’t even know the degree to which you are tormented by fears of medical bankruptcy, job loss, homelessness and violent crime because you’ve never lived in a country where there is no need to worry about such things.
But it goes much deeper than mere surveillance and anxiety. The fact is, you are not free because your country has been taken over and occupied by another government. Fully 70% of your tax dollars go to the Pentagon, and the Pentagon is the real government of the United States. You are required under pain of death to pay taxes to this occupying government. If you’re from the less fortunate classes, you are also required to serve and die in their endless wars, or send your sons and daughters to do so. You have no choice in the matter: there is a socio-economic draft system in the United States that provides a steady stream of cannon fodder for the military.
If you call a life of surveillance, anxiety and ceaseless toil in the service of a government you didn’t elect “freedom,” then you and I have a very different idea of what that word means.
If there was some chance that the country could be changed, there might be reason for hope. But can you honestly look around and conclude that anything is going to change? Where would the change come from? The people? Take a good look at your compatriots: the working class in the United States has been brutally propagandized by jackals like Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity. Members of the working class have been taught to lick the boots of their masters and then bend over for another kick in the ass. They’ve got these people so well trained that they’ll take up arms against the other half of the working class as soon as their masters give the word.
If the people cannot make a change, how about the media? Not a chance. From Fox News to the New York Times, the mass media in the United States is nothing but the public relations wing of the corporatocracy, primarily the military industrial complex. At least the citizens of the former Soviet Union knew that their news was bullshit. In America, you grow up thinking you’ve got a free media, which makes the propaganda doubly effective. If you don’t think American media is mere corporate propaganda, ask yourself the following question: have you ever heard a major American news outlet suggest that the country could fund a single-payer health system by cutting military spending?
If change can’t come from the people or the media, the only other potential source of change would be the politicians. Unfortunately, the American political process is among the most corrupt in the world. In every country on earth, one expects politicians to take bribes from the rich. But this generally happens in secret, behind the closed doors of their elite clubs. In the United States, this sort of political corruption is done in broad daylight, as part of legal, accepted, standard operating procedure. In the United States, they merely call these bribes campaign donations, political action committees and lobbyists. One can no more expect the politicians to change this system than one can expect a man to take an axe and chop his own legs out from underneath him.
No, the United States of America is not going to change for the better. The only change will be for the worse. And when I say worse, I mean much worse. As we speak, the economic system that sustained the country during the post-war years is collapsing. The United States maxed out its “credit card” sometime in 2008 and now its lenders, starting with China, are in the process of laying the foundations for a new monetary system to replace the Anglo-American “petro-dollar” system. As soon as there is a viable alternative to the US dollar, the greenback will sink like a stone.
While the United States was running up crushing levels of debt, it was also busy shipping its manufacturing jobs and white-collar jobs overseas, and letting its infrastructure fall to pieces. Meanwhile, Asian and European countries were investing in education, infrastructure and raw materials. Even if the United States tried to rebuild a real economy (as opposed to a service/financial economy) do think American workers would ever be able to compete with the workers of China or Europe? Have you ever seen a Japanese or German factory? Have you ever met a Singaporean or Chinese worker?
There are only two possible futures facing the United States, and neither one is pretty.
The best case is a slow but orderly decline – essentially a continuation of what’s been happening for the last two decades. Wages will drop, unemployment will rise, Medicare and Social Security benefits will be slashed, the currency will decline in value, and the disparity of wealth will spiral out of control until the United States starts to resemble Mexico or the Philippines – tiny islands of wealth surrounded by great poverty (the country is already halfway there).
Equally likely is a sudden collapse, perhaps brought about by a rapid flight from the US dollar by creditor nations like China, Japan, Korea and the OPEC nations. A related possibility would be a default by the United States government on its vast debt. One look at the financial balance sheet of the US government should convince you how likely this is: governmental spending is skyrocketing and tax receipts are plummeting – something has to give. If either of these scenarios plays out, the resulting depression will make the present recession look like a walk in the park.
Whether the collapse is gradual or gut-wrenchingly sudden, the results will be chaos, civil strife and fascism. Let’s face it: the United States is like the former Yugoslavia – a collection of mutually antagonistic cultures united in name only. You’ve got your own version of the Taliban: right-wing Christian fundamentalists who actively loathe the idea of secular Constitutional government. You’ve got a vast intellectual underclass that has spent the last few decades soaking up Fox News and talk radio propaganda, eager to blame the collapse on Democrats, gays and immigrants. You’ve got a ruthless ownership class that will use all the means at its disposal to protect its wealth from the starving masses.
On top of all that you’ve got vast factory farms, sprawling suburbs and a truck-based shipping system, all of it entirely dependent on oil that is about to become completely unaffordable. And you’ve got guns. Lots of guns. In short: the United States is about to become a very unwholesome place to be.
Right now, the government is building fences and walls along its northern and southern borders. Right now, the government is working on a national ID system (soon to be fitted with biometric features). Right now, the government is building a surveillance state so extensive that they will be able to follow your every move, online, in the street and across borders. If you think this is just to protect you from “terrorists,” then you’re sadly mistaken. Once the shit really hits the fan, do you really think you’ll just be able to jump into the old station wagon, drive across the Canadian border and spend the rest of your days fishing and drinking Molson? No, the government is going to lock the place down. They don’t want their tax base escaping. They don’t want their “recruits” escaping. They don’t want YOU escaping.
