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The United States government and various industries have reasons to discourage citizens from leaving the country, primarily due to potential losses in tax revenue, reduced business profits, diminished soft power, and the migration of skilled talent.
The video explores why the United States may not want its citizens to leave, moving beyond the idea that they are indifferent. One significant factor is the potential for expats to become security risks or cause diplomatic issues, as seen with individuals who represent the US poorly abroad. Furthermore, the presence of negative attitudes and behaviors within expat communities can lead to embarrassment and a tarnished image of Americans overseas, contradicting the idealized perception of the US.
A primary driver for discouraging emigration is the loss of tax revenue for the US government. When citizens live abroad, they no longer contribute to various domestic taxes such as sales tax, property tax, vice taxes, and income tax, which are crucial for state and federal budgets. Businesses also suffer, as consumer spending shifts overseas, reducing their total addressable market and overall profits. This outflow of money means less revenue for US companies and potentially lower bonuses for their executives, impacting the economic productivity that fuels shareholder value.
The departure of Americans abroad also affects the US's soft power, which is its ability to attract others through cultural influence. Negative experiences shared by expats about life in the US, such as high costs, crime, and political division, deter potential immigrants who once looked to Hollywood and American ideals as aspirational. This 'brain drain' is exacerbated by countries offering digital nomad visas and a better quality of life, drawing away bright minds who might otherwise contribute to the US economy. Finally, the healthcare and insurance industries have a vested interest in keeping citizens within the US system, where they pay higher prices for services and premiums, thus maintaining profitability.
The video highlights that the desire for citizens to remain in the US is not solely a governmental concern but also extends to industries that benefit financially from domestic consumption and services. From sales and property taxes to business profits and healthcare costs, a significant portion of the US economy relies on its citizens spending money within its borders. The increasing number of Americans seeking to leave due to perceived declines in quality of life, economic hardship, and social issues poses a threat to these established economic interests, prompting a desire to keep citizens at home.
US citizens leave the country for various reasons, including seeking a better quality of life, lower costs of living, and more appealing social environments. Dissatisfaction with domestic issues like high prices, crime, and political division also drives emigration. Countries offering digital nomad visas and better opportunities attract skilled individuals, contributing to a 'brain drain' from the US.
When US citizens leave the country, it leads to a significant loss of tax revenue for the government through decreased consumption, property, and income taxes. Businesses also suffer as consumer spending shifts overseas, reducing their potential revenue and profits. This outflow impacts the overall economic productivity and shareholder value within the United States.
The departure of US citizens abroad can weaken the nation's soft power. Negative experiences and criticisms shared by expats about life in the US can deter potential immigrants who once viewed America aspirationally. This outflow of dissatisfied citizens contradicts the idealized image of the US and diminishes its cultural influence.
Businesses want US citizens to stay in the country because their domestic spending directly contributes to revenue and profits. When consumers spend money overseas, it reduces the total addressable market for US companies. This loss of domestic consumption can lead to lower overall business performance and reduced shareholder value.
Tax revenue is a primary reason the US government may discourage citizens from leaving. Expats no longer contribute to domestic sales tax, property tax, vice taxes, and income tax, which are vital for funding government services and budgets. This reduction in tax contributions directly impacts federal and state finances.
Yes, expats can pose diplomatic risks and reflect poorly on the US abroad, potentially damaging its international image. Individuals who represent the US poorly or engage in negative behaviors overseas can cause embarrassment and contradict the desired perception of Americans.
The US may want citizens to stay home to maintain tax revenue from domestic consumption and property. Additionally, citizens living abroad can sometimes pose diplomatic risks or reflect poorly on the US, impacting its image and soft power. Industries like healthcare also benefit from keeping citizens within the US system.
When US citizens live abroad, the government loses out on various domestic taxes. This includes sales tax, property tax, vice taxes, and income tax, all of which contribute significantly to state and federal budgets. Consumer spending also shifts overseas, reducing the overall tax base.
