The Endless Chase
There is a great classic Rock and roll song that says,: You can check out any time you please, but you can never leave".
Yes, even our quests for escape-- Like hunting tax-free havens--Trap us in cycles we vote for and build ourselves.
Picture a retiree dreaming of a peaceful spot with no taxes. Just cheap living and warm sunsets. Exploring and relaxing till there is no time left. Doing all the things they have dreamed of, free from the pressures of a full house, workload, and living in general. You saved and worked to live comfortably anywhere you choose. Right?
You spent years dreaming of a little place to spend the rest of your life, sitting on a beach or traveling. Then the tax form 1040 arrives from your tax folks, reminding you with a virtual slap upside your head. It's tax time, and YOU WILL PAY!
We explore States like Florida and Texas. Then Italy, Panama, or Paraguay( NO income Tax), islands in warm places written about in history and myths. But Federal still persists. What about zero tax Islands?Pricey and remote. It's our own design. Systems we demand. then resent.
The voters trap
We vote for safety nets, roads, and healthcare, then complain about the bill. Elections promise "change", but winners fund the same grid of things. Same oh Same oh. Different day, same old thing.Taxes for Medicare you need, Property taxes and levies for schools you dont use at 73.
Result? Full circle. Panama retirees and expats still have to file income tax using 1040 IRS forms. We vote low-tax politicians in, then balk at the potholes left.
The Carrot on The Stick
Numerous countries will even pay you to become a citizen. But investigate where the citizens who left there for a similar dream. Probably moved to the USA to design their own design of freedom. Ask yourself this: Why did they leave that island or country if you're going to get paid to move there?
Usually, you become that country's citizen, and these days, you may lose American citizenship. Most countries that pay you to move there insist you must stay for 5 years. How will that affect taxes and Social Security? Dont burn the bridge you're standing on before you see what's on the other side. There may be no other.
Personal Escape Loops
.No U.S. state skips federal tax
.Global Havens: Trade taxes for instability or visas.
.Retiree picks Costa Rica? Peaceful, but costs creep up
.We devise prisons=Democracy, IRS codes-then vote to reinforce them.
Why We Circle Back
What we want, what voting delivers, are the following: no taxes deliver sales taxes, closing the fund for the services we demand.
Cheap living imposes safety regulations, which closes the loop by raising the costs we pay.
Freedom delivers borders/visas that protect what we value.
Retirement ease delivers pension and health care, which closes the loop for tax funds and is inescapable.
We need order, vote it in, then feel caged. Mankind's device, or collective choice?
Breaking or (Accepting) the Cycle
Redefine "enough": Panama for low costs, not zero taxes. Or stay local, some small towns beat Tkelaus isolation. Humor the dream, but embrace the tradeoff we voted for.
What's Your Loop? Vote below:
1) Taxes fund my freedom(roads, meds)
2) I'd flee to Paraguay tomorrow.
3)Votes are the real prison wardens.
4)Other, what do you think of a short sentence?
Call To Action: Share your cage and vote. We built this, and only we can redesign it.
Like always, Dear Reader, its Something to keep in mind as you fill out your tax returns. Praying to get returned, your tiny grain of monetary sand. An investment that, with proper investment and interest over the years, would be substantial and without theft by bureaucrats, could have interest over time, Social INSecurity that might have built your dream castle.
But it became a mandatory, punishable Loop of enslavement that we all have sentenced ourselves to.
As some say:
From the cradle to the grave.Even written in our Philosophies.
Till next time.
RJ Pickering
