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United States Australia The Almighty Buck

Rich and American? Australia Wants You 337

An anonymous reader writes: Following the success of a millionaire visa program to attract wealthy Chinese, Australia has launched an invite-only visa program that promises citizenship to rich American entrepreneurs. To meet the requirements of the Premium Investment Visa plan Americans must first invest around 15 million Australian dollars. Reuters reports: "Investment advisors who have been briefed on the plan by government officials expressed doubts about the wisdom of targeting Americans, with several telling Reuters the more obvious place to start was Australia's Asian neighbors. After all, why would a successful U.S. entrepreneur want to invest a large chunk of cash in Australia — a country very similar to the United States, just further away from everything — in exchange for a passport that carries few additional benefits to their own? 'The U.S. has some problems that Australia doesn't have. It's got a lot more racial crimes, it's got a lot more gun-related crimes, but I don't think that is going to drive a whole bunch of ultra-rich Americans out of their country,' said Bill Fuggle, a partner at law firm Baker & McKenzie who advises wealthy Chinese migrating to Australia."
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Rich and American? Australia Wants You

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  • by NicBenjamin ( 2124018 ) on Tuesday July 14, 2015 @04:55AM (#50105977)

    Which is owned by an ex-Aussie, and is convinced that Obama's such a disaster that the rich are clamoring to leave.

    And I won't be surprised if that gets them some takers. Particularly if the GOP can't get it together and start getting a consistent lead on Hillary.

    There'll probably be a few more who do it because they want a rich democracy's passport,and don't like the fact the US taxes on global income (ie: if you make $1 Million in China and you;re Swedish you pay no Swedish taxes on it, just Chines; if you're American you pay both).

  • by Karmashock ( 2415832 ) on Tuesday July 14, 2015 @05:03AM (#50106007)

    ... Don't take it the wrong way... but I like the bill of rights. Put something in place that forbids the government from overstepping its bounds to any extent and Australia will be very interesting.

    Short of that... you're an interesting vacation destination. A nice place to visit but I need something like the Bill of Rights to call a country home.

    Too many people died to institute and then preserve that... and far more will die in futures to come.

    Australia does things all the time that just casually violate what I consider to be sacred rights. They just ban things... for the children. I can't have that. The gun thing is also important. I'm not a gun nut... but I believe I have a right to be dangerous in my own country and in my home. Not for hunting... not even for self defense... to be DANGEROUS. I feel that is an important check on anyone that would try to intimidate the people. If they understand that the people can and will turn on them with an instant militia of millions. That forces the elites to be careful.

    I know my views are incomprehensible to many. And that's fine. Its what I need to immigrate. Without that... I refuse. You're not offering me real citizenship in my opinion if you don't offer me a reasonable set of iron clad rights in the package.

    • by quenda ( 644621 )

      ... Don't take it the wrong way... but I like the bill of rights. Put something in place that forbids the government from overstepping its bounds to any extent and Australia will be very interesting.

      Short of that... you're an interesting vacation destination. A nice place to visit but I need something like the Bill of Rights to call a country home.

      Well, you'd be quite at home in Russia then. Zimbabwe has a bill or rights too.

      What you really want is a thing called "rule of law". Australia has mostly the same rights as the US, unsurprising since both countries legal systems are based on British common law. We can all trace our rights back to the Magna Carta and beyond.

      I can get by without a bill of rights, but it was annoying having to quarter those soldiers in my house last year.

      • Don't be obtuse... pretending to be stupid doesn't make for a clever argument.

    • by Xiaran ( 836924 )
      Do you really think that a "instant militia of millions"(untrained fat blokes with hunting rifles and the occasional AR-15 wielding loon) is even vaguely a threat to the US military. The Iraqi army in the first gulf war was far better equipped, trained and experienced and they lasted about 45mins.
      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Karmashock ( 2415832 )

        Given that the US military is mostly made up of their sons and brothers... yeah.

        What is more... we're everywhere. You can't defend a city from the people that live in it.

        The concept is sound, sir.

        And before you bad mouth it, consider that the Swiss literally give all the men in their society a machine gun and a bag full of bullets.

        The anti gun stuff is largely propaganda. You don't understand the issue.

        • by Xiaran ( 836924 )
          OK. In that case it would degenerate into a violent civil war. No one is trying to defend a city from the people that live in it... they are trying to pound them into the ground until they stop doing anything. The US would be devastated while the rest fo the world adjusts without having to put up with your shenanigans.
          • Which is why they wouldn't do it. Every oppressor always starts with disarming the people.

