A Christmas Wish for Americans Abroad

About 15 years ago, a friend called me in my hotel room and asked me to join him in the lobby of the local Marriott in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.? As we were sipping our Arabic coffee, he pointed toward the reception desk to a short, well appointed man who was standing at the receptionist desk, checking out.?

“Do you know who that is?” he asked; I turned my head toward reception.?? “He’s the guy who invented the Peace Corps movement for President Kennedy back in the 1960s,” he continued.? I jumped to my feet, and told my friend I wanted to meet him; I strolled over to reception to say hello, trying to get to him before he left the hotel for his waiting taxi.

I said hello, and he responded in a typical Bostonian accent, holding out his hand like a gentleman.? A blue blood, I surmised, and connected to old family money and ties on the East Coast of the USA.? We exchanged pleasantries and I told him how thrilled I was to meet the architect of the program that many consider to be the gold standard for philanthropy, designed by Americans, for Americans, who are looking to better our world.?

I have discovered over the years, this is part of the notion American Exceptionalism that many don’t fully understand or appreciate….including our own government.

The Peace Corps movement was promoted by Sargent Shriver, the brother-in-law of John F. Kennedy, who sold the program to JFK. But the fellow who designed the concept—who put meat on the bones--was standing in front of me. ?I was speechless, finding it difficult to say much of anything to this rock start of public policy.? But I managed.? “The program you developed was a template for Americans looking to change our world,” I explained.? “And I imagine there could be many more such programs possible, if someone like you came around with more good ideas.”

He bowed his head and blushed, and he thanked me for the compliment. ??Our entire exchange took less than 3 minutes, but I have often thought of this moment.? After all, I’m an American living abroad for almost half my life, a foreigner in a distant land, not fully understood by those I meet in Europe, and certainly underappreciated by my own government.? Indeed, visiting the US Embassy or Consulate abroad is often a test in patience and courage.? In many respects, proctologists have better table manners than our own government professionals.?

At cocktail parties, State Department personae will sometimes pull from their pockets a thin, folded booklet that shows their government rank, their pay grade, and the number of years left before retirement.? Understandable, but disappointing. ??Or, as philosophy majors are fond of saying, “Necessary, but insufficient” for the task.? They are going through the motions, with no emotional or intellectual connection to their temporary country of residence.? They are, in fact, the best evidence of The Ugly American.

The irony about living abroad is we Americans are, by far, the best public relations tools for our own government, but the government rarely taps into this pool of talent and creativity.? We are far better positioned and more connected to local countries than the best of our NGOs, who spend our tax receipts like drunken sailors. ?

More to the point, we see the local country through the eyes of outsiders with a measure of humility and grace that is rarely on display by our State Department; even as we bite our tongues, we see the best and the worst of our new domicile, and are often able to promote our home country to the locals in ways incapable by those back home.

These days, as more Americans acquire passports, and the cost of travel drops--in ‘real dollars’—there are opportunities for our government back home to enable us, to unleash us, as new ambassadors-in-kind.? Perhaps a new vision could create a variant of the Peace Corps that I alluded to with my Khaki-clad acquaintance at the reception desk in Jeddah.

But it wasn’t always like this.? Back in the 1970s, for example, to be an ‘ex-pat’ meant to be in a special tribe of outsiders, sheltered in the new country through a network of Americans living abroad.? There were clubs and groups and lectures for Americans, and special meetings and gatherings to help us reinforce our presence and strengthen our identities in a foreign land.? We knew we were outsiders, and our government programs--by their structural existence--encouraged us to remain thus.? To be fully integrated with our local society was not exactly frowned upon, but it was assumed we would remain ‘different.’ ?

Even the language proficiency of Americans back then was greatly lacking, almost as a snub to the locals.? Yet, our government touted us as the washed among the unwashed, a different caste. ??After all, our government ingrained the notion that we Americans hailed from the land of the free and home of the brave.

