State Department Estimates Show an Increase in US Expats Worldwide

*America can't be fixed, tear it down and start over!

The US Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs is an agency tasked with protecting the lives and interests of US expats overseas. You may be familiar with them if you or someone you know has experienced births, deaths, disasters, arrests, or medical emergencies during your time abroad. Their latest report showed several interesting trends in expat-related issues – read below for the details!

US Expat Statistics

For fiscal year 2016, the State Department estimates that there are 9 million Americans living abroad, a significant increase from 4 million in 1999. Further, there were 70,666 registered births of US citizens abroad. 1,218 US citizens were repatriated, and 50,307 emergency passports were issued. A more unfortunate statistic is that the State Department provided aid to the families of 10,992 US expats who passed away while overseas during the year.

Other Statistics

Last year, the State Department issued 18 million passports, out of 132 million valid US passports currently in circulation. More incredible is that last year alone, international visitors contributed 246 billion dollars to the US economy! You can find more helpful information including adoption statistics, travel warnings and alerts, student travel information, and visa and passport data by going to visit the State Department’s website.

What Does This Mean For You?

The ever-increasing number of expats means that you are in good company. The global economy continues to create jobs with unprecedented flexibility – so more people than ever are choosing to reside in different countries. Expat opinions are impacting politics in a major way and expat issues have more visibility than ever before. However, expat tax issues are not going away any time soon.

Have Questions About Your Expat Taxes?

Greenback can help make the tax portion of your life as an expat hassle-free. Contact us today to get your questions answered!

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Help wanted – China struggles to fill jobs

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At the Tiger Lane Bridge recruitment centre in Beijing, a handful of men scan a board plastered with job ads. Waiters, cooks, teachers, security guards, welders, telephone operators and drivers are all in demand. But the job seekers, – who are outnumbered roughly ten-to-one by the positions advertised – are in no great rush. “Actually, I’ve got a job already. I just come here every now and again to see if I can find a job that pays better,” says Mr Liu, 40, a migrant from nearby Hebei province. Mr Liu, who earns Rmb2000 ($314) a month, was upset when he did not get a 15 per cent pay raise this year – an annual increase that has become the norm for blue-collar workers in China. 

The Chinese economy has been slowing – data due this weekend are expected to reveal that exports, investment and industrial production were all weak in May – but the labour market remains very tight. From Beijing in north China to the southern manufacturing province of Guangdong, the main concern of workers is not finding jobs, but securing higher pay. In fact, companies say they are struggling to find and retain staff. For the government, this is a significant argument against launching large-scale economic stimulus, as there is no need for a major spending boost to create jobs. The central bank’s move to cut interest rates this week shows that Beijing is worried about slowing growth. 

But officials stress that there will no repeat of the massive stimulus package unveiled in late 2008 during the global financial crisis. While Europe and the US struggle with rising unemployment, China’s labour problem is the opposite: it experienced a record shortfall of workers in the first quarter. The human resources ministry says that for every 108 employees sought by companies, only 100 people were looking for jobs – equating to a nationwide deficit of nearly 1m workers. The reason China’s job market is tightening when the economy is slowing is simple: demographics.  

The government introduced its one-child policy just over three decades ago to limit explosive population growth. Since then birth rates have declined steadily, with the proportion of the working-age population expanding at a slower rate in recent years. UBS estimates that China’s workforce will peak in about 2015, and then start to shrink. At Polaris Jewellery in Guangzhou, Guangdong’s capital, the factory manager worries that China’s tight labour market will destroy the company’s apprentice programme, as young workers are no longer willing to commit to the two years of training. Lee Hin-shing, who manages the factory of 440 workers, says the floor that used to house trainees is empty. Polaris has just one trainee, down from a couple of hundred more than a decade ago. “No one wants to join the industry,” he says ruefully. “In 2004 and 2005, we had more than 800 workers.” This demographic landscape is likely to get worse. 

