| The Editorial page of the Webmaster (#4) | WARNING : On this website, I am trying to give balanced points of view. BUT : as a Frenchman, I have my own strong personal opinions. I don't know if they are representative but they are mine. If you hate my comments read about "Americans and criticism". See also my resume. Philippe ROCHEFORT |
|
 Read Rochefort's "Diary of an old student" |
What a weird people (taxwise) ....! Americans are proud of their country and tend to consider the rest of the world as dangerous and not as good as the US. They have developed the notion of "un-American", which means not only different but potentially dangerous. For this reason, expatriates are not well-considered in the US : why did they choose to live in a country which is not as good as the US ? They must be some sort of traitors to American values and certainly not good US citizens. This is why it was only after years of lobbying that US expatriates could vote and that their children could keep US citizenship. This is also why the US is the only country in the world (with Russia) where expatriates are expected to pay their income tax twice : in the country where they live and work and in their mother-country. Far from considering its expatriates as an asset for US image, prestige and business, American law-makers, expressing with no doubt the views of insular deep-America, do not treat their expatriates well. This is crazy ! In addition to that, the American government treats the rest of the world the way Americans would hate to be treated. A recent example : there's been a movement by citizens abroad to repeal FATCA (Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act), which allows the IRS to monitor all individual and company accounts in foreign banks. This is as if the French tax officials demanded that US banks open their doors and reveal the names and bank balances of French account holders. They wouldn't want to do it of course and neither do the banks abroad. The result : many banks abroad will no longer allow US citizens to have accounts. The act is not only scandalous, but self defeating… (November 2011) |
Good news for Europe : UK steps out ! In the midst of the Euro crisis (Dec.2011), a very timid step toward a more efficient Euro zone coordinating the financial policy of the member states has been voted by 26 countries, the 27th one, the United KIngdom, which is not a member of the Euro zone, voting against it. This is good news. There is no doubt that, culturally, Britain is a European country : we share Shakespeare, Goethe, Molière, Cervantes and many others. There is no doubt either that politically and psychologically it is not. When the British refer to Europe, they do not refer to themselves, they mean what is in the other side of the Channel. The proportion of British citizens who think that UK should opt out has always been between two thirds and three quarters. OK, this is their choice. At the same time, the other European countries are painfully trying to build what will be, one day, a confederation. They started with a free trade zone (Marché Commun, 1958) : UK created a rival zone (European Free Trade Association, 1960). Then UK decided to be inside the EC and control it so it would be only to its benefit (remember Margaret Thatcher and "I want my money back"). For many European common projects, the British strategy is always the same : they refuse to participate in it at the beginning and step onboard only if it works and then they negotiate their contribution as low as possible. In the European institutions, the British quota is filled with competent civil servants. They certainly believe in the future of Europe but no doubt they serve the future of their country first. An example : Lady Ashton, the first High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, certainly did not do anything that would hurt the British policy (in fact she did no do anything at all : this is why she was proposed by her government). Therefore, instead of being inside and making the life of the other countries even more complicated (they do not need that...), isn't it better to be nicely out ? Europe (as they call it) would have nice and friendly relations with the UK, as a close foreign partner, like the USA. I understand that trying to build a federation out of 27 countries is no fun (the UK pushed to increase the number, in order to weaken it : good shot!). We'll try to build a confederate Europe without the ambiguity of having one of us constantly pushing backward because its citizens do not want it. For me, it will be an improvement and it will not change my profound and sincere admiration of the UK and its people. No kidding! (December 2011) |
| To related pages : to previous (#1), (#2), and (#3) editorial pages, current events in France, speeches by Philippe Rochefort, a Paris Diary, about the webmaster, my family website and its genealogy pages | |
|
Back to home page |
For more on intercultural differences, order Harriet Welty Rochefort's books :
More on Harriet's books (excerpts, upcoming events, testimonials, etc..) |
| To email me |
|