There are several severe limitations to how big of a movement this could really be: 1) Let's say, just for instance, that all computer programmers in Europe and the US switch places, and become Permanent Tourists. Do you think that anyone would notice? Do you think there might be some sort of action taken at the national government level? Would it be effective? 2) Even in this highly select hypothetical group, I would say that the vast majority still don't even grasp or have access to the basic technology for using even the most simple net tools. Even if we eliminated all of the COBOL programmers, we'd still be looking at a tough row to hoe. 3) One of the persistent problems in solving unemployment problems in both the US and Europe is that folks JUST WON'T MOVE. This is more true in Europe than the US, but we can look at numerous examples where the need for particular skills (or any skills at all) will evaporate in one part of the country while there are shortages elsewhere. Some people will have sufficient gumption to load up the U-Haul and beat it, but most will hang around, going on welfare and engaging in cargo-cult-like behavior waiting for jobs to appear from the sky. Most Americans are hidebound, closed-minded people who couldn't even find the US on an unlabelled map, much less MOVE to another COUNTRY. 4) The inability of most of our fellow citizens to process text and numbers is staggering; it's not clear by any means that they're ready for jobs in their same CITY where they live, if it involves any significant reading or writing skills. How are these people going to fare in your scenario? Remeber, they're still citizens of an alleged democracy and thus have their collective finger on one of the largest coercive apparati in the world. 5) If folks don't move, but try to get cute with where their income is coming from, they will almost certainly be persecuted by the IRS, independent of current law, if their numbers become significant. This is probably true even if foreign nationals are involved, especially if they pose any significant load on government services. Imagine the resentment of, say, a local rancher, tied to physical and taxable goods: "Awww, he's onenna them computer-head tax evaders, think he's so smart. I'm a-gonna point out him out to the tax boys, and they'll fix him but good." It wouldn't take too many "examples" to force whatever tax regime the IRS felt was necessary. The majority of taxpayers in this country are *not* going to be to be PTs for a long, long time, or are employed in professions where it simply won't work (teaching, day-care, nursing, car repair, food service, plumbing, construction, agricultural labor, physical plant maintenance, transportation and delivery, product assembly, live entertainment, etc., and, of course, the government itself). I think that individuals like you, and the others on this list, may slowly leak out of the US economy over the next ten years, but it will probably pass largely unnoticed; if it gains enough momentum, someone *will* notice and take steps to make it sufficiently chancy that most folks will cough up some or all of the required taxes. The vast majority of folks, even the high-tech industry, are unwilling to do anything that would take them out of their cozy home towns or suburban enclaves, force them to ship the enormous quantities of material crud that they've acquired across one ocean or another, or, god forbid, run afoul of the IRS. -- ---------------- /\ Douglas Barnes cman@illuminati.io.com / \ Chief Wizard (512) 448-8950 (d), 447-7866 (v) / () \ Illuminati Online metaverse.io.com 7777 /______\