I am not writing this to scare you. I write this to you as a friend. If you are able to read and understand what I’ve written here, then you are a member of a small minority in the United States. You are a minority in a country that has no place for you.
So what should you do?
You should leave the United States of America.
If you’re young, you’ve got plenty of choices: you can teach English in the Middle East, Asia or Europe. Or you can go to university or graduate school abroad and start building skills that will qualify you for a work visa. If you’ve already got some real work skills, you can apply to emigrate to any number of countries as a skilled immigrant. If you are older and you’ve got some savings, you can retire to a place like Costa Rica or the Philippines. If you can’t qualify for a work, student or retirement visa, don’t let that stop you – travel on a tourist visa to a country that appeals to you and talk to the expats you meet there. Whatever you do, go speak to an immigration lawyer as soon as you can. Find out exactly how to get on a path that will lead to permanent residence and eventually citizenship in the country of your choice.
You will not be alone. There are millions of Americans just like me living outside the United States. Living lives much more fulfilling, peaceful, free and abundant than we ever could have attained back home. Some of us happened upon these lives by accident – we tried a year abroad and found that we liked it – others made a conscious decision to pack up and leave for good. You’ll find us in Canada, all over Europe, in many parts of Asia, in Australia and New Zealand, and in most other countries of the globe. Do we miss our friends and family? Yes. Do we occasionally miss aspects of our former country? Yes. Do we plan on ever living again in the United States? Never. And those of us with permanent residence or citizenship can sponsor family members from back home for long-term visas in our adopted countries.
In closing, I want to remind you of something: unless you are an American Indian or a descendant of slaves, at some point your ancestors chose to leave their homeland in search of a better life. They weren’t traitors and they weren’t bad people, they just wanted a better life for themselves and their families. Isn’t it time that you continue their journey?
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Did Simon Black clone himself?
team america...
fuc( yeah!
I agree with a lot of what the author has to say but I find it ironic not a single mention of ABC NBC MSNBC CNN, basically he rails against the right and not a single mention of the left, bias much? And look I despise both the left and the right they are but two cheeks of the same ass.
you didn't seem him talking about the nytimes?
Just find a country that doesn't have a Rothschild-controlled central bank.
But i'm counting on the collapse. Every fascist regime in the history of man underestimated the anger of the people until just the second before their heads were chopped off. No, it will never happen here; we got technology, surveillance, blah, blah.
Once the Jews and the Goyim oligarchs are gone, the country will be rebuilt in a generation.
George Washington will have his days again. Pay back is a bitch.
"You’ve got your own version of the Taliban: right-wing Christian fundamentalists who actively loathe the idea of secular Constitutional government." What complete and utter bullshit.
"blame the collapse on Democrats, gays and immigrants." If you are referring to Obama then I'm with you on that one. He's a three-fer.
@Zerophilo, Ob1knob pulled some great quotes above. The author makes ONE mention of the NYT and then all this other claptrap about blame the dems gays and what not, if it is not OBVIOUS the author 'leans' left then maybe you need to check your view point? Regardless he does make some good point about where 'meriKa is, but to leave out the failing of the progressive left is disingenuous to say the least.
Just my 2c
When you're lost in the Wild, and you're scared as a child,
And Death looks you bang in the eye,
And you're sore as a boil, it's according to Hoyle
To cock your revolver and . . . die.
But the Code of a Man says: "Fight all you can,"
And self-dissolution is barred.
In hunger and woe, oh, it's easy to blow . . .
It's the hell-served-for-breakfast that's hard.
"You're sick of the game!" Well, now, that's a shame.
You're young and you're brave and you're bright.
"You've had a raw deal!" I know -- but don't squeal,
Buck up, do your damnedest, and fight.
It's the plugging away that will win you the day,
So don't be a piker, old pard!
Just draw on your grit; it's so easy to quit:
It's the keeping-your-chin-up that's hard.
It's easy to cry that you're beaten -- and die;
It's easy to crawfish and crawl;
But to fight and to fight when hope's out of sight --
Why, that's the best game of them all!
And though you come out of each gruelling bout,
All broken and beaten and scarred,
Just have one more try -- it's dead easy to die,
It's the keeping-on-living that's hard.
Robert Service
fuck you Lance , you fucking quitter
Precisely.
The Author's jibes at the right are counterproductive, and he seems trapped in the false left/right paradigm.
Politics is the distraction.
Government is the disease.
When people get involved in the left/right illusion, they are just participating in the Bread And Circuses designed to distract the Great Unwashed from their plight.
Simon isn't this tacky.
Shhhh!!!! you will wake the sheeple.... Now, I am off to Whole Foods to buy dinner.
Everything was covered except ahem Israel.
http://www.irmep.org/cowbird.htm
"Beheadings, caliphates, shit-borne death plagues. We've passed fall of Rome straight to the Dark Ages." - Iowahawk
The Dark Ages was when Europeans recovered from the shit storm that was the Roman Empire.
A new dark age.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmh2BjVdJ-4
Or if there are any Jack Frost fans (The Austrian one, not the US)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nega4HPrmtg
...and yet the author suggested moving to The Middle East to teach English. If you like your head, you may want to keep it and the prospects for that in many of those countries is dim.
