By mapple on Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Where have all the millionaires gone? Into hiding, into defense mode, and out of the country. With so many threatening taxes against the rich, so many speeches demonizing people who make or have money, it’s no wonder that anyone with money is running for the hills, literally.
The hills of Costa Rica, to be exact. True Example: There once was an oilman named Robert Smith (names have been changed to protect the innocent). His company explored for oil, mainly offshore, and then sold the leases of quadrants to drill for oil in. Since the democrats have been dangling Cap and Trade the last couple years and threatening to stop offshore drilling, just the mere talk of these actions has destroyed his business. No one wants to spend money on exploration if the government isn’t going to allow them to drill. It started with his Houston branch office closing and moving everything to the Corpus Christi, TX branch, which had much lower overhead. Within a year of that move, he decided to close his doors for good and move to Costa Rica.
So what? Who is this man we are losing to a foreign nation? He is what makes America run. When you stop and track where he spent his money, you come across many industries: restaurants, cabs, vacation destinations, grocery stores, retail establishments, home improvement stores, small businesses, and the list goes on and on. Everyone this man encountered prospered from him being around, whether he was buying goods and services from them or enjoying goods and services with them. How much does a millionaire spend in one year? I would venture to say a couple hundred grand. And where does that money go? It doesn’t all go into vacations and yachts. Most of it goes to the working man, whether it’s in the landscaping of a millionaire’s house or the movie theater he visits down the street. The neighborhood prospers, the working class prospers, the city prospers.
This is why we must fight to accommodate the millionaire. Make him feel welcome. Trickle Down economics dictates that if he’s not happy, ain’t nobody happy. And now, since we have pissed off this millionaire with our sanctions and environmental mumbo-jumbo, Costa Rica gets the fruits of our millionaire’s labors. And all we can do is watch him go.