Politically, the vast majority of Americans abroad voted with the Democrat Party, or even to the Left of the Dems. ??Living abroad was a means of escape. ?In retrospect, this attitude reflected a rebellion against American government that coincided with the Vietnam War.? In recent years I have enjoyed dinners in the presence of Americans who explained in a rather circuitous fashion they now lived in Paris, but came originally from Canada…. a sure sign of a draft dodger from the 60s.? Back then, it wasn’t cool being an American; for many, living abroad was a big middle finger to Uncle Sam back home.

But times have changed, and dramatically so, for both American citizens abroad, and for our government.? On one hand, we Americans take some comfort that our role in the world is in a state of greater integration with others.? We can’t afford to stick out, and our language skills—our willingness to engage with the local tongue--has improved.? Our trajectory on the world stage suggests our lot is evolving.? Now, we can claim we are ‘exceptional’ in ways the locals can appreciate—they call it ‘soft power,’--and the world uses our innovations regularly, including social media, IT capabilities, culture and music. ?The cross fertilization of sports has gone global, advertising is across borders, and Hollywood has rebranded and relocated into Europe and elsewhere.?

Meanwhile, for Americans living abroad, our own Government has left us in the dust and behind the times, and dramatically so. ?Take the case of opening a personal bank account in Europe. These days, it’s nearly impossible, all thanks to our former President Barack Obama, who has made our financial lives a living hell.? Most Americans abroad know about FACTA—a dirty five letter acronym—intended under false pretenses to ferret out Americans trying to hide assets in (mainly) European and Swiss banks and, thus, to avoid the tax authorities.?

Well, it turns out this rule of full disclosure of foreign assets has backfired into a boondoggle to destroy the financial lives of Americans abroad.? No bank worth its salt here will entertain a new account for an American, under threat of US banking sanctions, penalties and disconnection from the FED Dollar Wire System known as SWIFT.? Why would any bank open a retail account for an American citizen and risk a trans-Atlantic kerfuffle with US authorities that threatens its ability to transact in US Dollars?? Mr. Obama didn’t think past his golden tongue.? His was a lousy idea on an epic scale.

The USA is one of only a handful of countries in the world that taxes Americans on their global income.? Sure, the IRS gives us a tax allowance of some $110,000 USD before we pay US taxes, but this disregards our tax liabilities in our local economies abroad.? As a business owner from America, living in Europe, with a company in a third country, I declare taxes in 3 different jurisdictions—each year.? The US makes our lives a living hell because we must balance and offset our taxes in multiple jurisdictions.

So, while we Americans are in better stead with our new domiciles abroad, and making strides with the locals, the US authorities continue our nightmare with outdated rules and regulations back home.??

If Mr. Trump wants to make our lives better, his brain trust in Washington should confer a conference to address the role of Americans living abroad.? We Americans provide an important line of defense-- AND offense—to promote and encourage greater integration of our ideas around the world. ?And we're free. We don't cost the government a dime.

Plus, we Americans abroad are some 10 million strong, and this is a huge power base for the USA to promote and encourage the best of our country to the world.? We who live here rather permanently are far better Ambassadors than real diplomats who the US State Department tangos in and out of the country every 3 or 4 years.? Plus, we have made a commitment to our local cultures, we invest locally, and we see things through different eyes, sympathetic to local sentiments.? And still, speaking loosely, we remain proud to call ourselves Americans while abroad.?

Why not another variation of the Peace Corps that tries to recapture the spirit of American Philanthropy, and also takes advantage of those Americans who have made long term commitments to local communities throughout the world?? We are already better positioned than our government, and ready for some new ideas from Washington.?? But in many respects, we still feel like jilted lovers, un-respected by our own country.?

Elon, while you’re busy re-jiggering the vast, incompetent echo-chamber of our? Administrative State, and delivering Starlink satellites in space, how about spending a few minutes on some new ideas for Americans living abroad? We could use your help.