Yes, when Americans spend money overseas, it reduces the total addressable market for US businesses. This can lead to lower profits and potentially impact shareholder value, as consumer spending is a key driver of economic productivity.
Expats sharing negative experiences about life in the US can deter potential immigrants who might otherwise be attracted to American culture and ideals. This weakens the US's soft power, which relies on its ability to attract others through cultural influence.
US citizens living abroad may still be subject to US taxes, though there are provisions like the Foreign Tax Exclusion. Some expats can exclude a significant portion of their foreign income from US taxation if they meet certain residency and work requirements.
Yes, there are significant costs associated with renouncing US citizenship. This can include a fee to formally give up citizenship and potential exit taxes on assets.
Expats can sometimes pose diplomatic risks or cause issues abroad if they represent the US poorly. Negative attitudes or behaviors exhibited by some Americans overseas can lead to embarrassment and damage the overall perception of the United States.
0:01 Now that I've made the video talking about how they don't care if you leave, I'll make a video talking about how they don't want you to leave. Right off the bat, some of you guys are a security risk. Some people that are unhinged and not right upstairs pose issues to diplomacy. I mean, you look at this Johnny Somali guy, and I'm sure he's causing substantial challenges in the relationship between the United States and South Korea.
0:30 He's an American, regardless of whether you think he should or shouldn't be an American. He represents the United States abroad. Plenty of more skilled content creators than myself have covered this topic, so I'm not going to go into significant detail about it. But he's a representative of the United States, and there are a lot of people like him out there, probably tens of thousands of people who wish they could do what he does.
1:00 There are people out there who would love to cause chaos and mayhem around the world. You just have a lot of psychopathology in expat communities. If you think you're embarrassed to be an American based on the behavior of people back home in the states, come overseas, and you'll be doubly or triply embarrassed by what you see and encounter on a consistent basis.
1:26 The Philippines is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, and to see all the different ways that Americans find to waste their time here will never cease to amaze me. I joke about it all the time: we are not sending our best over here, not by a long shot. If you come over here, you will meet narcissists, psychopaths, sociopaths, and masochistic people in droves.
1:53 I have never met such a group of screwed-up Americans in my life. Maybe that's because I've never been to prison, where a lot of these guys belong. Number one is that you are paying taxes. Now, I know that some people feel that they have to pay taxes around the world, regardless of their location, for Americans. They owe taxes, but there are quite a few taxes that the US government benefits from collecting that you only pay if you're living in the US.
2:22 Sales taxes are an example where a number of states rely on sales tax to make up a good chunk of their tax revenue. Washington state is an example of this, and there are quite a few others. You can think of states that collect a lot of sales tax, and a lot of that sales tax relies on them selling you stuff in-state or in the country. Every time you buy a meal, every time you make a purchase on Amazon, every time you make different kinds of purchases of consumable goods, then you, in effect, create a taxable event or a taxable transaction, and somebody wants to collect the revenue from that.
3:07 Property tax is another example where if you are renting an apartment, property tax is still going to get paid on that resident, different than if you're living in like an RV, different than if you're living in your car, or you're living in like an off-the-grid cabin. The highest property tax rates are typically in areas with lots of services, and those areas can collect a lot of property tax from you. You've got to pay your property tax; anybody that owns property knows that I've had to pay property tax before.
3:45 Also, vice taxes. If you're somebody that likes to drink or likes to smoke, then there are a number of taxes that are levied on vices. If you're in a bar in the Philippines, the US isn't collecting that tax revenue. Also, income tax. If you're not working for a US corporation and you're not earning money from income from a job, then you're not paying income tax. Income tax is a pretty substantial tax for a lot of people.
4:19 So, if you become an expat and start living overseas, you don't need as much money to live. Maybe you retire early. That's harmful to the entities that benefit from collecting income tax. They really like being able to tax your income earned from a job. If you're not having to work a job to pay for that high cost of living, then that money has to still come from somewhere.