Most all of western civilization exhibits, to perhaps slightly lesser degrees, the maladies that this article discusses. So, no, don't run away. Enjoy your family, friends, and community to the best extent possible.
I don't want to run away....becuase I do enjoy my friends, (not my family) and community, and those I work with, and my neighbors, etc.
What I don't understand.....is that people want to come here from some of the most wonderful cities in the world. We go on vacations there to fascinating places (in Asia for example) and people still would do anything to get to America. I just think these people are stuck in the mentality from 4 decades ago that America was the only hope. Sure...I get it, if you live in Honduras, you're sort of screwed. But much of the rest of the world is actually a pretty cool place. Hey, aside from Ebola, Liberia's actually a beautiful country.
I think a big reason people still want to come here is because they see the movies and television programs we produce and think they reflect reality.
How many tv shows are there with 20-somethings living in gigantic loft apartments? The reality is that most 20-somethings are either living with their parents or in a shitty studio apartment, and if they live any place bigger, they probably have two or three roommates.
Don't mistake this for me saying foreigners are gullible. Americans by and large believe their own bullshit, too, which is inexcusable. We look around and know in our hearts that something isn't right, but most people are either too ashamed or scared to admit it, so they default to the American Exceptionalism garbage.
Doublethink is the only thing keeping the empire afloat at this point.
The big picture is always missed in favor of some sort of Ameriphobic rant.
The reality is America is the key component in a symbiotic global relationship.
It represents the hope of the world. Author reports that "everyone still wants to come to America", much to his dismay. This in turn, causes those very people to strive to have the opportunity to come to a better place regardless of where that may be. right now, it is America. Their home countries benefit from the inner drive of the populace to 'try' to work in hopes of gaining any opportunity for a better life, even if it is never achieved. In any case the home country benefits are realized, however small or large they may be. Others see this and aspire for the same thing. On and on.. Very few actually make it, but if only one makes it, then confirmation becomes clear, then like a plant, the hope grows even stronger, and continues it's spread.
Those who are trying to remove the hope of the world..
WILL FAIL MISERABLY...
It's also comparative based on your education/skills.
If the only thing you can do is being a housemaid, then being a housemaid in the US is heaven compared to being a housemaid in some poor 3rd world hole.
If you are educated middle class, doing what you do for a living and earning what you earn in many different places around the world is way more enjoyable than earning the same living back home in the US.
the kinda jerky commentary of the article above doesn't discuss living as a poor person in less developed country. he's focussing on being a decently paid mdidle class member of european countries-------which, ironically, are facing more and more extreme underemployment.
the article is true, and still, somewhat misleading in perspective.
honduras crime rates are through the roof.
crime is the defacto mode of operation. people TAKE. just as surely when they are disorganized (crime) as when they are organized (government) . the quuestion is how they obtain the money, and then of course, what and who they spend it on.....
Exactly.
By luck of parentage and bithplace. I already have a choice of four country's of
residence, and access to many more.
Looking around though, everywhere seems to be going to hell in a handbasket.
I always find Switzerland too anti- septic to stay for long, although its probably my wiser option
than here.
Out of the frying pan...
No champ, we are staying right here and riding/fighting it out because this is our HOME.
@TeamDepends, I am with you.
We are all Marines now, brother. Molon Labe!
De Opresso Liber
See you when its OVER!
Thank you TD. I will also stay, love my country with all of it's faults but hate the leaders as they plot the fall. I say to the author, BITE MY SHORTS LOSER. Please leave and we who are left will attempt to put the pieces back together for our kids and grandkids. This kind of article makes me want to puke.
George Washington is here. He used to fight. Fight? What does that mean? Push a button and a drone takes out someone who has no chance of fighting back? No. It was up close and personal. A musket was accurate out to about 50 feet. Maybe. So it was often hand to band combat. Soldiers would wake up, maybe, and lie there for 24 hours unable to get up. George Washington is here. He says: "You don't have to be us. You just have to stand up. That's all."
Here's a good story about the bullshit we're facing
I think everyone should quit their jobs asap, if they can afford it, and get prepared for the giant shit-tsunami headed our way.
Takes me back to the CIA published manual that was distributed between Nicaraguan locals back when it was staging a coup.
It was like a poor man's anarchist cookbook.
Some of the items for destabilizing government included: arriving late late for work, calling in sick or just plain skipping work, showing minimal diligence when present, flushing toilets repeatedly, turning on all electrical devices to stress the power grid...
In other words doing many things people typically do even when not overthworing the government.
Robet Neman jokes that if an oppressive government ever does fall anywhere, they'll have to write history books about it and erect monuments to all the slackers inadvertently responsible for the collapse.
If half the U.S. population locks us their credit cards for 6 months the system collapses and the oligarchs give up.
I dunno, I lived in Europe as well when my dad was in the Army and we were transferring around all over the place. Did not look that great to me.
But then again, my dad (on an enlisted military salary) was able to provide for my mom, myself, and my sister as the only wage earner and we never got into debt until he retired and bought a house. Which is now paid off. So I have seen that even if you are "poor", if you manage your money well you can have a good standard of living. Of course we had to do without luxuries such as giant TV's, everyone having their own computer (I had to earn my own money over summer vacation to buy my computer), multiple cars, $200+ shoes and jackets (thrift store FTW!), etc. Tell that to your average Westerner though...
