Today the pound was trading at $1.82. This tells me something. It tells me that no matter what the pundits in the USA might think of George and his chances of being elected, the international money markets aren’t buying it. And with a federal deficit of a trillion dollars, who can say.
I won’t be voting in this year’s presidential election, of course. That’s because I’m not a citizen. I pay taxes because I’m a resident. As a US resident, I’m liable for income tax no matter where in the world I earn money, whether it’s the USA, or the UK or some offshore trust in the Cayman Islands. Uncle Sam demands his cut.
Still, I’m getting all the services, so I don’t feel I have much to grumble about. And taxes here are much lower than in the UK. Way lower, in fact. Currently. Until everyone has to start paying for war in Iraq. Ahem. Anyway, it’s not a big deal for me but it strikes me as ironic that Americans fought a War of Independence on a principle of ‘no taxation without representation’ and yet, well here we are.
For a number of people, taxation without representation is a big issue. For 600,000 American citizens of legal voting age it’s a very big deal indeed. Because even though they are US citizens and pay taxes, they have no vote and never have had. They’re the residents of Washington DC, the federal capital. The District of Columbia residents have no right to representation in Congress.
I can’t help thinking this country has a long way to go on human rights.