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Your anger is uncalled for. There's a trivial solution. As leoedin points out at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11071749#up_11072396 https://news.ycombina

by dalke 10y ago

Your anger is uncalled for. There's a trivial solution. As leoedin points out at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11071749#up_11072396 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11071749#up_11072396 : > The UK embeds the cost of consular protection and embassy services into the renewal cost of a passport - approximately £15 in 2010, probably more now. It's an insurance payment that most people will never use, so it doesn't need to cost very much per person. I would gladly pay an extra $30 for each passport renewal than pay my accountant $600 every year to tell the US I don't need to pay taxes on my $35K income. That would raise it from $135 to $160. If you're going to complain that emigrants like me don't point the finger to "true culprits", then I can complain that people like you also never point out the true culprit - a messed up system at the State Department which requires taxpayers who never have and never will travel internationally to subsidize consulates so that emigrants like me can have a backup plan in case war ever comes to Sweden. The more equitable plan is to fund it through a passport fee so only those who may need those services, eg, tourists, business travelers, and yes, emigrants like me, pay for it.

british_india 10y ago
It's amusing that you attempt to marginalize well-reasoned opinions you don't share by labeling their holder as having "anger". Finally, do you think it costs $30 to maintain a consulate? Just stop your whining: either renounce or pay your taxes. Finally, in a civilized society, when you encounter laws you don't like--you work to get them changed. Otherwise you're just a childish scofflaw--no different than the bank robber who complains about the laws against robbing banks. "emigrants like me can have a backup plan"--not sure if you meant this as a joke, as it entirely undercuts all your arguments. If you want a backup plan--you gotta pay for it. You could have just as well gone to Somalia as Sweden--so the unlikelihood of war there is not germane to the conversation. Whiner.
- dalke 10y ago
  > "do you think it costs $30 to maintain a consulate?" I'll answer your question by quoting you: "Duh, no." That's the cost spread across all the citizens with a passport for the extra citizen services which aren't included in the normal fees. There are 15M passports issued every year, so that's $750M each year. How much money do you think is needed? I say "extra services" because there's no reason a passport fee should include the business promotion services of an embassy. There's no reason a passport fee should include the cost of the treaty negotiations and government-to-government liaison. There's no reason it should include the fees already captured elsewhere, like visa application fees or passport renewal fees. Nor is there a reason that a passport fee should include for paying for espionage done by the embassy. It's amusing that you attempt to respond to my criticism by not understanding it. I may be a whiner, but you are a liar if you call me a criminal. I pay $600/year in accounting fees to provide the necessary paperwork to the US to prove I owe them nothing. In addition to the taxes I pay the Swedish government. Moreover, because I live in Sweden, my income and taxes is public information, so you can verify it for yourself if you think I'm lying.

by dalke 10y ago

british_india 10y ago

It's amusing that you attempt to marginalize well-reasoned opinions you don't share by labeling their holder as having "anger". Finally, do you think it costs $30 to maintain a consulate? Just stop your whining: either renounce or pay your taxes. Finally, in a civilized society, when you encounter laws you don't like--you work to get them changed. Otherwise you're just a childish scofflaw--no different than the bank robber who complains about the laws against robbing banks. "emigrants like me can have a backup plan"--not sure if you meant this as a joke, as it entirely undercuts all your arguments. If you want a backup plan--you gotta pay for it. You could have just as well gone to Somalia as Sweden--so the unlikelihood of war there is not germane to the conversation. Whiner.

dalke 10y ago
> "do you think it costs $30 to maintain a consulate?" I'll answer your question by quoting you: "Duh, no." That's the cost spread across all the citizens with a passport for the extra citizen services which aren't included in the normal fees. There are 15M passports issued every year, so that's $750M each year. How much money do you think is needed? I say "extra services" because there's no reason a passport fee should include the business promotion services of an embassy. There's no reason a passport fee should include the cost of the treaty negotiations and government-to-government liaison. There's no reason it should include the fees already captured elsewhere, like visa application fees or passport renewal fees. Nor is there a reason that a passport fee should include for paying for espionage done by the embassy. It's amusing that you attempt to respond to my criticism by not understanding it. I may be a whiner, but you are a liar if you call me a criminal. I pay $600/year in accounting fees to provide the necessary paperwork to the US to prove I owe them nothing. In addition to the taxes I pay the Swedish government. Moreover, because I live in Sweden, my income and taxes is public information, so you can verify it for yourself if you think I'm lying.