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htterr/articles/20141001.aspx
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htterr/articles/20140928.aspx
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htiw/articles/20140930.aspx
Israel diverted US uranium using a front in Pennsylvania to ...
Israel Stole Uranium from US Stockpiles In 1950s and 1960s'Lance Freeman' ignores the rise of the totalitarian left in this country commesurate with the 'right' and uses all of the HuffPo boogeymen to blame for all the country's ills. Therefore, I conclude he is a fucking douchebag.
Life is better in Singapore Fox News sucks you are a slave to the masters Fox New sucks someone plays the violin better in Sweden Fox News sucks...
the grass is always greener....
Costa Rica??? Really??? LOL!!!
Let's just say I know somebody who bought into this and went to Costa Rica looking to retire and came back saying it was a downright SHITHOLE.
Too funny.
As my name says, I am an expat and have been for over 25 years. I have lived in Europe and Asia and have traveled to most of the rest. I still feel American (it's hard to shake a nationality and culture you had for twenty-five years) but I, too, have no desire to return to the States. From the outside looking in, knowing what I know about America, I am appalled by what I see. Looking at America abroad through my American and foreign eyes, I am shocked and dismayed.
You won't convince 'Muricans that they are not God's chosen and 'Murica is not God's Country. And whatever you may write or demonstrate will be dismissed as socialist propaganda or the price to pay for freedom.
As far as I am concerned, America and Americans are simply getting what they deserve, a taste of what American so gleefully does to the rest of the world. And frankly, if America would hurry up and implode, the rest of the world could get on with living their lives.
Same here, I left for good when Bush was re-appointed the second time, it was the best decision I ever made. You can't see what America is until you leave, you get access to real news and real points of view and real comparisons. Sorry, 'Murkans, it's a goddam police state mixed with Permanent War Machine mixed with Permanent Corporo-fascism, sucking the suckers dry with insurance and taxes and prices corruption and laws. If I thought there was any chance to "stand and fight" like so many in this thread claim, I would have, 'Murkans won't stand and fight because they're too fat to get off the couch and too lazy to put the clicker down. I was in Hong Kong two days ago, inspiring to see all of the kids there who give a damn and actually DO something about it, they may not win but at least they are fighting. Get out while you can you won't look back and you won't regret it.
I was actually enjoying this article until you started calling out conservative broadcasters (Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity).
They aren't perfect, but they are much closer to perfect than liberal retards that are controlled by the government.
If the government hates you (Fox News, Rush Limbaugh) then you must be doing something right.
Less government = More freedom.
Rush Bill and Sean are the equivalent of Benedict Arnold. They are worse than the declared enemy because they pretend to be on your side while twisting the knife in and smiling.
Cicero nailed it how long ago?
The Traitor is the Plague
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uSA1o07jx0
At least with the Debt Money Monopoly fake *ss liberal authoritarians you know where they stand - directly between you and any semblence of freedom, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
The problem there is that their target constituency is comprised of galactic chumps that think people who spend $1 trillion to end poverty and end up increasing poverty really give a darn about he poor.
The part about US citizens being locked in the country is true.
That's why it's time to get out and why im probably leaving too.
Good, I got out more than 2 years ago. Life is great!!
Just saw this, too: "You’ve got your own version of the Taliban: right-wing Christian fundamentalists who actively loathe the idea of secular Constitutional government."
Right wing Christian fundamentalists strongly support the Constitution.
Just because you surround it with a shit sandwich (secular and government) doesn't make you right.
How the hell did you get to post your bullshit on zero hedge? You're a fucking pussy.
"Right wing Christian fundamentalists strongly support the Constitution."
is that why they keep trying to get the 10 commandments posted in courthouses, prayer in public schools, and teach creationism, and claim Jesus told him to "liberate" Iraq?
i'm sensing Mr. Freeman is a confused homosexual liberal that left the USA for some foriegn ladyboy schfing schfing.
strange. reading your constitution, I get the impression that it is all about secular government
secular in the sense of freedom of religion and freedom from religion in government
aka separation of religion and government, the definition of secular, and
government in the sense that the constitution mandates how government is to be constituted
because that's why it is called a constitution, i.e. a mandated setup of government
perhaps there is a huge disconnect about what the constitution really is and really is for?
Well, that was cheery. Problem is, where you gonna go? Europe? Forget about it. They are collapsing faster than the U.S. and have the extra bonus of massive (hundreds of millions?) future immigration from the also collapsing and overpopulated regions of North Africa and the Middle East. Asia? Where? Japan and China are in worse shape than the U.S.
Only coutries I can think of where you might have a chance at a better life are Iceland (long winters though) and maybe New Zealand, but how long will they keep the welcome mat out?
Philippines is pretty good. Just live in Boracay. Im planning on living there soon.
NZ is a 3rd world shit hole disguised as a Western country.
Austrailia is on par with America but all my Kiwi friends say the place is ass backward.
~Dipshitmiddleclasswhitekid
I have heard good thing about Chile. That'd probably be the firt place I'd look into if I were leaving - which I'm NOT.
