Escape from America

In spite of the many disturbing trends in America about which I must write, (all too often it seems), I still have a modicum of hope that our nation will endure and prosper. But that won't happen without a clear recognition of our problems and a determined effort to address them.

Unfortunately, the current crop of American presidential wanabees doesn't bolster what may be my misplaced hope. While many still are willing to stay and fight the good fight, many Americans have had enough.

A 1999 U.S. State Department survey of its embassies and consulates suggested a total of 4.1 million Americans living overseas at that time. Every year about 250,000 U.S. citizens and resident aliens leave America to make a new home in some other nation. The U.S. Bureau of the Census in 2005 upped this estimate, guessing that over 350,000 US citizens and resident aliens would leave the United States permanently.

Many of these are wealthy people seeking to escape what they see as the excessive taxes and political tyranny of the United States government. And increasingly, much of this exodus is not only composed of of retirees -- but younger Americans.

John Gaver of Action America.org notes: "The problem is that increasingly, the wealthy perceive that they are under attack by their own government and they are taking the only rational option left open to them. They're taking their wealth and leaving."

Figures Don't Lie

Recent in-depth surveys (2006-2007) were done by the well known pollster, Zogby International, of adult Americans on the subject of possible relocation outside the United.States. With more than 115,000 respondents, the remarkable survey excluded anyone relocating offshore for less than two years, or because of requirements of the government, the military or their jobs. The Zogby results compared against the entire U.S. population (now about 303,116,000) are shocking. The numbers below are for households, not individuals:
• 1.6 million U.S. households have already decided to relocate offshore and are now moving in that direction. That figure remained stable over the year and a half during which seven surveys were conducted.
• Another 1.8 million households are seriously considering relocation and are likely to do it. Many have taken preliminary steps.
• 7.7 million households are "somewhat seriously" considering relocation and "may" do it.

• Nearly 3 million households are seriously considering the purchase of a vacation home or other property outside the U.S., and another 10 million are "somewhat" seriously considering it.

This means that almost 10% of U.S. households are considering leaving the country. Another 10% are considering living outside the country part time. This silent massive emigration is ignored by nearly every analyst. These would-be emigrant households plan to spend an average of $260,000 on the purchase or construction of a house, and at least $36,000 annually on living expenses outside the U.S. In total, they represent the emigration of hundreds of billions of dollars a year from the U.S. economy.

One eye-opening fact: the single largest group that already has made the decision to relocate offshore -- households where adults are 25 to 34 years old.

The Soaked Rich

One of the factors that is driving wealthy Americans to live offshore is the tax burden.

Yet the constant false drumbeat of class warfare U.S. politicians and their left-wing allies in the news media is that "rich" Americans do not pay their fair share of taxes. Only last week, would-be president Hillary Clinton proposed increasing estate and other taxes on wealthy Americans in order to transfer money to those persons who earn less, this loot to be used to set up government sponsored retirement accounts. The late U.S. Senator Huey P. Long of Louisiana used to call this sort of robbery of the "rich" to pay the "poor" his plan to "redistribute the wealth."

But this myth of the rich not paying their fair share is given the lie by figures just released by the Internal Revenue Service for 2005 (the most recent available) that show the top-earning 1% of U.S. taxpayers earned 21.20% of the income and paid 39.38% of the tax collected -- or almost double their share, based upon the income they earned.

In addition to paying double their share of taxes, there are other good reasons for this offshore exodus of the wealthy. Well-to-do Americans face frivolous lawsuits by the greedy, in ever growing numbers. They, like all Americans, have lost any semblance of privacy in their personal and business transactions. Their business dealings are saddled with onerous PATRIOT Act and Sarbanes-Oxley Act requirements that consume time and money. And they have little defense against having their property confiscated under civil forfeiture by the government money police.

We Can Help

The Sovereign Society exists to give advice and direction to those interested in "going offshore." With a decade of experience, we can offer a reliable road map to offshore freedom, including legal ways to protect assets, lower taxes, expand investments and how (and where) to move your residence and/or citizenship offshore.

If a move offshore interests you, whether older or younger, we can help.