            I am not a peasant. You do not disarm me unless you want violence.

            A citizen is something between a peasant and a noble. You do not disarm nobles. They'll kill you or die trying if you try to disarm them.

            Peasants you can disarm. They don't fight back much. They do what they're told. They think the thoughts they're told to think.

            I am neither a noble nor a peasant. I am a citizen. You do not disarm me unless you're prepar

      • "The Iraqi army in the first gulf war was far better equipped, trained and experienced and they lasted about 45mins."

        So that explains why the present situation in Iraq has been a cakewalk for the past 10 years?

        • by Xiaran ( 836924 )
          Did the insurgency in Iraq ever have a hope in hell of making a dent on the occupying US military there? No of course not.. they did the sensible plan and kept pecking away until we all knew what was going to happen happened... America would tire of the stupid decision of going into Iraq and and shuffle off home. Que ISIS. You are talking about the US military fighting within the US against US citizens. You can't wander away from that.
      • Not this tired old argument again.

        There is no force on earth that can stand up to the US military in a conventional battle. Does that mean every other group or nation should stop buying weapons because that would be wasted money?

        Taliban and others have shown that US military is quite vulnerable in unconventional warfare. And that was in places where US soldiers didn't care that much about the local population. How do you think it will go down when the guerrilla fighters are blending into the civilian popula

    • Inferior? Seriously?
      USA has neither a right to life, nor a right to roam. These two are most important rights, everything else is secondary.
      And with your mindset (wishing to be a menace) other countries don't want to have you anyway.

      • ... okay

        ""Right to life

        The right to life is a moral principle based on the belief that a human being has the right to live and, in particular, should not to be unjustly killed by another human being. The concept of a right to life is central to debates on the issues of capital punishment, war, abortion, euthanasia and justifiable homicide.""

        So are you saying the US is bad because it executes?
        Saying the US is bad because it goes to war?
        Saying the US is bad because we allow abortions?
        Saying the US is bad beca

        • Death penalty it is. Even Russia doesn't execute.
          And yes, here in Germany, there is right to roam. I am allowed to walk and cycle even through private forests and field paths. In Nordic countries, for example, the right to roam is even much more extensive.

          Public parks, ha! A country where I cannot wander around as I want is an unfree country which I won't ever visit on my spare time (also I don't want to be arrested for walking, like it happened to Bob Dylan).

          • So you're saying that if a person is convicted of... personally torturing to death 100 people and then eating them... possibly wearing their skins as clothing... you know... all the fun stuff.

            You're saying I'm violating his rights if I put him in the ground?

            Don't be absurd.

            You are afforded a trial. Due process. if convicted of a capital offense, then I'm not losing any sleep over your coming oblivion.

            As to your right to roam... can you give me an example of any place that has this right? Because it sounds i

            • You're saying I'm violating his rights if I put him in the ground?

              Of course, because vigilantism is domestic terrorism.

              And as for the government taking a life, in a civilised country nobody has a right to take a life, except in self defense, and even then only if there is no other way. Barbarian governments kill. And if you, as you mentioned, would have no qualms over killing people, this speaks a lot about you. Then again, you have explicitly mentioned that you want to indulge in a power fantasy, which bot

    • Short of that... you're an interesting vacation destination. A nice place to visit but I need something like the Bill of Rights to call a country home.

      What makes the US different is that its Constitution is a list of enumerated powers of government, not a list of rights given to citizens. The Bill of Rights doesn't give you any rights you didn't already have under the Constitution, and it doesn't limit government powers any more than the Constitution. The fact that you think the Bill of Rights is important

      • The Bill of Rights specifically is a list of NEGATIVE rights where in the government is FORBIDDEN to make any law concerning certain things.

        As to the fact that many don't take the constitution seriously... Which segment of our political spectrum is doing that, sport?

    • Before you say all these things, let us make sure you got 15 million dollars to invest in Australia. Otherwise it could just be sour grapes.

      Also USA also has this visa program. It costs much less, just 5 million USD, need to create just 10 jobs or so. You can fire them as soon as your green card comes through.

      • I've been head hunted three times by Australian firms that offered me citizenship as part of the package. I don't want it.

    • by thegarbz ( 1787294 ) on Tuesday July 14, 2015 @07:20AM (#50106667)

      Put something in place that forbids the government from overstepping its bounds to any extent and Australia will be very interesting.

      And how well has that been working for you Americans recently?

