Henry Farrell posts on the latest government boondoggle. He describes the various degrees of silliness at great length, which renders further comment by me unnecessary, a good thing since words rather fail me when contemplating this stupid proposal. To paraphrase Greg Mankiw on the minimum wage, the idea is a subsidy to promote foreign travel to the United States--paid for by a tax on foreign travel to the United States.
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And here I thought we already had that program: deflate the dollar to 60% of a Euro, then wait for foreign tourists to show up and spend money.
The really fun ones are the Germans who show up from the land of E1.50/L gas, run the conversion between the exchange rates and the dominant units, and exclaim "Hot Gazoobies! We're paying like 2.3x as much as you guys, we have got to BURN some of this stuff", then promptly rent a Big Honking V8-Powered Anything for two weeks just to see what it's like.
The Mickey Tax seems to be the result of what happens when you take many smart people with all their corresponding egos and eccentricities hire them to do a job that makes watching a snail look exciting. Throw them together in a bureaucracy and wait for the rimshots on an 8-piece to start coming.
Might as well have a bunch a chimps beating drums with letters on them.
I mirror aMouseforallSeasons' sentiments. Devaluing our currency has made the US a more attractive tourist destination for foreigners and made it more expensive for Americans to travel abroad to Europe. Isn't that enough?
then promptly rent a Big Honking V8-Powered Anything for two weeks just to see what it's like.
And discover that the US has suburban backyards the size of their country, which puts those gas prices into perspective.
Seems to me it would be easier to just cut back on all the hassle of coming into the U.S. so more visitors will come and, you know, buy stuff. But I'm not an economist.
Is it a hassle to come here? I guess I wouldn't know since I'm American and my only experience is coming back.
Its a hassle to visit many countries, though a trip to Europe in April I was surprised that customs took about 30 seconds, even for the Taiwanese traveler with us. (Previously, they took longer.) I doubt they even looked at the people and the passport.
In the US, different airports have different service levels. SFO is always fast. LAX is miserably slow. Its the lines that make it a hassle, not the fingerprinting, etc. That's very fast actually.
Why don't Europeans vaction in the US? Seriously? Italians, Spaniards, Greeks tend to drive up to Germany, Bavaria, the Fiordlands. Whereas Scandinavians, Germans, Poles, tend to migrate down to the Mediterranean and Black sea areas. This is a time honored European country swap that occurrs every August. Europeans don't come to the US to learn, relax or otherwise spend a month or so of their time on a large scale for the simple fact: its a lot of work for a vacation. Thats it right there WORK for a VACATION. That is not the continents style. The British Isles of course have quite a different outlook though. Thats probably why the Tin Billy in Brisbane Australia looks like an Irish Pub. But I suspect they're hesitant about the states for another reason, Europeans in general don't want to go to the US. I don't know if its generic indifference, irrational fear, or cultural arrogance, but as a whole Europeans are disinclined to come to the US. Especially to leave the relative sanctuary of the mid-Atlantic to Northeast states. I seldom see people from Europe in Oregon, and I only see them in very controlled areas of LA, San Diego, and San Francisco in California.
ben,
Keep in mind there is a cultural aspect to this. Let's imagine that some portion of tourists like to see old buildings and their historical roots.
That means Europeans will stay in Europe...and Americans will go to Europe.
If you just want summer sun and the beach, of course you just fly down to Mallorca or Florida.
As an American who lives abroad most of the year, I can say that US Customs and Border is not very nice to people without US passports. I have a few friends who won't travel to the US again after having been stuck in a room at the border for a few hours.
The whole process for foreign visitors is pretty much "guilty until proven innocent." It is a major hassle, and when Europeans can visit 25 countries with no passport check, I can see why they wouldn't bother with the US.
It is a major hassle, and when Europeans can visit 25 countries with no passport check, I can see why they wouldn't bother with the US.
When I came back from Europe, they didn't seem to give people a hassle at all. This is despite large groups of foreigners jamming into the US citizens only line and not speaking a word of English. It's probably about as difficult as Americans headed into a major European country.
I bet many Europeans don't bother coming over on holiday, for the same reason many Americans don't bother heading over to Europe. It costs quite a bit more for travel, the flight is long and the jet lag sucks. If I want a relaxing vacation there are many places far closer than Europe I can go to.
I'm an American living and working in the UK for a company that requires a great deal of international travel. The number of horror stories about US customs and immigration I have heard from my co-workers and friends with European, African, and Asian passports is stunning. I know that I encounter nothing like they do either going back to the US or traveling anywhere else and I know it significantly shapes their choices about business and holiday travel, educational choices for their children and overall attitudes toward the US. We are fooling ourselves if we don't think this is a problem. Making the the entry smoother, easier and more pleasant and advertising the US more (esp. different destinations) would be a good thing on many levels.
The number of interesting places in the US is somewhat smaller than the number of interesting places in Florence.
The number of interesting places in the US is somewhat smaller than the number of interesting places in Florence
Yes but without a key ingredient: Florentines.
>The number of interesting places in the US is somewhat smaller than the number of interesting places in Florence.
*blink*
The number of interesting places in lower Manhattan alone is countably infinite.
Florence is a nice day trip to squeeze in between Venice and Rome. (See the David, have coffee by a charming old fountain covered in pigeon excrement, move on.)
The number of horror stories about US customs and immigration I have heard from my co-workers and friends with European, African, and Asian passports is stunning.
And I work for a company that has a large number of international employees and customers. I haven't heard from a single one of them a horror story about entering the US. Many of these people are from Middle Eastern countries as well. I think the Europeans are just spoiled by the ease with which they can travel between European countries.
As for the US not having interesting places, that's going way too far. I think some people just need to travel within their own country a bit more. You could easily spend a lifetime traveling the US.
I'm trying to see how this is much different than the hotel/rental car taxes that many places charge. And is anyone really going to change their travel plans because of a new $10 fee?
The number of interesting places in the US is somewhat smaller than the number of interesting places in Florence.
Your search term of the day is "United States National Parks and Monuments." Try a few; they might reshape your outlook.