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Thread: weekend commentary - land of opportunity

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    Banned Melonie's Avatar
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    Default weekend commentary - land of opportunity

    (snip)"Okay, but what if the shoe is on the other foot? What if you're a displaced [ American - sic ] professional worker, should you consider looking for a job out of country? Maybe. Though it will certainly be more difficult for an American to land a position abroad than for a repatriated citizen, it isn't impossible.

    The HSBC study wasn't just about the U.S. Expatriates were working in all 26 countries surveyed, and many, of whatever nationality, are doing much better than those here.

    Consider this: The highest proportion of expats earning more than the equivalent of US$250,000 per year (30%) is to be found in Russia. Of all places. Hard to imagine but true. Russia is followed in this category by some locales you might expect to see on the list, Hong Kong (27%), Japan (26%), and Switzerland (25%). But tied for fourth is another surprise, India.

    Highest percentages of those who say they're saving more than they could at home were working in Saudi Arabia (90%), Russia (97%), and Qatar (98%).

    Given those salary and savings-rate data, it's no surprise that the number one overall ranking for expats went to Russia. All the rest of the top eleven were located in the Middle and Far East. In order: Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, the UAE, Singapore, Japan, Bahrain, India, Malaysia, and China.

    Where do you not want to go? Mostly, just avoid the EU. The bottom five: Belgium, Germany, Australia, Spain, and France.

    Look at the top ten and bottom five again. This topsy-turvy world is not the one we're used to, not the one most Americans still think it is. Opportunity is where you find it, and world citizens willing to cross borders for work are, with good reason, setting sail for nations other than the U.S."(snip)

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    Default Re: weekend commentary - land of opportunity

    Australia is not part of EU.

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    Banned Melonie's Avatar
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    Default Re: weekend commentary - land of opportunity

    ^^^ true enough, but Australia is beginning to share a whole lot of EU 'evils' ...

    (snip)"May 20 (Bloomberg) -- Australia’s planned 40 percent tax on mining profits has set a benchmark for other countries weighing higher levies, reducing earnings forecasts for BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group and the attraction of mining stocks.

    The Australian tax plan is “global financial markets suicide,” according to Charlie Aitken, the executive director of Southern Cross Equities Ltd., the equal top ranked predictor of BHP’s share price performance of 17 analysts, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

    Mining companies’ earnings may be cut by almost a third when the tax starts in 2012, Moody’s Investors Services said this week. The tax would be broadly credit negative for the sector and raise uncertainty for some companies over the short- to-medium term, Moody’s said this month."(snip)

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    (snip)The Australian Greens have written to Prime Minister Rudd requesting that parliamentary debate on their proposal for a temporary carbon tax be scheduled as soon as possible, so that Australian regulations on carbon emissions can be passed by the middle of this year.

    The situation in Australia on climate change policy is that, although it is agreed that Australia’s carbon emissions should be reduced by at least 5% by 2020 (using 2000 as the base year), there is disagreement between the government and the opposition on the means by which this should be achieved. In February, the Australian government’s proposed emissions trading scheme (ETS) was delayed further when the Senate decided to postpone any debate on it.

    In January, the Greens had put forward a proposal that a two-year carbon price be implemented as an interim measure, in the transition to an ETS. It was confirmed that, shortly afterwards, preliminary negotiations had commenced between the government and the Greens.

    The Greens' proposal would include utilizing the government's ETS monitoring and compliance structure to introduce a carbon levy of AUD20 (USD18.50) a tonne, increasing at a rate of inflation plus 4% each year. The resultant AUD10bn of annual revenue would then be used to support household, commercial, industrial and transport emissions reductions. As the original start date of July 1, 2010 is now considered unviable, the proposal has been amended to start on January 1, 2011"(snip)

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    (snip)"Now a radical proposal to reduce population growth has been published in the Medical Journal of Australia - a carbon tax on babies.

    The parents of any baby born today in Australia will receive a Federal Government bonus of $4,187. In July next year, that'll go up to $5,000.

    It's a controversial policy but the argument that it is environmentally unfriendly hasn't often been raised.

    Now though writing in the Medical Journal of Australia Barry Walters, an associate professor of obstetric medicine at the University of Western Australia, is making that case.

    Dr Walters says every family choosing to have more than a defined number of children should be charged a carbon tax. He goes on to argue that those purchasing condoms or undergoing sterilisation procedures should be awarded carbon credits."(snip)

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    As in the EU and the US, there is a significant time lag involved between the point where governments start increasing tax rates / costs of doing business, and the time when business managers are able to formulate and implement plans to avoid those increasing tax rates / costs of doing business. The first phase of the resulting migration is an end to capital spending improvements to facilities in the high tax / high cost country with redirection of that capital spending to facilities in lower cost countries. The second phase occurs 2-3-5 years later, when this shows up as a permanent loss of jobs in the high tax / high cost country. Europe experienced the phase 2 permanent loss of jobs several years back. America is experiencing the phase 2 permanent job losses now. If Australia continues these new tax policies, it will also experience phase 2 permanent job losses 2-3-5 years from now.

    ~
    Last edited by Melonie; 05-22-2010 at 05:57 AM.

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    Default Re: weekend commentary - land of opportunity

    Sigh... I wish there was a small tropical island on that list!
    Don't you ever sleep?
    Not at night...that's when the stars have rather better things to do. They're coming out, shining, that sort of thing.
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    Default Re: weekend commentary - land of opportunity

    Seems like the western economies are in a death spiral of their own making. The best metals to invest in? A mixture of brass and lead.

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    Default Re: weekend commentary - land of opportunity

    ^^^ let's hope that it doesn't reach that point. However, given the paradox of broke local gov'ts laying off police / prison / court employees at the very same time that 'the criminal element' has stronger motivation than ever to attempt to 'harvest' the apparent riches of upscale neighborhoods, having some brass and lead at one's disposal might come in very handy !!!

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    Default Re: weekend commentary - land of opportunity

    ^^^ It is already happening.

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