Why are so many people considering moving to Panama?

My Notes: Quite a few expats who have made the move or are considering the move that I have spoken to share some common thoughts. Many of them are frankly fed up with the direction the US is going when it comes to intrusiveness, and outright disrespect for the personal freedoms of its citizens.

Granted, many move here simply for the weather, an easy going lifestyle, and a very low cost of living in comparison to the States, but the following is a wake up call:

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None Of Your Business!
By Rep Ron Paul
2-9-7

You may not have heard of the American Community Survey, but you will.
The national census, which historically is taken every ten years, has
expanded to quench the federal bureaucracy's ever-growing thirst to
govern every aspect of American life. The new survey, unlike the
traditional census, is taken each and every year at a cost of hundreds
of millions of dollars. And it's not brief. It contains 24 pages of
intrusive questions concerning matters that simply are none of the
government's business, including your job, your income, your physical
and emotional heath, your family status, your dwelling, and your
intimate personal habits.

The questions are both ludicrous and insulting. The survey asks, for
instance, how many bathrooms you have in your house, how many miles
you drive to work, how many days you were sick last year, and whether
you have trouble getting up stairs. It goes on and on, mixing inane
questions with highly detailed inquiries about your financial affairs.
One can only imagine the countless malevolent ways our federal
bureaucrats could use this information. At the very least the survey
will be used to dole out pork, which is reason enough to oppose it.

Keep in mind the survey is not voluntary, nor is the Census Bureau
asking politely. Americans are legally obligated to answer, and can be
fined up to $1,000 per question if they refuse!

I introduced an amendment last week that would have eliminated funds
for this intrusive survey in a spending bill, explaining on the House
floor that perhaps the American people don't appreciate being
threatened by Big Brother. The amendment was met by either
indifference or hostility, as most members of Congress either don't
care about or actively support government snooping into the private
affairs of citizens.

One of the worst aspects of the census is its focus on classifying
people by race. When government tells us it wants information to
"help" any given group, it assumes every individual who shares certain
physical characteristics has the same interests, or wants the same
things from government. This is an inherently racist and offensive
assumption. The census, like so many federal policies and programs,
inflames racism by encouraging Americans to see themselves as members
of racial groups fighting each other for a share of the federal pie.

The census also represents a form of corporate welfare, since the
personal data collected on hundred of millions of Americans can be
sold to private businesses. Surely business enjoys having such
extensive information available from one source, but it's hardly the
duty of taxpayers to subsidize the cost of market research.

At least the national census has its origins in the Constitution,
which is more than one can say about the vast majority of programs
funded by Congress. Still, Article I makes it clear that the census
should be taken every ten years for the sole purpose of congressional
redistricting (and apportionment of taxes, prior to the disastrous
16th amendment). This means a simple count of the number of people
living in a given area, so that numerically equal congressional
districts can be maintained. The founders never authorized the federal
government to continuously survey the American people.

More importantly, they never envisioned a nation where the people
would roll over and submit to every government demand. The American
Community Survey is patently offensive to all Americans who still
embody that fundamental American virtue, namely a healthy mistrust of
government. The information demanded in the new survey is none of the
government's business, and the American people should insist that
Congress reject it now before it becomes entrenched.