My husband, a biochemist, and I have long considered getting out. My husband is leaning toward Russia; I speak Russian - intermediate student here - and since my professor uncle formerly resided in Ukraine - under USSR regime in the 70's - I know how nice the Russians are and have studied Russian history for decades now. We don't want to move to a country that is part of the "Coalition of the Willing", unless these countries change their allegiances. I've had many ZHer's tell me that the Phillipines are nice for ex-pats; however I don't speak Tagalog. Since languages come easily to me, how difficult is Tagalog? Are there any biopharm start ups or areas of medical research which could use my husband's considerable expertise?
tell your husband to learn how to code and you can live like a king in the Phillipines
or just sell everything you own, save up for a year or two and retire there.
This guy seems to think the government is actually part of the solution. Like maybe now that they have so judiciuosly thrown $2+ billion of our tax dollars at Michelle Obamas friends to do the programming jobs for Obamacare, none of which worked? I could personally have done it and had it work for under $50 Million.
Fascism is coming from the left not the right, despite any wish they may have. I can tell you recently I have been fucking appalled by lefty regulations, never mind they started under Bush, that fing moron. I have been trying to buy a fucking washing machine. Guess what? You cannot get what you want. The DoE has mandated anything I want right out of existence. The DoE government mandated washing machine designs all suck. I just paid $1250 all in for a washing machine. High efficiency. Front load, because our current top loader spins so fast that it cannot finish a load of towels unless you babysit the machine and intervene once everything is as wet as it will get to lay out oll the items in a perfectly balanced way and run the rinse and then the spin cycles separately. So a load of anthing heavy takes hours to do. Fucking really pisses me off. I will be hacking the new machine to use more water. I have a fucking well and septic field so guess where the water goes? Back into the ground where it gets naturally filtered by the earth and winds up in my well again or in someone elses well some years later. I do not need any government designed bullshit washing machine but guess what? That is all I can buy. Fuck
+ infinity
Quote: "Fascism is coming from the left not the right,...."
Are you blind? Seriously, I had to down arrow you for saying that. Fascists make up most members of both parties. They want to control you, your property, your wealth, and your life. The whole Left/Right bullshit party system has seduced most people. Open your eyes, Tommy.
Oh, and go find a 40 year old Maytag washer. They are easy to rebuild every single part and will usually run about 30 years without repair.
Full of Bullshit and Straw Men.
There is a lot wrong with the "Ruling Class" and the Military-Industrial Complex, and the LEFT wing of government, aided and abetted by the half-left, spineless, GOP Establishment, is leading us down the path of Fascism, BUT
Americans are the most resilient people on Earth
The Constitution and our guns are the way we will stay (mostly) free
The Christians will be the rock upon which we rebuild society, just as the Founders built it on Christian values.
Rough times are ahead, the Dark Ages lurk if we are careless, but now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of the country!
This Pillock can live wherever he wants, presumably in some form of socialist "paradise", but I, a LEGAL immigrant, will stay and fight.
A country based on a cult that worships a 2000 year old Jewish zombie that walks on water and performs magic tricks and whose return from the dead is awaited? No thanks, if I want some bizarre primitive religion I will move to Africa.
I'll pass on this.
Me smellum libtard.
This guy is a TOAD!
Eff him, he doesn't like it here, then the TOAD can move along and STFU.
Betcha he still has his USA passport!
I'm a permanent resident of Costa Rica. Keeping my US citizenship too. I paid a fucking fortune into social security and if there's even a faint chance of getting any back one day, I'm going to keep it.
That said, I'm watching VERY closely as the US tightens the screws (FATCA, $3500 to renounce citizenship, etc).... I suspect we'll see other friendly regulations to keep the tax base intact. One or two more steps towards locking me/us down and I'm officially out of this bitch.
Keep in mind the "Christian Right" of the 1940's liberated the entire world from Germany and Japan.
That's the only reason you can sit over in Bangkok with your little boys and write America hating articles like this.
The only thing I hate about America is it's liberals.
Correct. And the only time in the history of the world that one race and class fought itself to free another race and class was when the Christian "Right" fought the democrat slave owner party in the US Civil War.
Oh please. How about just the haves and have nots. The "Christian right" was nothing more than a sound education based on moral values. This didn't change until the 70s.
Sorry to burst your bubble but the Russians defeated Germany. 470 German divisions crushed on the Eastern front. We defeated Japan. The cost of occupation of Vietnam, Korea, China, Thailand, Laos, the Phillapines, et al would have broken them eventually anyway. And there is the small problem of what the outcome was: handing over 1/2 of Europe to the USSR and 50 years of cold war. Would the world have been worse off if Germany had defeated Russia? German cold war vs. USSR cold war. This is a great outcome because....? No the Germans and Japanese never would have invaded America (Hawaii yes - CONUS no)
About the only good thing we did was prevent full extermination of the Jews in Europe and the creation of the state of Israel. Many would argue this is a bad thing and if so why are you patting yourself on the back that you defeated Germany?
Wow, this place has really gone down hill. To the author, go fuck yourself.
Finland is looking good, and they have blondes.
This American hill is the last hill worth dying for. No other place on earth has such diversified natural beauty nor wealth of resources, including Her people. The true American people, come from all cultures and walks of life. A real American is not defined by their ethnic heritage, but by their love of liberty, hard work and belief in the greatness of the individual. Americans are kind, generous, innovative, and true adventurers. It is a few psychopaths making it miserable for all real Americans to pursue our own ideals of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. "Americans" are in all countries, they just don't realize it. The real American people have been too busy building their business, taking care of their families and trying to enjoy their lives. They are a sleeping giant, who are awaking (albet almost too late) to the nightmare the global elitist are creating while stealing from all of us. We need to win their hearts and minds one at a time. We are a Nation, created under God, and America will prevail.
