Taxation Is The Highest Form Of Patriotism
Farhad Manjoo has written a piece headlined "What Eduardo Saverin owes America. (Hint: Nearly everything.)" It's about how the young Facebook entrepreneur immigrated to the United States from Brazil in order to avoid kidnapping and extortion from thugs.
The Saverins did well and he ended up at Harvard. Manjoo argues that he owes his success to the U.S. government. The background to this story is that the U.S. government has taken on the extortion and thuggery role, by trying to take hundreds of millions of dollars Saverin earned, and so the Singapore-based Saverin decided to renounce his U.S. citizenship.
Would Eduardo Saverin have been successful anywhere else? Maybe, but not as quickly, and not as spectacularly. It was only thanks to America—thanks to the American government’s direct and indirect investments in science and technology; thanks to the U.S. justice system; the relatively safe and fair investment climate made possible by that justice system; the education system that educated all of Facebook’s workers, and on and on—it was only thanks to all of this that you know anything at all about Eduardo Saverin today.
Manjoo says that this isn't fair. Worse, it's "ungrateful and it's indecent." So Manjoo comes up with a list of all the ways that the U.S. government is responsible for his entrepreneurial success and deserves to take a cut of hundreds of millions of dollars for it.
First and most obviously, he lived a life of relative safety in Miami, something that wasn’t guaranteed for him in Brazil. Second, also obvious: If Saverin hadn’t come to America, he wouldn’t have met Mark Zuckerberg, and—not to put too fine a point on it—if Saverin hadn’t met Zuckerberg, Saverin wouldn’t be Saverin.
Third: Harvard. Zuckerberg and his cofounders met in the dorms, and while Harvard is a nominally private institution, it enjoys significant funding and protections from the government. In 2011, Harvard received $686 million, about 18 percent of its operating revenue, from federal grants; that’s almost as much as it received from student tuition.
Fourth is the government's role in creating the Internet, Fifth is the judicial system.
Gee, it's almost like Saverin had nothing whatsoever to do with his own success.
This serfdom model is so deeply unattractive, isn't it? So un-American. Besides, now that other countries can compete more easily for talent and capital, it's a waste of time. Why waste time whining when you could work to create a more competitive or fair taxation policy?
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Feb '12
Re: Taxation Is The Highest Form Of Patriotism
The notion that you owe your success to the state is obscenely un-American. It is sad that successful people are renouncing their US citizenship because their taxes are onerous, but at some point Atlas does shrug.
Dec '10
Re: Taxation Is The Highest Form Of Patriotism
Are we sure his name isn't Julia?
Dec '10
Re: Taxation Is The Highest Form Of Patriotism
Because it is easy to whinge and complain.
It is very hard to actually make a positive change to better compete in the world.
Thus, our intellectual "betters" default to "whinge and cry" mode and demand that reality bend to their desires.
Just like very young children.
It's as if these people stopped maturing mentally somewhere around age six.
I think the guy is a damned fool for renouncing his citizenship and running to Singapore, but that's just my sense that things can get worse much faster in other parts of the world, while they move (either way) very slowly here.
Running away is not the solution. We have to stand our ground here and fight to return America to what she once was.
As Mark Steyn said, "There's no place left to go."
Mar '11
Re: Taxation Is The Highest Form Of Patriotism
Mr Manjoo is simply repeating what that well-known Cherokee, err, I mean Elizabeth Warren, said a while back - all Socialists, err, Liberals believe this. One might say the same of our Composite President and VP.
The American Capitalist system, or what remains of it, has nothing to do with making money, right? The Federal Government prints it and collects it from the rich.
The real issue here is that America is unique in the world (I think) in taxing it's citizens wherever in the world they live - whose idea was that?
Even France allows it citizens to leave the country to escape tax - many will be, shortly.
Edited on May 13, 2012 at 1:52amDec '10
Re: Taxation Is The Highest Form Of Patriotism
I've heard this same argument from the socialists, I mean social justice crowd at church. I know it's wrong the way I know the family should not have eaten Muffin after her tragic accident, but I need some help untwisting the logic. Anyone?
Apr '11
Re: Taxation Is The Highest Form Of Patriotism
Dec '10
Re: Taxation Is The Highest Form Of Patriotism
Wait a minute! I thought dissent was the highest form of patriotism. I'm confused.
May '12
Re: Taxation Is The Highest Form Of Patriotism
You stole my line.