4:50 Another example, specific to California, would be the California gas tax. California is widely critiqued for having some of the most expensive gasoline in the United States. Part of the reason for that is there is a California gas tax levied on all the gasoline sold in California. Not only does this affect consumers, but it also affects any kind of business that uses gasoline in their operations. If you're not there in the states and you're not consuming products in California, you're not commuting to work in California, there goes the gas tax.
5:22 I'm not collecting Social Security, but I think at this point, Social Security is taxed. I know there have been some words about changing that, maybe removing the tax from Social Security income, but as it stands, I'm pretty sure people have to pay tax on that Social Security. This next example might be reaching a little bit, but let's say you're a young guy, you become an expat at an atypically early age, you move abroad, and you start your family abroad. You don't start your family back in the states.
5:47 You decide, you know what, I'm not going to raise my family back in the states for whatever reason the values don't align with you. You decide you're going to raise your family overseas. Families pay a lot of taxes. They pay a lot in consumption taxes, they pay a lot in vehicle taxes. Now the family needs two vehicles instead of one, or one vehicle instead of relying on public transportation. Junior needs to go to a good school, so they live in a neighborhood with higher property taxes.
6:15 Mom and dad need to both work and work jobs with long hours because they've got to pay for the house in the nice neighborhood, or they've got to pay for private school. And the property taxes for a house in a nice neighborhood. And while they may not pay additional taxes on the private school tuition, the private school teachers pay additional taxes in terms of tax revenue for additional services that stack on top of the property tax collected for these nice neighborhoods.
6:47 Point number two is that businesses want to reclaim these additional dollars being paid out. So, Social Security for a lot of seniors, it was started out as kind of an emergency type of a thing. Now you have a fair amount of people relying upon it to survive, and many people are not just storing it up in a bank account. Many people are using it to survive.
7:11 So, if a person takes that income abroad, then that money doesn't get reclaimed by businesses. Businesses have what's called a total addressable market, or TAM, and they figure the maximum potential revenue they could have for any division. Part of how they calculate that is figuring out how much money do people have to spend. You know, how much money can they spend on food, how much can they spend on transportation, how much could they spend on shelter, taxes, all these things are calculated.
7:43 I'm not a hardcore accounting guy, but businesses try to figure out how can we maximize revenue, how can we make the most possible money we could make? And part of that is based on population numbers and the income of those population numbers. And also the velocity of money, how quickly money moves throughout the system. And when you take money out of the system, and you're paying rent to an overseas landlord, and you're paying for meals in restaurants overseas, you're paying for the cab drivers, the maximum possible money doesn't get pulled back into the system.
8:17 Or pulled into the coffers of various businesses, it's in somebody else's pocket. And I know some of that money eventually finds its way back to the US. I mean, the US exports a ton of food, the US is in charge of a large chunk of the oil and gas business, and the US is home of the tech industry. But still, not all of those dollars come home to roost.
8:42 Well, that may not be a problem for the US government because that helps to reduce inflation. It probably does bother some corporate interests that are like, if it weren't for all these expats, we could have made millions more in income. And maybe that doesn't sound much for corporations that are multi-billion dollar corporations, but the leadership of these companies wants their multi-million dollar bonuses, and every little bit on top can benefit them in the form of bonuses.
9:14 It can benefit them from being able to take more luxury vacations, you know, send their kids to top universities, you know, have different kinds of nice things that they want that are frankly out of reach for a lot of Americans, that are beyond the consideration of most Americans, but are in consideration for the very well-to-do in the United States.
9:36 I remember working in sales, and we had very aggressive sales goals. It wasn't like, 'Oh, do a lukewarm job and maybe get a few customers.' No, it was, 'Get every single possible customer you can get in the door. We don't want to miss a penny of potential revenue, and we want to move as many businesses forward as possible. We don't want to miss out on a dime.' And so, all businesses operate this way. That's their job is to reward shareholders. That's literally in the description is to make a profit and to be economically productive, to generate value for the shareholders.
