American Politics

[Spam Hog]

I hate to see things degenerate into a ***** session, borrrrriiiinnnnngggg, so please understand I am not bitching and I am not taking aim at anyone. I, like many other expats LOVE my country, the good old USA, I served it in many ways for almost 30 years. I do not view my substantial pension as "supported by taxpayers" as I had to pay into it, that's right... came out of my salary every week I worked, Im proud of that too.

However, as much as I love my country, i choose not to live there as I simply cannot afford to unless I want to work. Probably in a private business as I had before. Why the hell should I work, pay taxes, maintain a business ,license and put up with all the crap of having employee's, labour management hassels and the inevitible law suits and other crap? Unfortunately, that is what American has become. Freedom ???
The legal profession has made everyday life a mine field of political correctness where there are so many laws, rules regularions and mandates that it is nearly impossible not to violate something or other then the special agenda groups take over and nail your ass to the wall coz U are a white male republican. That isn't freedom my friends.

Being an expat in Asia, living and working and of course playing here for more than seven years has made me realize many things, one is that how lucky I am to have been born in the USA and be a success at my chosen field and enjoy a generous retirement stipend every month that allows me to live like a fuedal warlord. But believe me I earned every penny. This is the other thing I learned:

TRUE FREEDOM IS FINANCIAL FREEDOM. If you have enough money and a dependable income you can go anywhere at any time and do anything you want...now thats freedom and that is what I have here.

The other issue is, once you get over in Asia and live there, you dont want to go back...so many reason for this. I came to this realization on a brief trip back to the USA recently to see my grandkids...I dont fit in anymore.


Spend more than a few months here and you wont either.

Regards


The Spam hog

[Bill Buxton]

You are right you did earn it but what about the working class or any class for that matter that pays taxes on wages and then again on savings.If the people could vote on paying ss and giving it to those who move from there country to live elsewhere they might want the cash to stay here.Fuel the economy at home not in another country.

I have argued about this at home with many just a thread not just my personal feelings.I have seen both sides of the coin and each should decide his fate here or there.

B.B...

[GoodEnough]

I don't want to get into a debate on patriotism or the political morality of the US versus anywhere else. I do think that the gist of Bill's argument is correct, and that the US does, in fact, act as a beacon to the rest of the world in many respects, though certainly (at least with the current administration) not all. I do want to point out though, in terms of our giving away the "free stuff" that the amount of money the US gives away as foreign aid is less, on a per capita percentage of GDP than any other developed country in the world. We are not nearly as generous for example, as Norway (the highest percentage of GDP as foreign aid), or Canada.

Historically, the US Congress has traditionally viewed foreign aid with a great deal of suspicion, and it continues to do so.

As to the payment of social security to US expats, why shouldn't we receive it? We pay it after all, in the same proportion as those living in the US, and we therefore "earn" the right to it the same as any other US citizen.

As with most complex arguments, this is not a simple, "either or" situation. For me, and I think for most of the expats I know, there are certain elements of living overseas that are preferable (to us) to living in the US. At the same time, there are certain qualities--both material and otherwise--that are lacking and that all of us miss. Most of the expatriates I know fall into one of two categories:

1. They live overseas because that's where their jobs took them, and they adapted well to the life. My experience is that, after not very many years, people in this category (including myself) get classified by employers as those who have maximum value to their companies by living overseas. It's difficult therefore, to come back to the US and find equivalent jobs.

2. They moved overseas when they were older and about to retire, for the simple reason that their pensions and savings are insufficient to support them well in their home countries. Since US (or European) money stretches much further in the developing world, they chose to move overseas to attain a higher quality of life, in the material sense.

Expatriotism is not for everyone, and probably not for most people. Adaptation is often difficult, and even for those of us who have lived abroad for years, the occassional pangs of displacement and homesickness never go away completely.



GE

[Bill Buxton]

Why don't we close up the boarders,the free stuff to other countries and help just the ones here??Stop the social security to overseas foreigners living abrod,and all ex-military pensions to those living in other countries.Lets give our our country full control of setting things straight here.

The facts are we do what we do right or wrong,most of us would like to see a change here,but we still help out everyone else in the world.Remember that when you buy American living in the PI,all that shit you eat and drink and have on your back is not from everywhere else in the world.

