Travelin' ain't, but truckin' is.
Posted on 04/20/2010 6:40:25 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Just when New Zealand seemed like the place to move, with the centre-right government, "considering cutting income tax rates," and all, and the European Union comes out with a proposal that makes it hard to chose where expatriates should go when fleeing the US.
Americans used to think that life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness encompassed the basis for human rights and now the European Union confuses the issue by declaring, "traveling a human right." That's right, we can now add traveling to the list directly behind the right to universal health care.
The EU is so dedicated to insuring the right to traveling that they are "launching a scheme to subsidize vacations with taxpayers' dollars for those too poor to afford their own trips." Do they fund haircuts in Europe too, because everyone needs a haircut now and again? Call it the right to good grooming.
The Times of London reports Antonio Tajani, the European Union commissioner for enterprise and industry, "proposed a strategy" that if the right to vacation program becomes universal, it could cost EU taxpayers as much as half a billion dollars a year. Mere pittance when measured against subsidizing tours to Madrid.
America too is descending further and further into European style socialism, while Barack and his band of belligerent reformers promote a new bill of rights right here at home. Obama's "halves and halves not" bill includes homes, free education, health care and support of 50% of the population by the other 50%. What's to stop vacations from being added to the "rights" list?
The European Union commissioner claims that, "Traveling for tourism today is a right. The way we spend our holidays is a formidable indicator of our quality of life." Sort of like Obama believing being denied the right to health care affects America's quality of lif
The EU commissioner for enterprise and industry has yet to decide, "Just who gets to enjoy the travel package." It is likely EU taxpayers would be forced to foot, "some of the vacation bill for seniors, youths between the ages of 18 and 25, disabled people, and families facing "difficult social, financial or personal" circumstances." One additional person will be subsidized for each single disabled or elderly traveler because human rights advocates know that free vacations include the right to travel with a friend.
In the EU where income taxes combined with VAT can siphon off upwards of 70% of personal income, what's an additional tax burden to ensure travel funds for the underprivileged? Especially, if hard earned money is going to the morally righteous cost of cultural appreciation tours for overworked youth, elderly hangers on and the trek-bound disabled.
What's wrong with paying people to go on vacation? Steal from one group all year long and then provide the indigent with a treat--a subsidized Hawaiian shirt, carry on luggage and a weeklong cheap holiday. That's change, even Barack Obama and globetrotting Michelle can believe in, right behind energy efficient vehicles, healthy food and the right to affordable housing.
European Union commissioner Mr. Tajani has one specific goal, which is to ensure the "right to be tourists," remains integral to the proposal. According to Tajani, "right to travel" will be a pilot program until 2013, and then fully launched.
Perfect! Because if the right to gratis holidays has not been passed into law in the US by the 2012 election, insolvent Americans can always move to socialist Europe, which by then will be a familiar home away from home, and in the process, maybe even get a free vacation.
Author's content: www.jeannie-ology.com
Great! I haven’t had a vacation in 10 years, so who’s going to pay for it?
Traveling as a “right” puts wealth transfer in high gear. Government taking hard-earned money from those that earn it, and giving it to those that want that money.
I’m putting all my money in pacifiers. In 5 years, all the Europeans will be sporting them.
The irony is the people who will pay for these lazyasses vacations probably don’t even take vacations themselves.
Not traveling anywhere.
No Expat here.
Last time I looked this is still Texas where I live.
That will not be easily “changed”.
Promise!
I’m with you, since having kids, our single income doesn’t provide much of a vacation anymore. Where’s my trip to Hong Kong?
I think the American tourism industry would be pretty excited about having this huge group of people who must go somewhere every year. They may as well come here and spend their money.
I think the Bible had it right with instilling the habit of a restful Sabbath. Not everyone needs to go somewhere for a long trip, but everyone needs to truly rest and re-charge, and one day a week of that seems very wise.
Yep. I don’t flee and I live in Michigan.
Pretty much in the EU..if you have a job you have 6 weeks vacation and a yearend bonus and and summer bonus.
Yeah, but what to do with all that leisure time when everything costs 4 times as much as it should???
Immigration will change Texas from red to purple to blue. It is happening now.
Immigration, Political Realignment, and the Demise of Republican Political Prospects
Given that the immigrant population is drawn to the nation’s largest cities, it is instructive to take a brief look at the 25 largest U.S. counties for selected election years (see Table 2).6 A very large share of the total population in these 25 counties was foreign-born by 2008 — around 26 percent on average. This compares to just 12 percent in 1980, showing that the immigrant population has become a far larger presence in these locales, even though it may be diffusing outward from the central cities in these same counties (e.g., Los Angeles (Los Angeles), Cook County (Chicago)) to their suburbs.
By 2008, nearly half (47 percent) of the nation’s total foreign-born population was estimated to live in these 25 counties, compared with just 21 percent of the native-born population. This figure for foreign-born concentration has not changed much since 1980 (46.4 percent); however, it is proof that the growing immigrant population has remained highly concentrated in the largest urbanized counties, even though there have been some streams moving into outlying areas. The vast majority of the foreign-born in these counties, as in the nation as a whole, are of Latino ancestry as they have been over the last 30 years.
"What is quite remarkable is that even when we consider Texas alone we find that, as the immigrant population has grown across its 254 counties, the Republican vote share has declined from where it stood 30 years ago. Estimates for California and Texas appear in Table 4. For Texas, the estimate shows that for every 1 percent increase in the immigrant presence in a county, the Republican vote share dropped by 0.67 percentage points, which is considerably higher than the impact nationally. A one standard deviation (σ=6.07) increase in the percentage of immigrants taking up residence in Texas counties, translates into a four percentage-point drop in Republican Party prospects, controlling for income and the percentage of black residents. Contrary to conventional wisdom, immigration is precisely why the GOP has lost so much ground in the most heavily Latino areas of South Texas, as well as in the larger urban counties.
I sent this to a friend of mine and this was his reply:
“Everything people need to live well and thereby contribute to the whole society, is considered a human right in Europe. Are only the rich exploiters and vampires entitled to the good life???”
No one is “entitled to the good life”, no one at all.
Some people ACHIEVE it, either for themselves or their children,
but there is no “entitlement” to a “good life”.
Ask him if paying $4 for a coke and $100 for a pair of levis is among those rights.
If you haven’t already seen it, the movie “Crumb” is an interesting, (but disturbing) movie!
Yer damn skippy it is. As is the right to a good and useful job, the right to learn....
I know I've heard of this before.
How I detest Europeans. This is what we created by expelling our blood and treasure? What a waste and for what? They willingly drove themselves into the shackles and still demand more.
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