Rich Americans Are Fleeing the Country

by Bob Adelmann
The New American

When Hollywood film director James Cameron (Avatar, Titanic, Terminator) announced that he was moving to New Zealand, preppers, fiscal doomsayers, and alarmists had a field day in deciphering his motives for moving, ultimately deciding that Cameron was moving so that he is better able to weather the massive monetary upheaval that is upcoming or he is escaping U.S. taxes and regulations.

Marc Slavo, as an example, suggested ulterior motives other than those stated by Cameron: “While the move for the Canadian-born Cameron may initially be perceived as a rejection or denouncement of American policies and ideals … [he] may have ulterior motivations as evidenced by where he’s planning on moving and what he’s planning on doing once he gets there.”

The Associated Press reported that Cameron successfully applied to buy 2,500 acres of farmland and he “intend[s] to reside indefinitely in New Zealand and [is] acquiring the property to reside on and operate as a working farm.” Slavo is skeptical in light of Cameron’s lack of need to be working at all, having made in excess of $250 million last year, according to Salon magazine.

And Slavo is not persuaded that Cameron’s real reason is to be closer to the New Zealand headquarters of Weta Digital, which won an Oscar for its special effects in the movie Avatar. Nor is he persuaded that Cameron wants to be there solely to direct the sequel to Avatar scheduled to begin later this year. Slavo instead is thinking that Cameron knows that “farmland is one of the only reasonable physical assets to hold in the event of a major crisis,” and that Cameron’s disclosure on his New Zealand application for citizenship was simply cover.

Paul Joseph Watson and Alex Jones at Inforwars.com are of the same mind as Slavo:

If you think that Hollywood director James Cameron’s decision to leave America and move his entire family to a farm in New Zealand is simply to provide his kids with a “strong work ethic,” as Cameron claims, think again….

Cameron’s decision fits the trend of wealthy Americans pulling their money out of the country and reinvesting it to buy land in the southern hemisphere, escaping spiraling tax rates and protecting themselves against the potential for widespread social dislocation.

When John Malone, chairman of the board of Liberty Media with a personal net worth of $4.5 billion, reported that he had purchased a significant piece of property along the Quebec border, he explained in an interview with the Wall Street Journal his real motivation:

WSJ: What are the biggest risks for Liberty Media right now?

Malone: The concerns really tend to be much more macro: Is America going to make it, rather than are we going to make it? It’s pretty hard. If the country doesn’t make it, do any of us make it?

WSJ: What are you doing to protect against the weak American economy?

Malone: Well, my wife, who is very concerned about these things, moved all her personal cash to Australia and Canada. She wants to have a place to go if things blow up here….

We have a retreat that’s right on the Quebec border. We own 18 miles on the border, so we can cross. Anytime we want to we can get away.

As Slavo explained, Malone is not a tin-foil hat weirdo believing in things that go bump in the night: “He may not look like a doom and gloomer, but it sounds like he’s considered the possibility of a complete collapse in the United States of America. Otherwise, why suggest that if something were to happen, he could get away?”

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February 4, 2012

Copyright © 2012 The New American