Prague, Paris, and Brussels

A couple of weeks ago I was in Prague. The week afterwards I was in Paris. Then a couple of days ago I had to take an emergency trip to Brussels (long story, but I'll explain in a few days). Needless to say, I've been falling behind in my posting. Oh, and the first deadline for my book is looming, so I'm struggling to stay on top of this blog. My sincere apologies for this.

Eurozone to break up?

Photo by openDemocracy

For those of you considering a move to Europe, be aware that the world financial crisis is still impacting us pretty damned hard. Basically, the PIGS (Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain) are in such financial distress with the global collapse that they're threatening the stability of the Euro currency. That, in turn, threatens the stability of the Eurozone. Italy's problem is now reaching a tipping point and has led to public acknowledgement of talks between Germany and France to break up the Eurozone.

It's simply not possible to guess what's going to happen now. Will the EU break up? No, it's not going to happen. Will it lose a few members? Maybe. Will the Schengen Agreement allowing passport-free travel be revoked? Who knows?

Most importantly: will the ability of EU citizens to effectively live and work anywhere in Europe be curtailed? I expect we're going to see some changes here. Immigration is one the thorniest topics for nations and when the economy gets bad, lots of politicians play the "blame the foreigner" game. Never mind that Europe is still struggling like mad to fill their skilled labor gap; if we don't solve our financial woes, I expect some significant changes around here.

Want to teach English in France?

Riquewihr, France
Photo by Russ Bowling

I really like the Jenny n'est plus en France (Jenny is no longer in France) blog. Not only does she have great material about the French language, she also offers a lot of interesting cultural tidbits and sometimes job advice.

Recently she posted about the Teaching Assistant Program in France for 2012-2013 School Year. Basically you need:

• To speak English
• To speak French at an intermediate level (B1)
• At least two years of University
• Be under 30 years of age

Not exactly onerous requirements!

The pay is low, so housing assistance is available (not guaranteed) and you can opt for a second job, if desired. Not a bad addition to one's résumé or life experience!

In 2003, American expats were almost destroyed financially

I can't believe I just read this. Fortunately, it looks like the provision didn't get much support, but in 2003, Senate Finance Committee chairman Charles Grassley supported a bill to revoke Tax Code Section 911. That's the section of the tax code which gives expats one of their (few) legal benefits by allowing us to deduct some money off of our income for tax calculation purposes.

American expats would have been returning to the US in droves or renouncing their citizenship. There really wouldn't be a financial choice in the matter. Imagine having to pay full taxes on your income in both the US and your country of residence! Already we have plenty of problems abroad.

• The earned income exemption is not indexed to inflation, thus being an effective tax increase every year.
• The devalued dollar artificially inflates our wages abroad, thus being an effective tax increase again!.
• Most people claiming the earned income exclusion still paid US taxes ($4.2 billion in 2006 is a huge amount of double taxation)
• We pay Medicare but we're not allowed to claim it
• Because we've moved abroad, we're no longer allowed to deduct pension contributions
• If I take a foreign pension instead of a US pension, my social security will be cut, even though I've paid for it.

There are many benefits to living abroad and if you earn under the earned income threshold, you won't be impacted by most of this, but finding out that they've already gone after one of my few legal benefits is horrifying.

Getting into the US: buy a house?

Photo by Casey Serin

I've mostly talked about strategies for getting to various non-US countries. I honestly don't much about US immigration (and I'd welcome a guest post). It looks a bit confusing, though no more so than many other countries. The main advantage the US has is that we have the same set of laws across all 50 states. This gives the US a significant immigration advantage over Europe, including the fact that the hard to obtain Green Card means permanent residency and a path to citizenship, if desired.

I did note, however, a bill which would allow foreigners to buy U.S. homes for residency. It hasn't passed yet, but if it does, it would allow foreigners who spend at least $500,000 on residential property to live in the US. There are a few caveats, but basically, it would require you to buy at least one house to live in for $250,000 and other residential property totaling another $250,000 or more. You can rent out the extra property.

Personally, I'm all for this idea. I want to see barriers to immigration lowered, but honestly, given that the US now has %4.6 of homes empty and awaiting sale or rent, who actually thought this bill was a good idea now? Banks are foreclosing on people's homes left and right and this bill would allow them to be sold off to foreigners who can then rent a bunch of them back to the Americans who were foreclosed on? I can see this blowing up badly in some politician's faces if it passes.

Liberal whingers are wrong – we should shut our libraries

The British Library
Photo by Steve Cadman

Americans take heart! Mean-spirited conservatism is not a "US only" phenomenon. Conservatives in the UK have decided that public libraries have got to go. After all, as this article in the Telegraph points out, almost 60% of people in the UK don't use libraries! And why would anyone? Today we have powerful computers and smart phones which let us look up information any time we want to!

The move to shut down the libraries has been a UK conservative issue for a while now. I can't figure out why the Tories are so keen on such an unpopular and stupid and idea, but I do note that it strikes a blow at the very poorest of society, those who likely won't vote Tory at all.

Except that it's Labour politicians who've been pushing this. Even the author of the above article (which I honestly thought was satire), is a well-known Labour strategist.

My friend Piers has written a protest song about this.

Child of the Library by pdcawley

If you think libraries are important, share the song. I understand that the UK is struggling financially right now, but saving money now by sacrificing the future of many poor children doesn't sound like a sound long-term strategy. For example, does the UK really need the third-highest military expenditures in the world? The cost of saving the libraries is a drop in the bucket of their spending on weapons.

Hungary introduces European Union blue card scheme

Hunyad Castle, Hungary
Photo by Alex.bikfalvi

Hungary offers a European Union blue card. I'm slowly compiling a list of European Blue Card implementations to allow job seekers to a convenient resource for understanding basic requirements. Unfortunately, I'm having a lot of trouble finding better information on the Blue Card implementation in Hungary. It appears that they rushed the legislation to beat the EU deadline (and they're not the only country).

As it stands now, you need to be:

• A "highly qualified" applicant
• Have a job offer

The Blue Card will:

• Be valid from 1 to 4 years
• Make you eligible for permanent residency after only three years
• Allow you to seek employment elsewhere in EU after two year

You can read Hungary's CIA world factbook entry to get a good overview of the country.