Of course people who warship an instrument of torture (a cross) will prevail. Rest assured.
Representative Democracy is the problem; it doesn't work anymore. Direct Democracy is the answer. The Swiss have the most democratic country in the world.
Direct democracy only works where you have an educated population that is hard-working and can defer gratification to plan for the future. It requires that people put the needs of society before their own needs and wants.
In other words, America is one of the least likely places for Direct Democracy to succeed.
Oh sure... becaues the tyranny of the 50.1% is SO much more preferable.... *facepalm*
We have the proper framework in place, we just need to follow the Constitution, and prosecute those who don't.
Direct democracy only works on a small scale with people who share the same or have similar world views. It does not work when you take a bunch of hillbillies, ghetto rats, Somalis, Latinos, aging whites, and hippies and throw them all together in a contentious mix of hate and distrust. The Swiss are ethnically homogenous, small in number, and have similar cultural roots and backgrounds. How democratic would they be if I dropped 2 million Chinese, 3 million Nigerians, and 3 million Nicaraguans in there then said "vote"?
Well that article was depressing as hell. Call me a fence sitter. Not to pimp my own website but thaiusavisas.com -- I'm still trying to put it together. A little update...we actually moved TO America 3 months ago, due to family considerations. My dad died in the bedroom next to ours 9 days later, so good timing that I got to say goodbye. My husband (Thai national, had never been here before) has now been to 10 US States. We stayed in a beachfront high rise on the Venice beach (California) boardwalk, in a St Louis ghetto that is quickly becoming gentrified, in a picturesque Mormon mountain town in Utah--the list goes on. I don't have rose colored glasses about either Thailand or America. They both have good and bad. The grass is green where you water it, even if the water is the blood of patriots. You have to be the change you are seeking...the author is a bit socialist for my taste.
Don't like where America's headed? Grow your own food and get off the grid.
My husband wants to stay in America...well, most days...
You can NEVER truly be "off the grid" in America. They own you. Try not paying property taxes for a few years.
"Take a good look at your compatriots: the working class in the United States has been brutally propagandized by jackals like Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity. Members of the working class have been taught to lick the boots of their masters and then bend over for another kick in the ass. They’ve got these people so well trained that they’ll take up arms against the other half of the working class as soon as their masters give the word."
No truer words were ever spoken. This collection of American Conservatives, whose brains are as washed as any North Korean Prison Inmate ever was. They will fight you to the death to prove they are the freest people on earth, yet those of us who have spent a good portion of our time abroad in the other 1st world know bloddy well that this type of lunatic hardly exists outside America. Sure, I live in a special place in the USA, but in the last 20 years, our local culture and work life has sunk every year till we now are just as hopeless as the deep south. Our lifestyle died here about 2008. Before that we were still holding out with a quasi Scandinavian lifestyle and culture. But that is now dead. FOX and Police and War Vetereans now rule our society here too.
Is this guy trying to convince me that the inmates don't run the asylum?
They do.
...and the Pentagon is the real government of the United States.
If by "the Pentagon" you mean "the Federal Reserve banking systemtm," I'll have to agree with you. The Pentagon's budget is only that big so the "government" can assume that debt; well, that and they can blow the shit out of anyone who refuses the BennyBuk.
Fully 70% of your tax dollars go to the Pentagon, and the Pentagon is the real government of the United States.
Ummm....no it doesn't. Defense is about 20% of our budget, but you were fairly close.
Or just take back the country, the American country, from these treasonous criminals and tools of the Rothdchild banksters.
First step:
The most powerful weapon the American people have is Rejection.
The system of fraud and theft that has been built up upon the backs of the American people is dependent upon out backs. Withdrew our backs, and the whole thing collapses. This is our greatest weapon.
Quit Paying--put it into food, and precious metals, etc.They stole what ever "debt money" they loaned you in the first place )fractional reserve banking) and soon you won't be able to pay them anyways.
Quit Obeying--If they are in violation of the Constitution then they are not legitimate anyways.
Quit Playing--Quit being a tool for them to use.
The Four Rs
Rejection: Quit paying, quit obeying , quit playing
Revolution: It is inevitable, so prepare, as they are.
Retribution: The guilty must answer for their crimes against the American people and the Constitution.
Restoration: Restore the American people, country and Constitutional republic.
An American, not US subject.
I have been getting the sense that I'm riding on the Titanic. Might have to start hanging out by the life boats. nom sayin?
Umm Lance, old boy, you're missing the point, entirely. The reason the places you mention are more 'free' and able to provide cradle-to-grave security, is because they don't feel compelled to export (enforce) their particular brand of bullshit around the world.
Ironically, that particular brand of bullshit is what keeps them safe and coddled in an otherwise chaotic world, which they never have to bother with.
Do I think the US should involve itself in promoting the Zionist agenda? Fuck no!
I'm just tellin' ya' that these socialist Utopias you so admire could not exist absent the big, bad American cop on the beat.
Was it Goethe? I think so- None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely think they are free.
Check your premise, the empire can gobble up your Utopia(s), they own them, after all.