      You have declared "constitution free zones".
      You detain and torture people in prisons with little to no judicial oversight or recourse.
      Your own president has executed a citizen under the guise of terrorism overseas by air-strike without any due process.
      Your idea of due process when you think you get it happens behind closed doors in secret courts.
      And even when someone in power occasionally has an idea that is positive to your freedoms it gets struck down in congress, in the white house, or better yet just simply gets done anyway without oversight by a three letter agency.

      10 years ago I would have agreed with you, but quite frankly your bill of rights these days holds about as much weight as the old parchment it is written on. The only thing that the government truly understands is that the instant militia is too busy watching Fox News and Lip Sync Battle to care about attacking their government, and even if they did your small militia is up against the might of the government's own army, the mightiest in the world, unless you can get them to disagree with their own leaders in which case you have a coup which history has shown always works out really well (/sarcasm).

      • Cite the constitution free zones?

        Our constitution makes no provision for torturing terrorists etc. So I don't know what you're talking about. And really calling waterboarding torture is a bit of a stretch. Regardless, all that whine does is force us to go back to Cold War methods which means either truth drugs or we give the fellow to a willing allied power that will do the deed for us while we take notes. Either way... you're denied your political ammunition which is really all you care about in the first

      • Wow, you fearmonger much?

        You have declared "constitution free zones".

        No we don't. There is nowhere in the United States that is a "constitution free zone". That's just media blowing something up out of proportion. There are cases where the border patrol oversteps it's bounds, but that doesn't mean you don't have the rights afforded you by the constitution. Worst case is it escalates up to a court, the court sets it right (through due process). It's not perfect, but it's easy to point and say that's not perfect when you aren't charged with coming

    • by MrKaos ( 858439 ) on Tuesday July 14, 2015 @08:09AM (#50107019) Journal

      A nice place to visit but I need something like the Bill of Rights to call a country home.

      Many locals would agree and it is a long sort over goal for the country. When the country was presented an opportunity for its own Bill of Right in the 1980s many of the shock jock radio announcers lobbied heavily against it and it was defeated.

      I hope that some day one of those radio announcers are on the business end of not having those rights. As for the many morons who voted against the Bill it just shows how sadly apathetic many Australians have become, largely due to Murdoch and the News empire that grew up in Australia before becoming an American company.

      Faux News is the enemy of freedom in the land of the free.

      Australia does things all the time that just casually violate what I consider to be sacred rights.

      Yes, and many times it happens to promote American interests because our politicians are too spineless to stand up for themselves. No one likes it and the Trans Pacific Partnership is a fine example. We are not even allowed to see the text of a bill that is to be passed into law.

      They are things that everyday Australians object to and I'm certain everyday Americans would find it offensive too.

      I know my views are incomprehensible to many.

      No they are not and many reasonable educated Australians would agree with you. We need a Bill of Rights more than ever. If you are prepared to make your views known to Australian politicians it would be most welcome.

      • the TTP probably violates a lot of our laws and rules as well. It was another of these "you'll have to pass it to see what is in it" laws.

        We'll see what happens. If it is what we fear, then there are going to be some fierce court challenges. If not... then it is probably much a do about nothing.

        I'd like to know what other thing your politicians have done in the US's interests that violated your rights though? Just curious.

        Politicians don't respond to that sort of thing. They understand the blade at the thro

      • Fox News is an interesting phenomenon. Murdoch is retiring and his kids are not like him. In fact most of the kids hate Roger Ailes (head of Fox News) at least if you go by what's reported in the press. That's the reason for the quick press release by Fox news that Ailes would continue to report to Rupert when James took over which was immediately repudiated by the corporate side. I'd be willing to bet that over the next 5 years or so Fox will begin to change and that change will accelerate heavily once Rup

    • Yea. The elites in afghanistan and iraq are careful. Very careful.

    • That's all well and good in theory... but the practice is that the majority of amendments comprising the bill of rights have been ripped up and used as toilet paper in the government's bathrooms for at least the past 70 years.
  • I'm American and I could probably get about 15 million lira together if you give me a few days and will take a check.

    On second thought, I'm not very well traveled so I'd appreciate it if someone could help me with the monetary conversion. Australians accept lira, or do I have to convert to Foster's beer for payment? If so, I'll let them keep the change and just give them the entire six pack.

    That's the kind of rich I am, ladies, and there's more where that came from.
    • Australians accept lira, or do I have to convert to Foster's beer for payment?

      You do know that no Australians actually drink Foster's, right? That's the stuff we flog to foreigners.

      • What do you drink, then?
      • Don't take the piss out of Fosters, it needs all the flavour it can get!
      • Australians accept lira, or do I have to convert to Foster's beer for payment?

