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US falls out of 10 most powerful passports list for first time in 20 yrs

theguardian.com

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Re: US falls out of 10 most powerful passports list for first time in 20 yrs

#91

Post by HaZeust »

ashleyn wrote: post #41
futureshock wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ll borrow ideas from investing: financial independence, diversification and optionality. If you have enough money you can free yourself from the labor market, but you are still deeply tied to your home country. A second citizenship gives you geopolitical independence. And just like diverse investments protect you from the failure of a specific asset, diverse countries can protect you from, for example, a collapse i…

What would be the most realistic and best option for a second visa for someone with a ~$1-3MM net worth?

Malta - which is an EU member.

"Individual investors must make a minimum contribution of €600,000 to the national development fund set up by the government and prove 36 months of residency. Alternatively, there is an expedited route which requires a contribution of €750,000 and evidence of 12 months residency" [1]

1 - http://goldenvisas.com/malta

Re: US falls out of 10 most powerful passports list for first time in 20 yrs

#92

Post by cmurf »

keiferski wrote: post #60
hypeatei wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a famous saying about going bankrupt: "How did you go bankrupt? Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly" In this case, "going bankrupt" is the dissolution of the United States. We definitely won't be able to predict when it happens, and it may be unlikely, but IMO the likelihood of it happening ticks up the more I see how the federal government is attempting to crush dissent. Not to mention completely apolitical t…

All of that could happen and the US still wouldn’t turn into a failed state. There are orders of magnitude more technology, intelligence, non-governmental organizations, cultural knowledge, etc. in the country than in places which became failed states.

In his 1st inaugural address, what do you suppose Lincoln meant by the government ceasing?

Would people today tolerate tyranny to avoid it?

Re: US falls out of 10 most powerful passports list for first time in 20 yrs

#93

Post by dragonwriter »

hypeatei wrote: post #49
keiferski wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah as an American that has been living abroad for a decade and will be a dual citizen soon: I don’t agree with that take at all. The vast majority of people in the US still see their future in the US. Dual citizenship, much less actually living abroad, is still an extremely niche topic and basically only a thing amongst upper middle class and above professionals and tech workers. And as chaotic and concerning as ma…

> And as chaotic and concerning as many political events may be, the idea that the US will become “a failed state” is pretty divorced from the actual reality Becoming a failed state overnight? Probably not, I agree. Midterm elections are approaching and the federal government has already shown its willingness to deploy the military to big cities for intimidation purposes. Also don't forget: our current President also…

> Midterm elections are approaching and the federal government has already shown its willingness to deploy the military to big cities for intimidation purposes.

Fall of democracy to dictatorship is a different problem than a failed state, and both that and balkanization are more likely than a failed state scenario (though balkanization could result in one or more failed states among the successors.)

Re: US falls out of 10 most powerful passports list for first time in 20 yrs

#94

Post by aaronrobinson »

zoklet-enjoyer wrote: post #86
aaronrobinson wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it’s Italy you may be disappointed as they’ve recently changed the rules

My mom's dad was from Italy and her mom from Germany. I want to try for German citizenship. It looks like I'm eligible based on what I saw online. Previously I had looked into Italian citizenship and found that I wasn't eligible because my grandpa had become an American before my mom was born

You used to have to prove that your ancestor hadn’t given up the Italian citizenship which is where you would have missed out. I believe your ancestor is now limited to parent or grandparent AND one or both must have a ‘connection’ to Italy - as in they were born there and/or live there. I know nothing about German citizenship but my advice to you would be to start the process now given the far right momentum in Germany and the world in general. I’ve been through the process and mine was fairly straightforward and it still took a couple of years to gather and legalise document and then go through the process.

Re: US falls out of 10 most powerful passports list for first time in 20 yrs

#95

Post by int_19h »

CaptainOfCoit wrote: post #52
keiferski wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah as an American that has been living abroad for a decade and will be a dual citizen soon: I don’t agree with that take at all. The vast majority of people in the US still see their future in the US. Dual citizenship, much less actually living abroad, is still an extremely niche topic and basically only a thing amongst upper middle class and above professionals and tech workers. And as chaotic and concerning as ma…

> The vast majority of people in the US still see their future in the US. I mean, obviously, otherwise they wouldn't be there in the first place. Just an anecdote, also with bias, but almost every American I've met outside of the US (from all walks of life, from uber rich to almost homeless) seems to agree with the idea that the US is approaching a "no turning back" point, and cites that as being the reason they move…

It was true for Rome though, at least within the area over which Rome was the hegemon. It took literally centuries to recover back to the level from which Rome collapsed.

Re: US falls out of 10 most powerful passports list for first time in 20 yrs

#96

Post by keiferski »

cmurf wrote: post #92
keiferski wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All of that could happen and the US still wouldn’t turn into a failed state. There are orders of magnitude more technology, intelligence, non-governmental organizations, cultural knowledge, etc. in the country than in places which became failed states.

In his 1st inaugural address, what do you suppose Lincoln meant by the government ceasing? Would people today tolerate tyranny to avoid it?

The American civil war wasn’t a case of a failed state, it was a case of competing states. Very different situation from today.

The closest analog to an archetypical failed state in American history is probably the Bleeding Kansas situation:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleeding_Kansas

Even then, today’s divisions in America are more urban-rural than geographically separated.

Re: US falls out of 10 most powerful passports list for first time in 20 yrs

#98

Post by averageRoyalty »

Argonaut998 wrote: post #46
victor106 wrote: post #5

Does this really matter? US is the most powerful country in the world economically and militarily and maybe even culturally.

No it really doesn't matter. This crap is just a vanity metric to make people feel better about themselves or to feel self-righteous. You just need to look at the countries that require a tourist(!) visa of Americans, the vast majority are irrelevant. I can't wait to go to Eritrea, too bad I need a visa :( Tourism is not a big deal either, I think freedom to work/live is a much better metric, but obviously the USA is…

> The USA is the strongest passport because it is the only passport that allows permanent residency and/or visa free travel in the US

Very much perspective depdendent. I could name 50 countries I'd be much more interested in spending time in, and you could not pay me enough to live there. From my perspective, it's not a bad passport, but there are plenty better.

Re: US falls out of 10 most powerful passports list for first time in 20 yrs

#99

Post by CyberDildonics »

rayiner wrote: post #88
CyberDildonics wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What does this have to do with europe being an "ethnostate" ? What in the world are you even talking about?

Are you American?

Why isn't there a straightforward answer? Why is it so convoluted?
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