Democracy meets Capitalism - MarkB gets a vote

I'm gonna vote in this election. I'm not legally able to, but being that this is my 7th year living here, I'm doing the most American thing I can think of - I'm going to buy a vote. Capitalism and democracy at their finest.

I've simply found someone that has no intention of going to vote, and I'm paying them $100 to make a vote for me.

Seriously.

 

Whoever sold you their vote should be shot!

 

Hey Joe - you can chill. I havent found anyone that will sell me a vote. But if you wanted to increase voter turnout, a story like that would do it.

People need to understand the value of what they have. Voter turnout is like less than 40% I think. People are failing to use what I would gladly pay for.

Thats my point.

 

None of my business really, but if you have been in this country for 7 years, and plan on staying, why don't you become a citizen?

tom

 

On average, it takes quite a bit longer than that.

 

I have no idea how the process works.

It wasn't a loaded question or anything, I was just wondering.

I think it would be frustrating to live here and not have a say in how things are done. Then again, $100.00 isn't alot of money in the grand scheme of things...

tom

 

I can't speak for Mark B, but my British husband has no intentions of becoming a US citizen. Not that he's anti-American or anything. But he's British and to become a US citizen, you have to give up any other citizenship you have. Interestingly enough, that's not the case in many other countries. You can have dual citizenship.

 

I guess that is part of my confusion. If you don't live there anymore what's the point of staying a citizen? Dosen't he want to have at least a small say in how things are done here?

tom

 

There are financial reasons (for my husband at least) for staying a British citizen as opposed to being a US citizen. Before people start jumping to conclusions, he pays taxes here in the US and isn't eligible for any government assistance except social security when he retires because he's paid into it. The financial benefits occur on the other side of the pond.

Other than that I think it's just principle. Why should he have to give up what he's had all his life...his British citizenship?

His niece was born in the states when her father was working for a US company. The family moved back to Britain when she was still very young. Because she's in Britain, she's able to keep her citizenship of both countries. If she moved back here, her British citizenship wouldn't be recognized even though she's lived most of her life there.

Ask yourself, if you moved to another country, would you want to give up your rights as a US citizen?

 

Originally posted by chameleon68
There are financial reasons (for my husband at least) for staying a British citizen as opposed to being a US citizen. Before people start jumping to conclusions, he pays taxes here in the US and isn't eligible for any government assistance except social security when he retires because he's paid into it. The financial benefits occur on the other side of the pond.

Fair enough.

Other than that I think it's just principle. Why should he have to give up what he's had all his life...his British citizenship?

I don't think he should have to give any thing up, I thought since he was living here he would want to.

Ask yourself, if you moved to another country, would you want to give up your rights as a US citizen?

I can't imagine ever wanting or needing to move and live in another country. If I left my country behind however, I'm not too sure I'd feel the need to retain my citizenship.

Like I said a few posts up, I was just curious.

tom

 

I didn't think it was loaded.

 

My wife has discussed working on becoming a US Citizen, because she looks at the political situation in this country, gets disgusted and wants to do something about it

I have squashed the idea for now, though, for several reasons.

The primary reason is that the US does not recognize dual citizenship, so she would be forced to give up her German citizenship. There would be several downsides to her giving up her German citizenship, and few upsides to balance it out. Two of the more major downsides are listed below.

The first downside is that my wife's mother lives in Germany and owns property there. There are no other relatives. When she dies, we will need to settle her estate and dispose of the assets, which takes time and tremendous effort, even in the best of circumstances. If my wife were no longer a German citizen, it would be much more difficult to weed through the red tape and such.

The other downside is a bit more complex, but it goes something like this: as a German citizen she is also a European Union "citizen." One of the advantages of this status is the ability to move freely between EU countries, just as we Americans can move freely between the States. I don't mean simple travel without a passport; I mean the ability to say, "Today, I want to move to Spain." This is something that is potentially very valuable - perhaps we will wish to retire to an EU country such as Belgium, Italy, or Spain. By being married to an EU citizen I can easily do that, whereas for an American citizen it would be much more difficult/nearly impossible. If she gives up her German citizenship it reverts to difficult/nearly impossible.

None of this would be an issue if the US recognized dual-citizenship, but we don't.

 

S & S, doesn't Germany recognise dual citizenship?, if they do it shouldn't really be a problem, your wife would be able to exercise her rights as a German citizen in the EU and as an American in the US.

The downside to this is that the IRS would probably still want her to pay tax even if she lived in Europe.

 

Not really. It's theoretically possible, but in order to have a dual citizenship a German citizen must petition the government and prove that the dual citizenship is an absolute necessity for business and/or political reasons. It is NOT an easy process. Plus, Germany does not permit dual citizenship if the other country refuses to recognize it. Since the US does not recognize the concept of dual citizenship, it's technically not permitted.

Here's the opening line of the US Oath of Citizenship:

"I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; "

Pretty straightforward.

 

If you went and lived in another country, I think its reasonable to take more than seven years to decide you were never going to go back.

 

Just for the record:

- I love this country and would take citizenship in a heartbeat. In reality, I am now subject to a 3 year green card applicaiton that will probably fail. However, I'll most likely be married before then....

- The UK will still keep me as a citizen, regardless of becoming a US citizen. The only real benefit to that is (as already mentioned), as a European we could live in ANY European country we want - always nice to have.



At the end of the day, I am British. Thats where I was born, that is my blood, that is my heritage, that is the accent I speak with. That will never change, regardless of what a piece of paper states. However, living here has added something to me that takes me beyond other British people still living in the UK. I can only describe is as having been Americanized. I have a stake in this place, I love it as my own country, and I'd fight for it if I were asked to. You might think it strange to feel allegiance to two places, but I do. So to me it would be the most natural thing in the world to become a citizen, and I would cherish that status, and hold it with great honor. ....plus I'd get through US customs with a friendly "welcome home sir" instead of the more usual cavity search....