China’s ratio of workers to retirees is likely to “drop precipitously” from roughly 5:1 today to 2:1 in 2030, according to Wang Feng, director of the Brookings-Tsinghua Center in Beijing. But while demographics are extremely powerful, if economic growth were to collapse, for example, unemployment in China would inevitably rise – and potentially quite sharply.   

When the global financial crisis savaged the Chinese export sector in late 2008, more than 20m blue-collar workers lost their jobs virtually overnight. Concerns about social instability prompted the government to roll out a Rmb4tn mega-stimulus package, which helped propel the country back to double-digit growth. Unemployment is considered to be a “lagging indicator”, meaning, an economic slowdown today may only lead to job losses a few months down the road. There are, in fact, a couple of warning signs. Almost 8 per cent of respondents to a HSBC survey of the Chinese manufacturing sector said they cut jobs last month. The overall decline was modest, but it was also the steepest fall in 38 months, stemming from a decline in new orders. Moreover, the export sector is once again suffering sluggish growth, a bad omen for the employment situation.

 But for the time being, job seekers are still spoiled for choice. At a leather factory in Dongguan, a manufacturing hub in Guangdong province, the owner David Liu says workers used to queue outside the factory and ask their friends for contacts. “Now the factory owners are asking acquaintances for help recruiting workers,” says Mr Liu. Additional reporting by Emma Dong and Zhou Ping

Some president, some politician is going to make this go away

If you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn.

http://www.usdebtclock.org/

How life is when you don't chase ass *Updated

 I spent the better part of my weekend applying to overseas employment agencies and you can do it too.
 God will give you the steak and potatoes but don't be a damned fool thinking He will cook it for you.

*Update:
 For those of you that sent emails of appreciation and or donations, I'll send tokens of my appreciation as well as "specific" how to's to your private emails.

Can you tell?

Nietzsche doesn't like his A/C at all LOL Have a good week.

Time is Only an Illusion

"There exists only the present instant ...
There is no yesterday nor any tomorrow, but only Now ... "
Meister Eckhart

Time, as we know it, is only an illusion. We usually think of time as having three parts - Past, Present, Future. But what is the Past - only a collection of memories. We can't experience the Past, we can only remember it. And we can only remember it in the Present (furthermore, our memories are noticeably unreliable). There is no objective thing that we call the Past; it can't be measured in any way; our only contact with it is in the Present.
And what is the Future - only a mental construct in the Present. We can't experience the Future until it "becomes" the Present. Until then it only a hope and dream. We can project what the Future may be like, but we are considerably less accurate than when we remember the Past. There is no objective thing that we call the Future; it can't be measured in any way; our only contact with it is in the Present.
That leaves us with only the Present - the ever changing Present. Time is an illusion we created to try and measure the rate of change of the Present. It's always NOW. But it's an ever changing NOW. In a effort to cope with the change, we have invented time. It's a handy mental device that helps us deal with the higher order derivatives of the rate of change.
This change that we experience in the ever present Present does have a "direction." Things change in the general direction of having greater entropy. Entropy is a measure of the amount of disorder in a system. That's why when we measure time we find it restricted to one direction (unlike when we measure distance) - things are changing such that the overall system has more and more entropy.
Although the illusionary nature of time is the deep truth in this matter, it's not particularly practical. To be totally in harmony with this truth, you'd need to wear a watch that always said "now". But you'd be late for a lot of meetings....
Leigh Brasington
2005/05/04
Written in honor of Kurt Gödel, who also didn't believe in Time (New Yorker ~ Feb 28, 2005, pg 80ff)

Be Here Now

In 1979 - 1981 I took a trip around the world. I often encountered signs that said "You are here." You know what - every one of those signs was right! I'm always here. I can't go anywhere but here. If I think I'll leave here and go there, when I get there, here I am here again.
In light of it always being Now and always being Here, "Be Here Now" isn't just good advice, it's the only possibility. If you want to experience the deepest truth of things as they really are, you are going to have to be in harmony with being here, now.
Leigh Brasington
2005/05/07 

