| Why I left my country (USA)to become an immigrant in Vienna Austria. Indeed, why would anyone leave their home for new laws, different language, different foods, different social customs. The very same reason both my great grandfathers left Ireland to come to America, opportunity, and a better way of life! Our family are all US born citizens. I am a registered republican, highly educated, and have founded 2 successful companies in Silicon Valley, and now a third in Vienna, Austria. Our family left the United States 9 years ago. We will not return until the US is once again a land of opportunity. I am a proud American. I am proud of my country,and it's citizens. I am not proud of the kleptocracy that the State and Federal governments have become. I saw the financial industry collapse and "great recession" as inevitable back in 2002 when we left. Yes the immigration system in Austria is highly dysfunctional and just as self defeating to entrepreneurs as in America. Attractions: Austria has a highly effective social welfare system, social health insurance system, career training, apprenticeships, and no cost higher educational system. As a direct result, Viennese society is one of the safest on the face of the earth. Kindergarten children take the subway and streetcars to school by themselves. The European Union actively funds "open source development", and requires much of its research to be made open source.
Software patents in Europe, which exist, are unenforceable.
The US government sells its research to the highest bidder, depriving its citizens of its use. Europe believes in returning its research to its citizens use. Austria, Germany Switzerland, and France are growing rapidly, and have record low unemployment rates. Austria is currently at 4.6 percent. Vienna has been the top Mercer world city for 2 years in a row. A very trusting society, papers are placed in plastic satchels, with a coin box attached. The subway and train systems have no entry / exit barriers or gates. A simple ticket stamping machine sits on a post. In a highly trusting society, there is no need for steel newspaper boxes or oppressive barriers. Austrian's are protected by law from overwork, and as a result, are very healthy, utilizing far less heathcare services than the typical American. Austria, Germany, and France are the best countries for an American to emigrate to. Vivek Wadhwa fails to realize that immigrant founders actually deprive Americans of key jobs. Founders jobs. Immigrants are the only people desperate enough to accept the immoral yet legal terms offered by many Vulture Capitalists. A legal form of slavery. Nothing else explains the high percentage of immigrant founders adequately. I was witness to several immigrants having lost control of their own companies just as they became profitable. The US must actively recruit each and every foreign born entrepreneur, engineer and scientist they can find, in order to grow the economy to at least 7 percent a year, or it will be bankrupt before 2025. By throwing wide the doors to foreign immigration, the Vulture Capitalists would be unable to exploit foreign immigrants. The playing field for both immigrant and US citizen would be equal. The US would, within a few years, drastically reverse its trade deficit to a significant surplus. Just as Austria, Germany, and France currently enjoy. I don't see that happening, and so the US government will be deprived of vital tax revenue from the next great technological advance. US corporations have parked 2 trillion dollars of profits overseas, to avoid paying US taxes. I highly recommend US citizens act with haste to emigrate to a new home in either Europe or Asia before the Hobsian society arrives in force, resulting in an exodus tidal wave of Americans. |
I doubt Germany, Austria and France are churning out more scientists & engineers than the US. They most definitely are not churning out more entrepreneurs. In fact they're barely producing a next generation - these are aging demographics, and their advanced social benefits (which in general I support) will be especially hard to sustain when there aren't enough working age tax payers around.
Pretty much every criticism of American government & big business easily applies to these nations, and in addition they are also now tethered to corrupt governments like Greece and malfunctioning economies like Spain and Ireland.
Visit NYC and Silicon Valley, and you'll find EU expats who come there to fulfill their entrepreneurial ambitions. TThat's part of the reason a "startup visa" is even an issue in the US.* You don't hear much talk of startup visas in Europe - not because it's easier to migrate there, simply because there aren't thousands of people who want to move there and start companies.
There isn't a single place in Europe that's even close to Silicon Valley or even Boston in terms of startup environment. America has a lot of problems, but the EU is at least in as bad a shape.