How many old Hz bens from the states would cry if the goodies were stopped???You say I earned it well thats ok you did, and so am I every week helping you guys grow old in a different place.Jelous?no, just saying don't ***** about the farmer with your mouth full.We all live from the freedom America provides and we all take full advantage of it every day 24/7.America will serve anyone anytime night or day without question in a hospital or soup kitchen.Not ask for payment first before services are rendered.Is that the same in the PI I don't think so.I know you all living there think life is great and I also when I was there.Remember you are DIFFERENT.As was I we have income,we can support ourselves.How many of us go there and live like the locals do??? Not many That I saw,just the pompous foreigners strutting around bitching about the shit they have to deal with overseas.Sounds like they could not deal with the shit from where ever they were from so that's why they are there now.Lets put the cards on the table,call a spade a spade.We are different from each and every place,oz,france,the uk everywhere.We do have more than the locals and we ***** about what we don't have before what we do have.I am sure I left there 2 months ago thinking about the girl the cost of living feeling differently, but the general thought in my mind was I WAS LUCKY TO BE GOING HOME.I can assure you that my trip made me feel different and I think different now than before.I wake up feeling lucky to have a job and business here,and be able to go ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD I WANT without delay.

I do not look at material things like I did before,AND YES I HAD AND DO HAVE THEM ALL.The important thing in life is what I learned from the local culture,not some guy from another country.Be happy rich or poor,be happy with your family.Who would ever think that I had to go 9000 miles away at the age of 41 and learn a life's lesson like that.



B.B...

B.B...

[Columpuss]

The good US of F'in A

Attended my nephew's 8th grade graduation ceremony 2 days ago. The school is in a residential area. Most parents couldn't find proper parking space so some of us parked on the side walk on school's property but not completely blocking the side walk. The sign says "no parking before 5PM" reserved for school buses. The ceremony starts at 7pm. When it ends at 9, we came out and saw a line of cars, must be around 10 cars that was ticketed for parking on the side walk. now, it is not down town. Parking cops don't go around residential areas after 5 to give out tickets.

My conclusion: some patriotic American must have performed his or her civic duty to punish law breakers.
Those who don't live in this country, this is a crime free country. The only law breakers are parents who park illegaly

[Bill Buxton]

That's a good report "SH" And I agree with what you said about the getting drunk and acting stupid in the PI.Most of the problems here are from guys acting more stupid than they ever would in there own countries.

World famous;

B.B...

[Spam Hog]

[quote=frequent flier]columpuss,

although i do not keep up with all the data on killings or other violence in the usa or other countries. i do think it is reasonable that the murders, killings or persons going missing and later presumed dead and other violent acts are 99 percent accurately reported in coutries like the usa.

i do not think that in the philippines or other 3rd world nations there is even a 20% accuracy to how many people are murdered or go missing or have violent acts committed against them.

so i do not think you can really compare the two societies in relation as to which is safer in general.

that said, the pi and other 3rd world countries like the pi are probably, in relation to violent crimes, safer for foreigners. even in china if a violent crime is committed against a foreigner the local government will go all out to capture and punish all involved. most countries are all to aware of the importance of the tourist dollar.


gentlemen:

just my 2 cents on this note, as a former homicide detective, narcotics branch commander (usa wash dc) un sanctioned teacher (e. timor) private body guard (singapore) security consultant (singapore, malaysia and thailand) and martial arts teacher (thailand/philippines) i think im qualified to say a word or two on comparitive safety in the philippines as wellas thailand and a few other places i lived in worked in and traveled to in asia.

hands down the philippoines are safer for an expat westerner or touriost than the usa. we have much more random crime and violence than the phils.
i compare manila with washington dc where i wore various lawman badges for 23 years. wash dc is a cesspool where tourists are murdered, robbed, raped and injured at a higher rate, random violence, one minutes you are seeing the washington monument the next minute some junkie has a cheap pistol in your face and pistol whips you for your wallet and loose change.

violence towards foreigners does occur in the philippines, but in most cases some idiot brought it on himself, got drunk and mouthed off to some local or slapped around his gf. yeah you can say all you want about the abu sayeff and the npa, but vey clearly stay out of their territory and you wont have a problem with them. also stay out of anacostia and potomac gardens housing project in wash dc and bed sty or spanish harlem in new york, but it might not matter, the usa criminal is more mobile (that means he can drive a car) this makes people in the suburbs a car ride away from assholes from se dc with mayhem on their minds.

a great deal of the violence in the phils is connected to politics, live her a while and you understand the symbiosis between politics and family, its the patronage system, if my guy gets elected, you and your family who voted for me get all the breaks, meanwhile the guy who voted against me and his family get shit, pretty soon somebody gets tired of the short end of the stick and losing money and decides to hold an impeachment process with a 45, enough said, hold a review...

p.s. record keeping is a complete joke in this country, half the systems are not computerized and have to be hand searched by somebody who knows where the log book is

regards

spamhog

[Bill Buxton]

Have a nice day guys lighten up it's all in a day in our lives.