Think about it- Putin appears to be the only man of principle on the world stage. He's mamby-pamby compared to Glazyev, his chief economic advisor, though. Gotta give Putin credit, though. He's playing nice, but Glazyev is not there for no reason. Neither Xinping nor Merkel show any kind of backbone- it's like they're watching a weather vane so they can conn their sails.
For all its' military bluster, the US military is rudderless, drifting in a sea of mediocrity while its' commander-in-chief golfs.
In short, it's a clusterfuck.
A few good points, but generally nothing we didn't already know, sprinkled around amongst a LOT of socialist drivel. This is no Simon Black, this is Chairman Mao. Thanks for playing, pinko. 1 star, baby.
K, agree with much of this article, but to the author, hey dumbass Christians are being fucking persecuted in the United States! So, thanks for obligatory shout out to the token grievance interest groups et al. But, you might want to revise your own list of issues you find wrong with the U.S., after all, sounds like you haven't been here for a while. Indeed, you can add open religious persecution, and get this, Muslims, complete with their violence and full complement of phobisms, are NOT included, in fact, they enjoy the only thing that matters in the US today and that is official victim status. Apparently, they're actually the religion of peace? Yeah, me surprised too, you know, with all dem beheadings and all. Meanwhile, other tolerant and compassionate "victims" are busy bullying Christians with impunity.
I like the way the author put so many points together in a coherent fashion -- many true statements and well written!
One thing that he missed was the US "justice" system.
After the 2007-08 financial crisis, I started to spend some time researching about the cause(s). On average, things were quite rosy (financially speaking) up to that point, and having the sh*t kicked out of the real estate market got my attention.
I spent countless hours online, with my RIA, attorney, public figures, friends, business associates, etc.
A look under the hood revealed a lack of enforcement of laws on the books (property law, and fraud just to start). Look up MERS and how this relates to property rights and land title, the deals the state AGs made with the banks (via the US Justice department) to not prosecute land title/mortgage fraud.
There are many more examples of how laws on the books are ignored to
the benefit of the rich/ownership class, but how laws broken by the "little
guys" are strictly enforced by jackboot thugs and local court systems.
Based on what I found out, we decided in 2012 to sell everything and
relocate to Asia. We had good planning and are fortunate in that we had
property here already, and had been planning to move here for years. It only took us about 6 months to sell real estate and autos (at a big loss) and ship most of our "good" personal property in some containers via ship.
Gone are the days of working to pay the banks, corporations, and "the
man."
Everything is paid off here, and we actually enjoy getting interest payments from the bank!
Now we live on a tropical island, enjoy gardening, golf, travel, family and
friends...
Some say that 9-11 was a ruse played on the subjects to further tighten the grip...
Some say the 07-08 financial crisis "save" was/is the largest financial crime in the history of the world....
If you are reading website like this, you are certainly thinking about what to do.
Research and position yourself to your best benefit.
I call bullshit. Not because I am brainwashed, not because I believe that America is blessed, not because I blame the LGBT community or any other bullshit reason. I will not leave because I am not selfish. I love my family and on this earth my family is all I have got. I can make a call at three I clock in the morning and there will be at least 5-10 people who make a 3 hour drive and be here by seven to help me. I don't want to RETIRE to the phillipines where the biggest worries in my day are what I am going to have for dinner, or if I am going to try the new beer at the bar, or if I can get away from my wife long enough to fuck that young girl(who just might be a prostitute). What a bunch of hogshit. If all that this author is worried about is having it easy, and many of you who have posted, is whether you can have an easy time of it then, PLEASE LEAVE and don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out. YOU are what is wrong with America. You actually have two brain calls to rub together and yet you use those brain cells to say "fuck it" I've got mine I'm going to leave and go get fat and stay drunk on the beach half the day. You might as well be a central banker(not his master) who just wants his share and then he will go away as well. If you can't see the flaw in your own argument you are not worth talking too. I have nothing to learn from you and I know that I can not trust you; so what is left.
I would guess that most readers of Zero Hedge have already been thinking about what this article said, and therefore, have come to their own personal conclusions. (My own are not to leave, although I sympathize with those who do.)
At this point, to me, there is nothing which seems "new" ... I merely watch the juggernaut roll forward, steamrollering through, while it more and more becomes impossible to believe in any of the "news," since so much of it has been demonstrated to have been faked.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=WJBwyjqw5ak
The End Of The Line Part 1- The Rise and The Fall of the Bankster
Another collage of already famous videos,
at least amongst those who pay attention.
"Where liberty is, there is my country." - Benjamin Franklin
Carefully note he mentions no attraction to "democracy".
"where to go?"
Someone responded: "Japan and China are in worse shape than the U.S."
That is ridiculous. Japan and China are as different as night and day. Japan is an excellent, civil country with fantastic infrastructure and a respect for hard work and for education/technology that is no longer found in America. If you have a skill to use (or want to be an English teacher) Japan is an excellent place to relocate to. Works for me..........
Changing demographics in Japan offer many interesting opportunities for entrepreneurial spirits.
I have heard of almost abandoned villages in Hokkaido, where the empty houses are now taken up by Japanese- and mixed couples who have taken over the school (12 pupils left) and now have created a village where young couples go to have their children educated in English.
Creating Japanese retirement villages that focus on care by real humans instead of robots in the Philippines or Thailand is another option.