        You do know that no Australians actually drink Foster's, right? That's the stuff we flog to foreigners.

        You drive a hard bargain. I'll send you a six pack of beer we don't drink and beer we flog to foreigners. One six pack of Foster's and one six pack of Bud Light.

        Drink the Bud first and then use the Foster's simultaneously wash away the taste of the Bud, drink something that resembles a beer, and be both humbled and amazed by the fact we can make a beer so crappy it makes you enjoy the crappy beer you guys produce. Then be thankful that I didn't send over Bud Light Lime. Yes, that's a thing and it pro

      • https://www.danmurphys.com.au/... [danmurphys.com.au]

        Personally its a bit like VB but a little less B.

        Still not as good as Coopers home brew or coopers retail.

        • It's bad. Seriously bad. And having lived in Australia all my life the only time I've tried Fosters was when it was on special and a good deal cheaper than beers that Australians actually drink, and I thought that I may as well give it a try. It's not as bad as Bud (yeah, not an Australian beer, just throwing it in there for comparison) or anything but it's pretty bad. Nobody I know drinks Fosters and I've never seen Fosters in an Australian's home fridge (and I do hang around all classes of Australians not

  • It's got a lot more racial crimes, it's got a lot more gun-related crimes,

    On average, yes, but crime is a local thing. Areas of Sydney have drive-by shooting from middle-eastern crime gangs, and plenty of cities in the US are very safe.

    I don't know why rich Americans would want to leave - it is the poor people who are much better off in Australia. (unless they dream of buying a home)

    • Yeah, large parts of Australia are a bit 19th century when it comes to race, in several places being called "Irish" is still veiwed as a pejorative.

  • That sounds like a more enticing reward.

  • I mean, basically any western democracy where you don't need to have an army to protect your wealth is pretty awesome if you are rich. Other than tinfoil hat syndrome (e.g. James Cameron - moved to NZ) why would you limit yourself to a smaller place that you can visit, buy a mansions in, and even smuggle your dogs in on your private jet whenever you want to anyway?

    Really the debate needs to change to asking why an Aussie, who enjoys arguable a better standard of living than the median American, can't reason

  • Though, I suppose if you're a millionaire, you can afforde the tax advisors that sort things out for you.
  • by O('_')O_Bush ( 1162487 ) on Tuesday July 14, 2015 @06:07AM (#50106273)
    " a country very similar to the United States... The U.S. has some problems that Australia doesn't have. It's got a lot more racial crimes, it's got a lot more gun-related crimes"

    Australia has twice the burglary rate and a higher rape rate. Australia has a ban happy nanny-state government. Australia has a lot of race crimes against Aborigines that just aren't reported in their pop media. Australia's cost of living is almost twice what it is in the U.S. Australia still has a fucking queen.

    Australia is like the U.S. except with the fun and awesome parts removed, and instead replaced with the U.K.
    • I always thought of Australia as America with less of the bad bits. I found Australians keen to enjoy their lives - not just to work, or live in ever bigger houses, or drive ever bigger cars, but to actually enjoy the experience. I also found Aussies to be considerably more genuine that Americans - they do a certain amount of "how yer goin'?" and whatnot, but it's no where near the whole "hi, how are you today? Oh that's awesome! Okay, you have a great day - missing you already!" crap you get in the US. Als

    • Their Queen. Is she one? At this age? Come on, you got to be kidding.
    • it reminds me of that joke.

      "Mayor, can you confirm the allegation that the number of thefts has recently been increasing?"

      "Under my term, violent assault has decreased."

      maybe it's not a very good joke. i heard it from a mathematician who was pointing out that information, in a practical sense, is not the same thing as logical deduction. at some point you have to make assumptions, and those assumptions are often more important than the thought that follows (or, "garbage in, garbage out"). strictly speaking,

  • by Intrepid imaginaut ( 1970940 ) on Tuesday July 14, 2015 @06:52AM (#50106483)

    I tried applying for Australian citizenship once but they turned me down as I didn't have a criminal record.

    • Do you live in America?

      The British used colonial North America as a penal colony through a system of indentured servitude. Merchants would transport the convicts and auctioned them off to (for example) plantation owners upon arrival in the colonies. It is estimated that some 50,000 British convicts were sent to colonial America, representing perhaps one-quarter of all British emigrants during the 18th century. The State of Georgia for example was first founded by James Edward Oglethorpe by using penal prisoners taken largely from debtors' prison, creating a "Debtor's Colony". However, even though this largely failed, the idea that the state began as a penal has stayed both in popular history, and local lore.[1] The British also would often ship Irish and Scots to the Americas whenever rebellions took place in Ireland or Scotland, and they would be treated similar to the convicts, except that this also included women and children.

      Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org] (emphasis mine)

      Strange that they let you stay there.

  • The US has a similar plan [uscis.gov], the EB-5 visa program, but you only need to invest $1 million to get your green card.

    I say, if we're going to let people bribe their way to the front of the immigration line, we should get top dollar for it. $15 million sounds about right, plus $2 million paid directly to the government, and used to hire more immigration workers to clear the ludicrous immigration backlog for everyone else.

    *Especially* since a good chunk of those buying green cards are Chinese businessmen and gove

    • Really get over your hate. There only concern in that article come from a few groups having problems with the regulation, and the article is providing both sides, and if you look up those groups you find they are liberal. They even quote a Democrat on how the program is good.
    • by Shados ( 741919 )

      The issue with people "skipping in line" is that those who do are usually burdens. like those El Salvador illegal immigrants who come to sanctuary cities, and get taken in the public schools. That wouldn't be an issue, except in many of those cities, those public schools are having a hard time with cash, and in my town at least, taxes are already extremely high. It kind of sucks that the local poor who need help are told to share it with people who shouldn't be there. We can increase taxes...but if you're g

  • Guns (Score:5, Informative)

    by roninmagus ( 721889 ) on Tuesday July 14, 2015 @07:05AM (#50106573)
    I don't understand why guns always come up when non-Americans talk about America. I have lived here my entire 30 years, IN THE SOUTH, and have not seen a single gun in public except in the hands of a police officer. I own guns and most of my family do as well. But I've never seen them in public.
    • I don't understand why guns always come up when non-Americans talk about America. I have lived here my entire 30 years, IN THE SOUTH, and have not seen a single gun in public except in the hands of a police officer. I own guns and most of my family do as well. But I've never seen them in public.

      Ditto. I've lived in the South most of half a century. I own guns. I'm pretty sure everyone in my family does. Not utterly sure, though. Wouldn't terribly surprise me if one particular cousin doesn't.

      BUT, I nev

    • Generally people don't walk around brandishing them. But most of the urban gang members (illegally) carry concealed. Occasionally they off other gang members, which doesn't really bother me. Unfortunately, they usually aren't very good marksman and have to unload the entire magazine in order to hit their target at point blank range which means that innocent people end up getting killed. Personally I think that drug-dealer on drug-dealer violence, in it's abstract form, is great sport. But the implementa
    • I don't understand why guns always come up when non-Americans talk about America.

      Me neither, because I haven't witnessed any such phenomenon. But maybe, if it's occasionally brought up, it has something to do that the US has by far the largest number of small firearms in civilian hands, by a factor of almost SIX ahead of the second largest owner (which is INDIA, a country four times the population of the US)?

    • by quenda ( 644621 )

      I don't understand why guns always come up when non-Americans talk about America.

      We watch American television. And the US gun homicide rate is 20 times higher than here, proving that Hollywood is accurate.

    • by Wokan ( 14062 )

      I have. I was in a Peter Piper Pizza (a pizza place with children's rides and playsets for those who might not know) and there was a guy sitting across the room with his family with a pistol holstered in the open. I didn't get up and leave, but I did keep looking over to make sure there weren't any heated discussions starting.

  • right after the UK. Australia has gone down the facist daddy state road at high speed. It is quite amazing how UK/AUS/NZ continue to out do even the US.

  • They already have an annoying rich person that has excessive influence. Now Australia wants rich foreigners also? How about looking for anyone that's decent to help in any way possible. Looking just for the rich is reverse lobbying and quite lazy.
  • One, from personal accounts, and from what I see in the mass media, on a whole, Australia seems to have more than a few raciest tendencies (sorry non-raciest Australians)... So that might be one reason they are targeting America, VS Asia. They didn't say it, but I'm willing to bet that a significant percentage (90-99%) of people in America that actually have 15 million bucks in the bank are all white anyway.

    Two, I was watching Family Feud the other day, and the American contestant was asked the question "if

  • No? Then fuck you Australia.

  • Canada has something like this for a $120k investment, for the record.
  • These so-called rich visas used be in the $500K to $1000K range until recently. Basically you'd prove that you had the funds to live on and would not be a welfare case. However in recently years the Chinese snapped all such visas in the US and Canada and probably the rest of developed world too. The US and Canda ones are suspeended for further study.

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