[Dragon Slayer]

Pals,

Just wondering about the guy who Posts all over the place. Does he actually go to any of these places. I travel far more than anyone I know and I know many wealthy, successful people due to my work. But I do not travel a fraction of what this one guy Posts. I have Posted so far in So China, Thailand, Toronto, Ca, London, UK and Phils. All during or after my Trips there.

I would say that it is likely this guy travels in his mind. Where are the photos??? I have posted several hundred photos on various sites. I have never posted about Japan but have had several erotic adventures there (need to Post the soon).

Anyway, Happy Father's Day to all.

Dragon Slayer

[Frequent Flier]

Columpuss,

Although I do not keep up with all the data on killings or other violence in the USA or other countries. I do think it is reasonable that the murders, killings or persons going missing and later presumed dead and other violent acts are 99 percent accurately reported in coutries like the USA.

I do not think that in the Philippines or other 3rd world nations there is even a 20% accuracy to how many people are murdered or go missing or have violent acts committed against them.

So I do not think you can really compare the two societies in relation as to which is safer in general.

That said, the PI and other 3rd world countries like the PI are probably, in relation to violent crimes, safer for foreigners. Even in China if a violent crime is committed against a foreigner the local government will go all out to capture and punish all involved. Most countries are all to aware of the importance of the tourist dollar.

FF

[Bart9000]

Patriotism, Nationalism, and protectionism are for hillbillies. They need something to decorate the back windows of their truck's with.

I'm an advocate of incrementally eliminating national borders...things tend to equalize over time.

I work with a lot of Mexicans (all fine individuals) at my little shit restaurant job.....even though they are willing to do a hell of a lot more work for less pay, I am not the least bit concerned about them taking my job, because they (as simple unsophisticated, villagers from a coastal town in southern Mexico) can't perform my function nearly as well as I can.

Call me crazy, but I don't think one world government is such an evil idea......so long as it isn't just a corrupt tool for advancing corporate interests as is our current administration.

b9k

[BH Bound]

I also want to add that when my father came to this country with almost nothing, nobody helped him...not the American government, nobody. He had to start from scratch even though he had a degree from one of the most prestigeous universities in South Korea. He doesn't have to employ Americans and pay decent wages, but he does.

[Doctor_Skank]

CM

"I often wonder why our forefathers are said to have had a "great Protestant work ethic" when we all know that they relied on slave labor from Africa to do the most back-breaking work? Even today, the Mexicans immigrants demonstrate more of a work ethic than the average American, and they are mostly Catholics not Protestants."

I appreciate what you are trying to say, but speaking from personal experience and even though I am Catholic, I know a lot of "normal Joe" WASP (White Angle-Saxon Protestant) Americans working their asses off because they simply believe its the right thing to do and the way "a good American" should conduct himself. Moreover, just as much as America was built on imported foreign labor and slavery, it was also built based on the back-breaking work and sacrifice of our forefathers, whether they be English, German, Swedish, Irish, African, Chinese, Mexican or whatever.

Maybe the mentality is changing among America's population, but I have yet to be in a FIRST WORLD country where the people truly worked harder than the average American does. Germans for example are some of the laziest workers on the planet, but their companies are well-organized and the country's infrastructure runs very well... allowing their workers a degree of laziness less-efficiently run countries cannot afford.

As for the second and third world... sure they work hard, but are generally being exploited by their own "elected" politicians and are victims of their own woefully inefficient infrastructure.... essentially slaves to inefficiency.

I also believe that work ethic is largely fueled by necessity, or do you think those Hispanic road crews and landscapers work that hard because they want to? I am sure the guy on the powered lawn mower isnt about to trade places with the guy pouring tar on the highway on a 95° California afternoon.

[Chocha Monger]

I agree our history past and present are not exactly beyond reproach. I often wonder why our forefathers are said to have had a "great Protestant work ethic" when we all know that they relied on slave labor from Africa to do the most back-breaking work? Even today, the Mexicans immigrants demonstrate more of a work ethic than the average American, and they are mostly Catholics not Protestants.

Stating the facts instead repeating well aged slogans does not make one unpatriotic. Remember the story "The Emperor's New Clothes"?

[BH Bound]

@Artistyp, I'm asian, and my parents' retail business employs many AMERICANS, at above the minimum wage, who otherwise would not have jobs because they do not have the same opportunity at education as I was entitled to. Also, the biggest offenders of this so called "sin" (I agree with the guy below me) are not asians, it's huge corporations (many with stockholders from varying ethnicities, but predominantly white) that lay off hundreds of thousands of Americans and outsource. I'm only 21 with minimal savings, but as my bank roll and I grow older, I intend to invest at least 70 percent of my savings in the European market, and the rest in my own enterprises (home-grown, which will also employ AMERICANS). What you do with your hard-earned money is your own business.