10:13 That's the primary purpose of every business. Anything else is just ancillary. We shouldn't idealize them for doing what they've got to do to make a profit. The next point, point number three, is the soft power point, and the US relies heavily on its soft power to attract would-be immigrants to the country. There are a lot of people that look at Hollywood movies and they're inspired to try to move to the US.
10:46 I can't tell you how many immigrant stories I've heard where they saw a certain famous actor or actress and thought, 'Man, I have to move there.' And so, when you meet dissatisfied or frustrated Americans living abroad, it hurts with the selling of that dream. You know, when people go abroad and they say, 'Man, my life back home really sucked.'
11:06 My life back home really sucked. It was financially difficult, it was traumatic. I dealt with different kinds of conflict, and I didn't get along with my neighbors. Crime was really bad in my city, the weather was cold and overcast much of the time, and the environment was just not very good. The political climate was really stressful and divided. People seemed quite hostile. These things really hurt the sale of that dream.
11:37 I mean, you ever work in sales? You learn it's important to keep it positive. And when these ambassadors of the US go to other countries and talk about how their car got broken into, or talk about how Grandma had to sell her house because she couldn't afford the property taxes anymore, that really makes it a harder sell, right?
11:57 I know a lot of people will tell the Filipino audience, "Oh, you're all clamoring to live in the US." But many of them will tell you, "We no longer dream of the US. We're eyeing Japan, we're eyeing Korea. Those look like safe countries, those look like places where people live in harmony."
12:11 Meanwhile, we see in the US, we hear from our relatives in the US, quality of life seems to be in steep decline. We see some people that appear to be American rejects coming to live in Southeast Asia. Not all, but some. It just doesn't really paint the most glamorous picture when you see the homelessness in the United States, you hear about the tensions with the migrants. It's just one thing after another.
12:38 I mean, today I've been hearing about the incidents in New Orleans and Las Vegas. Tragic, terribly tragic. And that's just one day in the US. I could go on and on about this subject, but the soft power of the US seems to have peaked between like 1995 and 2010. Some would say it was more from 1980 to 2000, but that soft power seems to have peaked and appears to be in decline.
13:03 I made a video earlier this year in Thailand asking the question, "Will there be a flood of expats in the future?" And I think that video is more relevant than ever. I think more and more people are seeking ways to leave the United States, and that doesn't bode well for the soft power of the United States, that the problems are becoming so intense that people are looking to leave.
13:24 I mean, there are forums and YouTube channels with tens of thousands of young men trying to find a way out of the US. I think that number will only increase in the coming years as the US has more and more problems. The fourth point is brain drain.
13:38 I know some people throw around the phrase "loser back home," but with the introduction of the digital nomad visas, I think more and more bright people will look at other countries, particularly those who offer these DTV visas, as alternatives to the US, as places that they might rather live where their income goes farther, where they enjoy a higher quality of life, places with higher social cohesion, less of the sense of social decay.
14:11 There's a lot of reasons for a bright person to look at other countries. I know that in spite of its high quality of life in terms of sunny weather, a lot of people have left the Bay Area and California in general. And I think that's a sign of things to come. I think a lot of people don't like the crime in California, don't like the high cost of living, they don't like the taxes, they don't feel like it's really a good deal anymore.
14:38 Now, I don't think that's the case for everything. I think the AI industry is obviously based in the Bay Area and it will continue to attract top talent in terms of engineering universities like Berkeley and Stanford. But I do think some other countries will try to attract some of these top talents, like pointing out, "Hey, do you want to ride in a clean subway and live in a modern condo, or do you want to ride on an old and falling apart system and live in an ancient studio?"
15:08 I mean, for me, it's an easy choice. I'd rather live in a modern condo in a safe city. And there are plenty of Americans that I don't particularly want to be around. There's a non-zero number of people out there that I don't want to be around. That's part of the reason I live in Southeast Asia, is there's quite a few people back in the US I don't want to be around.