---

Is "time" all in the mind? Is it real?
Physicists continue work to abolish time as fourth dimension of space
Discover Magazine: Newsflash: Time May Not Exist
Discover Magazine: 3 Theories That Might Blow Up the Big Bang - see #3 on page 3
NewScientist Magazine: What makes the universe tick?
NewScientist Magazine: Is time an illusion? (payment required to read article)
NewScientist Magazine: "time is no more than a mirage."
New Statesman: There's no such thing as time (2nd article)
NewScientist Magazine: Your Brain Is a Time Machine
Quartz: This physicist’s ideas of time will blow your mind 
Sam Harris - It Is Always Now - 5½ minute youtube video
Why space and time have a secret connection - 2½ minute youtube video
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Would you like to recover & save all of your Facebook memories?

 On average I go through two craptops per year and unless I save the hard drive I lose all the information, pictures and videos, etc.
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Should I Have Kids QUIZ

 LMAO, I'm simply going to leave this one up to you. I don't have any and never will.

https://www.shouldihaveababy.com/the-quizzes.html

Egotistical overzealous patriots hate this

Please beware: The average income has changed in recent years, especially in small countries. A list with more recent figures can be found here. This page covers the period from 1990 to 2010, which relates to the evaluation time of the studies.

Rank	Country	IQ	Ø Income	Education expenditures per capita	Ø Daily max temperature
1	Singapore	108	25,407 $	905 $	31.5 °C
2	Hong Kong	108	25,419 $	915 $	26.1 °C
3	Taiwan	106			27.1 °C
4	South Korea	106	13,710 $	520 $	18.2 °C
5	Japan	105	36,792 $	1,242 $	19.8 °C
6	China	104	1,375 $	27 $	19.4 °C
7	Switzerland	102	50,004 $	2,465 $	12.7 °C
8	Netherlands	102	33,383 $	1,681 $	14.3 °C
9	North Korea	102			14.9 °C
10	Macao	101	20,622 $	625 $	25.8 °C
11	Iceland	101	34,913 $	2,406 $	7.9 °C
12	Finland	101	31,424 $	1,985 $	8.0 °C
13	Canada	101	27,545 $	1,654 $	7.4 °C
14	Belgium	100	30,760 $	1,683 $	14.5 °C
15	Germany	100	30,918 $	1,386 $	13.5 °C
16	United Kingdom	100	30,889 $	1,441 $	12.8 °C
17	Austria	100	32,002 $	1,762 $	13.0 °C
18	New Zealand	100	18,680 $	1,283 $	17.5 °C
19	Norway	99	48,277 $	3,527 $	8.9 °C
20	Sweden	99	36,411 $	2,334 $	9.4 °C
21	Luxembourg	99	54,392 $	2,286 $	13.8 °C
22	Denmark	99	39,129 $	3,127 $	11.9 °C
23	Czech Republic	99	9,264 $	385 $	12.1 °C
24	Estonia	99	9,552 $	457 $	10.0 °C
25	Australia	99	25,698 $	1,386 $	24.4 °C
26	France	98	29,590 $	1,605 $	16.5 °C
27	United States	98	36,609 $	1,909 $	18.7 °C
28	Hungary	98	7,404 $	391 $	16.1 °C
29	Malta	97	12,385 $	615 $	23.1 °C
30	Italy	97	25,872 $	1,170 $	18.2 °C
31	Latvia	97	6,954 $	333 $	10.7 °C
32	Slovakia	97	9,319 $	332 $	14.9 °C
