“The bottom line is that anyone can be ISIS. We
therefore need an approach to securing civilized societies that doesn't allow
individuals to hide behind the cloak of Western passports… The time has come
for a "global passport," a parallel digital certification of a
person's identity, background, criminal record, travel history, and other
details. The digital record would be regularly updated based on databases
from airlines, customs agencies, banks and other sources, and could be
managed by an independent international authority.”
The above quote comers from CNN, an American news
network that has done such an exemplary job in recent years in serving as a
mouthpiece for the US Government.
The argument for global passports is a familiar
one – “You are in danger of being killed by terrorists. We will save you by
removing yet another of your freedoms.” Or, as Hermann Goering said,
“The people can always be brought to the
bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they
are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and
exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.”
Over one billion people presently cross borders
each year. In addition, there are over 250 million people who are expatriates
– living outside their home country. These numbers are higher than ever
before in history and growing. As The Great Unravelling progresses, we will
witness a dramatic increase in both statistics. Along the way, we can expect
the more restrictive governments, particularly those of the EU and US, to
institute limitations on travel for their citizens, in order to keep them
captive at home.
So, we can therefore anticipate changes in the
issuance of passports. There are two concepts afoot with regard to the future
of passports, and they’re direct opposites to each other. The first is for a
Global Passport, that all countries would issue and all would share computer
information on all passport holders. The other is a proliferation of
passports created by an easing of citizenship requirements in small
countries, resulting in each individual having the ability to possess several
passports, thus diminishing his “ownership” by his home country.
These two concepts are both almost certain
to develop considerably in the coming years and for the same reason. As
stated, the more restrictive countries are likely to push for a global
passport – an Orwellian document that says, “No matter where you are, you
travel on our document. We have all your information and we own you.” The
more this trend increases in prominence, the more the second trend will
increase, in direct reaction. More and more countries will offer citizenship
to non-nationals, as the demand for freedom increases amongst oppressed
people.
Most of the countries that presently offer
“Citizenship by Investment” are small countries – Malta and Cyprus in the
Mediterranean, plus five island nations in the Caribbean – Grenada, Antigua
& Barbuda, St. Kitts & Nevis, Dominica and, recently, St. Lucia.
A visit to any of the small Caribbean countries
will reveal that, since the decline of the sugar industry, they have had few
choices with regard to future prosperity. Quaint small towns and villages and
nice beaches attract a certain amount of tourism, but something greater is
needed to support an entire population. Decades ago, St. Kitts & Nevis
decided to try Citizenship by Investment. At first, the takers were few, but,
in recent years, with much of the world imploding, the programme has
attracted greater interest.
The way it works is that an applicant can either
buy citizenship (approval takes only a month or two) for $250,000, or he can
buy into a real estate project for $400,000 or more. Due to recent success,
other island nations have jumped on board, offering their own programmes… and
here’s where it gets interesting.
As soon as eight or ten island nations are
offering similar programmes, it will become a citizenship norm for the
Caribbean. And, of course, that will mean competition will develop. With many
countries to choose from, prices will need to drop. At some point, national
leaders will seek to increase gross sales by lowering the sale price.
Although $400,000 is out of reach to most who dream of buying an alternate
passport, there will be far more takers at $200,000 or even $100,000, but I
believe the magic price-point to be $50,000. At that price, hundreds of
thousands of second-passport seekers will jump on board. Indeed, many will
purchase passports from several islands. (If one backup-passport is good,
multiple backup-passports are better.)
But, why are “bargain” passports not already
available? From my own experience, as a West Indian, this is due to the fact
that our political leaders often fear a dramatic influx of new voters. They
feel safer appealing to natives than outsiders and worry that the electorate
balance may be upset and cost them their seats in future elections.
Yet, many West Indian countries already have laws
that limit the rights of new citizens (with particular regard to the right to
run for public office). To date, none of these countries has figured out that
citizenship without the right to vote is an easy solution. Once they
twig onto this new category of citizenship, we may see a major drop in
citizenship cost and a dramatic increase in the number of applicants.
At present, the passport schemes have attracted
Russians, Canadians, Middle-Easterners, Chinese and, increasingly, Americans.
At present, the US is the foremost objector to Citizenship by Investment,
describing its purpose to be “to provide cover for financial crimes.”
However, over one hundred other countries, including most of Europe accept
the passports and the US is very much in the minority here.
This is an issue to be watched closely.
Historically, whenever governments have put the squeeze on their citizens’
freedoms, citizens have reacted by trying to wriggle out. The squeeze in many
countries is presently at its zenith and many, many people are voting with
their feet. There will always be takers in the world when this occurs and, in
the Caribbean, opportunities for increased freedom are very much on the
increase.
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Jeff Thomas is British and resides in the Caribbean. The son of an
economist and historian, he learned early to be distrustful of governments
as a general principle. Although he spent his career creating and
developing businesses, for eight years, he penned a weekly newspaper column
on the theme of limiting government. He began his study of economics around
1990, learning initially from Sir John Templeton, then Harry Schulz and
Doug Casey and later others of an Austrian persuasion. He is now a regular
feature writer for Casey Research’s International Man
(http://www.internationalman.com) and Strategic Wealth Preservation in the
Cayman Islands.
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The author is not affiliated with, endorsed or sponsored by Sprott Money
Ltd. The views and opinions expressed in this material are those of the
author or guest speaker, are subject to change and may not necessarily
reflect the opinions of Sprott Money Ltd. Sprott Money does not guarantee the
accuracy, completeness, timeliness and reliability of the information or any
results from its use.
