America, the Ugly

There are people who regard the U.S. citizenship as their most-valued possession. Foreigners go to the U.S., legally or illegally, to try to get that "Holy Grail." Ironically, there are increasing numbers of American citizens who live and work abroad, and are renouncing their citizenship, to become citizens of the countries they live in. The reason is that U.S. tax laws are extremely severe, forcing them to pay taxes even for income that is generated outside the U.S. by people who no longer or have never lived there, as the case of offspring of American citizens abroad. Not only that, but U.S. law requires foreign banks to inform on these people's finances, including those of joint accounts and ownership with spouses who are not American citizens, which leads to bureaucratic hassles that make their lives difficult. So, the only way they can avoid all of this undue hardship is by giving up their U.S. passport.

There is life without it.