There is growing consensus overseas that US financial regulation and taxation policies are arrogant, out of control and in a word: insane. Here's a very good essay by a middle of the road economist. Notable grafs:
BTW, London is really booming right now. The locals believe this is partly due to its legal system, which is not corrupt (like most countries) or completely insane (like the US.)
I can tell when outrage is real as opposed to mere self-interest at work. There is real outrage overseas. It may not be justified, but it is sincere. It isn’t just anger about tax shelters being closed down. There is a perception that the US is trying to make its laws apply everywhere in the world, not just in the US. That the US is a bully in the financial world in the same sort of way that Russia is a bully in foreign policy
Boris Johnson, who might well be a future Prime Minister, was (possibly?) told that he is no longer welcome to be a customer of National Savings and Investment, a major British investment company. His crime? He is tainted by having been born in New York. Even though he is British, and earns money being mayor of London, the fact that he is born in New York makes him a US citizen and hence a possible target of the US government. That’s an extreme case, but it shows the lengths to which the Treasury is willing to go.
This is what rule by government lawyer looks like. Brutal, lacking proportion or fairness and objectively insane. But why should our regulators behave any more rationally than our leaders.
It's crazy time at the DC corral with no sign that the clowns of both parties are going any time soon. Read the whole thing - it's well worth your while.
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