33	Spain	97	19,834 $	885 $	21.0 °C
34	Slovenia	97	16,381 $	880 $	15.3 °C
35	Poland	97	6,111 $	298 $	13.1 °C
36	Russia	96	4,103 $	157 $	8.6 °C
37	Moldova	95	765 $	53 $	16.0 °C
38	Croatia	95	8,676 $	346 $	18.2 °C
39	Ukraine	95	1,496 $	83 $	14.0 °C
40	Portugal	95	14,177 $	724 $	21.2 °C
41	Ireland	94	28,462 $	1,633 $	13.2 °C
42	Vietnam	94	484 $	26 $	29.2 °C
43	Israel	94	19,398 $	1,224 $	26.2 °C
44	Belarus	93	2,514 $	140 $	11.5 °C
45	Malaysia	93	4,562 $	274 $	31.9 °C
46	Lithuania	93	6,731 $	326 $	11.4 °C
47	Kazakhstan	92	2,768 $	97 $	13.0 °C
48	Greece	92	16,859 $	541 $	22.4 °C
49	Bulgaria	91	2,768 $	111 $	17.8 °C
50	Macedonia	91	2,505 $	115 $	18.5 °C
51	Argentina	90	6,340 $	277 $	23.8 °C
52	Romania	90	3,364 $	116 $	15.0 °C
53	Turkey	89	4,924 $	140 $	19.8 °C
54	Thailand	89	2,607 $	108 $	32.8 °C
55	Serbia	89	3,393 $	157 $	18.1 °C
56	Chile	89	5,640 $	211 $	17.4 °C
57	Cambodia	88	431 $	7 $	33.4 °C
58	Laos	88	420 $	11 $	32.0 °C
59	Mauritius	87	4,528 $	166 $	26.3 °C
60	Costa Rica	86	4,013 $	217 $	28.9 °C
61	Philippines	86	1,307 $	36 $	31.3 °C
62	Mexico	86	6,118 $	274 $	29.2 °C
63	Iraq	86	3,927 $		32.3 °C
64	Venezuela	85	4,704 $	237 $	31.6 °C
65	Bolivia	85	1,031 $	68 $	25.3 °C
66	Cuba	84	3,245 $	311 $	29.8 °C
67	Iran	84	2,825 $	119 $	23.6 °C
68	Montenegro	84	4,516 $		19.2 °C
69	Albania	84	1,713 $	56 $	22.5 °C
70	Indonesia	84	1,086 $	28 $	31.7 °C
71	Egypt	83	1,239 $	58 $	30.0 °C
72	Ecuador	83	2,352 $	69 $	24.5 °C
73	Burma	83	390 $	5 $	32.1 °C
74	Brazil	83	4,460 $	228 $	30.6 °C
75	United Arab Emirates	83	36,044 $	380 $	34.5 °C
76	Pakistan	82	614 $	16 $	31.5 °C
77	Algeria	82	2,315 $	108 $	24.9 °C
78	Peru	82	2,316 $	77 $	25.8 °C
79	Syria	82	1,131 $	58 $	25.6 °C
80	Colombia	82	2,685 $	124 $	28.3 °C
81	Morocco	82	1,716 $	88 $	23.8 °C
82	Bosnia and Herzegovina	82	2,599 $		18.5 °C
83	India	81	568 $	22 $	29.9 °C
84	Saudi Arabia	81	10,580 $	697 $	32.6 °C
85	Tunisia	81	2,495 $	168 $	25.2 °C
86	Afghanistan	80	340 $	13 $	24.3 °C
87	Panama	79	4,273 $	187 $	30.9 °C
88	Sri Lanka	79	1,025 $	30 $	28.9 °C
89	Madagascar	79	277 $	9 $	28.4 °C
90	Bangladesh	77	451 $	9 $	30.7 °C
91	Nepal	77	277 $	10 $	25.6 °C
92	Kenya	71	480 $	33 $	28.8 °C
93	Tanzania	71	325 $	13 $	29.9 °C
94	South Africa	70	3,931 $	221 $	24.8 °C
95	Nigeria	70	508 $		33.0 °C
96	Jamaica	70	3,007 $	157 $	31.8 °C
97	Ghana	69	530 $	34 $	31.5 °C
98	Namibia	69	2,749 $	196 $	29.1 °C
99	Mali	64	381 $	14 $	36.0 °C
100	Democratic Republic of the Congo	63	196 $	4 $	30.0 °C
101	Eritrea	63	250 $	9 $	29.2 °C
102	Guinea-Bissau	62	306 $	12 $	32.9 °C
103	Ethiopia	61	189 $	8 $	27.1 °C
104	Senegal	60	685 $	30 $	35.7 °C
105	Gambia	60	568 $	12 $	32.7 °C
106	East Timor	60	1,548 $	107 $	31.0 °C
107	Gabon	60	4,830 $	190 $	29.8 °C
108	Sao Tome and Principe	58	885 $	54 $	28.6 °C
109	Equatorial Guinea	56	3,336 $	156 $	30.2 °C

What is the intelligence quotient?