15:26 And I know plenty of other smart people that feel the same way. More and more young people, like I said, moving abroad. They don't want to live around the turmoil in the US. They don't want to live around the crime. They don't want to be around their toxic family members. They don't want to be in the hostile social climate.
15:43 For some smart young men, you know, are they going to be satisfied with knowing, "Hey, I can't start a family?" Now, not all smart young men want to start a family, but some do. And they realize, "Wow, I can't buy a home in the area in which I can find a good job and earn a good living, and there are all these economic headwinds as far as inflation goes."
16:03 There's a presumption that it's only unsuccessful people that don't want to live in the US, but there are plenty of successful people these days that would enjoy living outside of the US, and bright people as well. They feel that living outside the US would allow them to raise their families in a place where there's greater alignment with their values. They may have a certain religious faith, they may have certain beliefs that they feel are more welcome elsewhere.
16:34 Fifth and final point is health insurance. Now, I'm sure by now many of you have seen that the health insurance industry is in the spotlight right now for obvious reasons. And the health insurance industry relies on lots of people paying in and being able to deny claims or refuse reimbursement on a certain percentage of those claims.
17:03 And I've never seen an issue get the kind of, you could say, bipartisan support in the US. I think a lot of us have been negatively impacted in some way by health insurance company policies. Now, I'm not sure about what type of policy is most profitable for the insurance companies. I'm not sure what demographic. I don't know if it's family plans, I don't know if it's bachelor plans. It's probably determined by actuarial scientists, like people who use very complex math equations, probability and statistics, data modeling, that kind of thing.
17:35 Part of what they benefit from is that people will pay into the system and they won't have to pay out claims. This pile of money with which they're able to invest. Now, some of these businesses won't exactly be able to operate to the same level of profitability if they've got fewer customers, fewer people paying into the system and contributing to these businesses in terms of insurance payments.
18:01 One thing I will point out, it would make sense to me, and I don't know this for a fact, let me know if you know differently down in the comments, that a younger person or a young family is more likely to have a higher lifetime value. You look at their life expectancy, the fact that they'll need insurance for decades as opposed to maybe shorter term if you're talking more about typical retirement age people.
18:26 Then this could become more concerning, not just for the insurance industry as well, but also domestic healthcare providers. I remember the last time I saw a dentist in the US, this was several years ago now. Since then, I've seen dentists here in Southeast Asia. I remember on that visit, the dental hygienist getting upset when I told her I'd sought dental treatment abroad, and she gave me these vague answers as to why I shouldn't do that.
18:50 Later, I spoke with a friend of mine who had previously trained to be a dental hygienist, and she explained to me, "They really don't like it when you do that." And the answer was obvious. I didn't have to ask her why they don't want you to seek healthcare treatment overseas.
19:04 So it's not just the insurance companies, which do get a lot of the flak, but it's also the providers that want to charge you these outrageous prices. If you leave and you're getting treatment overseas, you're paying a fraction of the price for dental work, or a fraction of the price for different procedures.
19:28 We're not talking about the effectiveness of these treatments, whether they're good, whether they're bad. That's besides the point. This isn't medical advice, but where the money goes, right? That's my background. I have some experience in the financial industry, and I'm always asking myself, where did the money go? Where will the money go? Where is the money going?
19:46 One of the things I've noticed living here in Southeast Asia is that goods tend to be more expensive, services tend to be cheaper. So it only makes sense that service providers that sell services with a markup want you to pay the highest markup possible. And in America, a lot of things are marked up, whether it be medication, whether it be services, food, any kind of service you can think of in America, they're charging as much as they possibly can.
20:13 They've got people to do the math to figure out how do we make the most money. And so that's worth keeping in mind. So anyway, thank you so much for watching. Let me know what you think down in the comments below. It always helps to generate interesting discussion. Do you agree with these sentiments? Do you feel like they don't want expats to next? Give us a thumbs up, it really helps with the YouTube algorithm. And finally, if you want to see more content like this, subscribe to the channel down below, and we'll see you soon. Bye-bye.
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