All you need to do is break that mesmerizing hold the TV screen has on you and get off your sofa..
i heard some MSM taking heads discussing "stealth jihad."
why isn't the subject the "STEALTH FASCISM" we have had in the united states of america in the last 3 decades.
don't leave the US. make the banking mafia leave.
All filthy commie lies.
Because Arbeit macht Frei!
Clearly, the government should do something.
I want to live in a Singaporean taxi driver hovel. Then I will truly be free.
I have lived in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. I assure you my lifestyle here in fabulous Florida is better.
Writer has gone native, it is as simple as that. Dear writer, it is not cool it is embarassing. Go put on your sarong and buy some noodles.
When I went to cancel my work permit in Malaysia, they pulled out "my file" and reviewed it before they let me leave. In the specs for my permit, it said I could not engage in political activity or make a spectacle of myself.
In my Florida mobile manor, the deputy says I can make a spectacle of myself whenever I want, just keep my underwear on and be reasonably quiet. That my friend, is freedom. Double wide freedom no less. My '97 Blazer is paid for, and I only have 30 more payments on my trailer. Publix has BOGO's and Walmart has 1 dollar bakery fresh french bread. I spearfish weekly to supplement my income as a rep for diarrhea remedies. I have lots of guns and a black velvet painting of dogs playing poker. I smoke my e-cig with style. My neighbor Spider keeps an eye on my stuff when I am out. My boat is tied up at the community marina. ('99 Century 20 foot CC with 150 yamaha, paid for). If the shit hits the fan and I lose my income, I will pay off the trailer from savings and spearfish more. Me and Spider and some of the other guys will guard the park.
I could go on, but you get the picture on my version of paradise.
If you live in the US and your lifestyle sucks, you are doing it wrong.
So what he's saying is that if the government provides free shit I don't have to worry, right? I'm free as a bird without a care. Now of course I handed over the medical decision making to the government, but youthful idiots don't worry about that. They'll live forever anyway, or so I remember thinking...
I guess being a tax slave to the government is better than being a debt slave and paying yourself? He seems to think that free government shit is free from heaven, like manna. Of course, the government is just unsustainably stealing from the future in every single country like this, but who cares. Its free.
This guy makes soime sense, and overall I get what he's saying, but its not very deeply considered. I don't beleive the Pentagon spends 70% of the budget, I believe that is sophistry by comparing the Pentagon budget to tax receipts, not the overall federal budget. Which is a false comparison. Yeah they spend way too much, but so does every other part of the bloated government. Gut the pig....
Yeah they get more vacation, but they pay in other ways. Tradeoffs, many I don't agree with in European countries. I would love to take more vacations, but I want more freedom, that I used to have here in the USSA, before the facsist state started to really become obvious.
You can't convince the sheeple they've been ingesting poisoned food, water and medicine. You can't convince them that the resulting toxic injury produces anxiety, depression and a blind allegiance to the establishment. Because when you're injured you seek a safe haven to patch yourself up and that only leaves monopoly medicine and the establishment.
When you're injured you're not independent and courageous. Your're desperate, anxious and not likely to challenge the Fed's banker scams. That's why you've been poisoned.
The control of America includes control by our Pentagon but extends to the intelligence agencies, politicians at all levels of government, education, religion and the mass media.
Few understand that a 10 member group of Roman families make up an organized crime syndicate that stole the Vatican's gold nearly 250 years ago and through their Jesuit, Masonic and Zionist agents have secretly taken over the entire Western world through bribes or death threats.
They took over America in the 1913 Fed Act. Most of the sheeple still belive it's a government agency working for the public good.
Know your enemy and their history. It's a good indicator of what they are currently doing to you.
see Eric Phelps - The Real Powers Behind The NWO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEEZUU1kDzU
Neurosurgeon Dr Russell Blaylock on tjhe Ruling Syndicate's Poisoning Agenda
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fB3xcN_eoPo
Judging from his writing, Lance Freeman, is a moron, a social parasite, a socialist, and anti-America propagandist. Yes, the America of today is a dim shadow of the America the Founders envisioned, and there is much that sucks, and more coming with every election.
I retired much earlier than most people and set out to explore the entire planet in search of a better place to live than the declined and declining USA. I went to more than 120 countries and it was a HUGE disappointment on many, many issues.
For example, the income taxes in all those "happy" "everything you need is free" countries, eg Finland, Norway, Sweeden, Denmark, etc are up to 70%, so if you earn ANY kind of income, they will take it from you, very aggressively.
For example, in Finland, their equivalent of the IRS solicits and pays rewards to informers who report on anyone who seems to have a lifestyle that exceeds their apparent income, eg an expensive car or a country cottage or a boat, so you are spied on and reported on to the income tax gestapo everywhere you go - and in Finland, the income tax gestapo computes your income tax liability for you based upon whaat THEY think you should contribute to their socialist paradise, so you can be assured of a lifetime of war with them, unless you are one of the parasites sucking the entitlement tit instead of one of the income earners paying for all the feebies. This is persecution of success and income is pervasive there, eg if you get a speeding ticket, the fine is based upon YOUR INCOME, and if you earn a few million, your fine will be a few hundred K.
Similar conditions or worse on many issues in all other countries. This guy is a shit emitter.
A fast-food worker that makes $20k/yr and gets a $200 speeding ticket is paying 1% of his annual income for that minor infraction. Why should someone that makes $200K/yr not feel the same pain for the same infraction?