The definition states that the intelligence quotient is a measure of intellectual ability. Often the IQ is confused with a concrete performance or even education. However, it is the "ability" of performing. In other words, the ability for comprehension, combinations and learning.

A person isn't less intelligent, because of oa lower level of education. Instead, the one who can achieve the same education with less effort is classified as more intelligent. For example: In some intelligence tests are questions for the names of current politicians. This determines whether and how well the patient can remember a name and its position only by the influence of the media presence.

The intelligence quotient was adapted to a mean value of 100 points. For a standard deviation of 15%, an IQ between 85 and 115 should be taken as normal. Depending on the psychological and physical condition of the patient, the results can also vary by up to 10 points.

Intelligence is not a learning ability, but can be consciously increased. Through regular brain training like in school, individual skills are specifically addressed and achieved through a performance increase. Thus the general thinking-ability can be influenced by each individual within a certain framework. With increasing age, this possibility decreases considerably. Also part of the intelligence is inherited by father and mother.

Criticism:
The IQ was developed by West Europeans for West Europeans according to West European standards. It is still debatable whether this procedure can be applied to people(s) with entirely different social structures, cultures, values and ways of thinking.

IQ in relation to income and educational expenditures

As shown in the table above, there seems to be a correlation between IQ and income level. It is true that high-income countries are among the top places, while those with far lower incomes, such as China, Mongolia and Eastern European countries are often ranking much lower.

On the other hand, countries with high education expenditures almost always have an intelligent population. The reversing circuit is not always true, because among the first 30 places there are also countries with medium to low educational expenditures. The leading countries of this ranking are exclusively the most developed East Asian countries. In these countries it is usual for the families to invest in education of their children and not for the government. The educational expenses are not less than elsewhere - but not caused or payed by any government.

Is intelligence dependent on the climate?

Since 1991 there has been the presumption that persistent heat affects the IQ over generations. It was initially assumed that living in lower temperatures requires a higher physical fitness and causes higher social demands. Richard Lynn, a professor at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland, also assumes that the colder temperatures increase the brain volume. Whether brain size is at all related to intelligence, is controversial.

In general, a hot climate is considered a disadvantage for the development of intelligence. The reason is nowadays primarily seen in the high physical energy demand and the resulting stress.

No racial dependences

None of the studies used here, conclude that the intelligence quotient is influenced by a particular race. In some cases, differences within population groups were found (e.g. in Basil: Blacks 71, Mulatto 81, Whites 95, Japaneses 99), but all differences could be attributed to their origin, level of education or other factors.

In 2006 Donald Templera and Hiroko Arikawab found a connection between increasing skin pigmentation and a decreasing IQ. Even this was not racially dued, because the pigmentation grade is climatically conditioned. The observations were also made within the same groups of other races, e.g. caucasians.

Data base

The intelligence quotients by countries are taken from the studies conducted by Richard Lynn and Tatu Vanhanen (2002), Heiner Rindermann (2007), Khaleefa and Lynn (2008), Ahmad, Khanum and Riaz (2008), Lynn, Abdalla and Al-Shahomee (2008), Lynn and Meisenberg (2010) as well as the PISA tests in 2003, 2006 and 2009. More recent results were weighted heigher. The studies are not entirely uncontroversial as they're often considering only specific population groups or only a few individuals per countries. If, on the other hand, an average is obtained from all the tests and studies, an at least usable overview will be obtained.

The figures for average income, population and education expenditures are based on World Bank data, which were averaged over the period from 1990 to 2010. This corresponds to the period during which the studies were carried out. Temperatures were averaged from the data of the German Weather Service of the same period.