Oct '10
Re: Taxation Is The Highest Form Of Patriotism
There is an old saying, You never knew how many freinds you had until there is a new swimming pool in your backyard.
E. Warren would be this first to invite herself and ask, When is lunch ?
Mar '11
Re: Taxation Is The Highest Form Of Patriotism
How amusing those of a liberal bent become enthused with patriotism when it comes to seizing the sweat from a citizen's brow.
Those on the left with diligence and energetic exertion attack anything that smacks of patriotism and love of one's country and yet they suddenly expect individuals to open their pocketbooks when it is not in their interest? Humorous and pathetic.
Mr. Saverin's actions are of no surprise to anyone with a familiarity of the mentality of Silicon Valley. An extreme libertarianism of every man for himself reigns supreme, there is loyalty to nothing and no one. To imagine those spending their days in such an environment will placidly give earnings to the State is the height of absurdity, Oakland/ San Francisco are the epicenters of the Occupy crowd where the State is deemed manifestly evil!
It is impossible to do anything but laugh at the Leftish children who find this outcome remarkable.
Edited on May 13, 2012 at 3:07amApr '11
Re: Taxation Is The Highest Form Of Patriotism
There is no good reason to take another mans earnings.
Jun '11
Re: Taxation Is The Highest Form Of Patriotism
Says it all that he made his money and got the hell out. Is that the business climate that we in America want to continue to foster?
Jul '10
Re: Taxation Is The Highest Form Of Patriotism
Citizens don't succeed because of the State. States succeed because of their citizens.
Mar '11
Re: Taxation Is The Highest Form Of Patriotism
Given that Mr. Saverin has already ponied up far more than Mr. Manjoo is likely to over his entire career, shouldn't Mr. Manjoo get busy and start making some serious money? So we can take it from him?
Whatzamatter, Farhad? You aren't holding your end up, dude! Aren't you a patriot?
Jul '11
Re: Taxation Is The Highest Form Of Patriotism
Mr. Saverin is a smart man. He has obviously used the opportunities presented to him to his betterment. So what does it say when smart people realize that the best way they can make and keep the fruit of their labor is to leave the country and renounce their citizenship? What does it mean when immigrants both legal and illegal decide to voluntarily go elsewhere? How long before the border fences are built with the guns pointing in instead of out?
Jan '11
Re: Taxation Is The Highest Form Of Patriotism
The U.S. government is now, in addition, apparently of the opinion that they are not only entitled to the money and financial information of their expatriate citizens, but also that of any foreign national those expatriate citizens associate with. As a result expatriate Americans are now becoming international lepers: Prospective businesses and banks want nothing to do with them. Another reason that many of them are choosing to renounce their U.S. citizenship.
Re: Taxation Is The Highest Form Of Patriotism
Paying taxes may be the highest form of patriotism for the rich, but the poor can do their part as well by voting Democrat.
Apr '11
Re: Taxation Is The Highest Form Of Patriotism
As sympathetic as I am to people feeling over taxed. I must register my complaint. Something does not sit well with me about a person who would drop American citizenship for reasons of saving money on taxes. I get it it is a lot of money that he could be saving, but still. What amount of money would make any of you drop US citizenship? 100 million, 50 million, 100 thousand?
Democrats always like to mock patriotism, but patriotism is how you get people to pay more in taxes. People will support, with money, those institutions that they love and cherish. A patriot may complain about taxes, but would a patriot actually leave his nation just to save some money on taxes?
It is a sad state of affairs that someone who grew up in America, benefited from the many privileges this entails would forsake it for Singapore. America is more than just a set of tax rates. I doubt we will ever be able to offer the lowest rates anyway...and frankly I have little regard for any man who would pick his nation by such a rubric (if that is the case).
May '12
Re: Taxation Is The Highest Form Of Patriotism
Eduardo Saverin may be 1/32 Tupi and therefor exempt from criticism.
Oct '10
Re: Taxation Is The Highest Form Of Patriotism
The Muffin Eating Parable told by Arthur C. Brooks (which he attributed to Dr. Jonathan Haidt) in Ricochet Podcast #118 could be amended here as follows.
The family cooks Muffin, makes sandwiches with her meat, sells them through a street vendor and presents the proceeds to the government, thereby honoring the fact Muffin wouldn’t have had a road in which to be run over without the government providing it.