When Democracy And Freedom Collide In A World Of Tax Confusion

<p>December 13, 2021 - Participants Include:</p> <p><a href='http://www.taxresidentabroad.com/'>John Richardson</a> - <a href='http://www.twitter.com/expatriationlaw'>@Expatriationlaw</a></p> <p><a href='https://www.esquiregroup.com/'>Jimmy Sexton</a> - <a href='https://www.twitter.com/jimmysextonllm'>@JimmySextonLLM</a></p> <p>Our discussion this week does not focus specifically on the teaching of Charles Adams. That said, our discussion is motivated by our understanding of how taxation leads to the rise and fall of civilizations. We begin by discussing how the 2017 Section <a href='https://citizenshipsolutions.ca/?s=transition+tax'>965 Transition Tax</a> was a huge benefit to a small number of US multinationals but a devastating blow to millions of individuals (particularly Americans abroad). Note that the benefits to resident Americans (and US corporations) makes it harder for the United States to see how destructive its tax policies can be to the lives of Americans abroad.</p> <p>This week we discuss the general concepts of freedom and democracy and how:</p> <p>- freedom and democracy  are not the same; and</p> <p>- how democracy and freedom are fundamentally at odds.</p> <p>What happens when a majority through the democratic process diminishes the freedom of individuals? What human values should be protected from the democratic majorities through human/constitutional rights documents?</p> <p>We discuss <a href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBQvKXIDiuc'>President Kennedy's 1961 Berlin speech </a>where he clearly distinguishes freedom from democracy - noting also that the US (at that time) had never had to "put up a wall "to keep our people in". (I wonder what President Kennedy would have thought of the 877A Exit Tax?)  Interestingly the speech focuses more on freedom than on democracy.</p> <p>__________________________________________</p> <p><a href='http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/presidents/john-fitzgerald-kennedy/ich-bin-ein-berliner-speech-1963.php'>Here is the text of the speech</a>:</p> John Fit