So I guess that's it? With a whimper not a bang? The extra

[DFW]

88. My own personal situation is, and should be, irrelevant to any legislator

Almost no one is in my situation, and the last thing I have a right to do is expect the enactment of legislation for my own personal benefit. I fall through a number of cracks, and I have accepted it. My wife was a social worker in Germany before she retired. She knows full well that several hundred thousand Germans are without health coverage, because for decades, she worked with such people, trying to get them somehow back in "the system," although Germany's problem is that they don't have one, They have about ten.

The only legislation I want enacted affects more than just me. It affects about six million Americans living overseas, and that is residence-based taxation. The USA is one of exactly THREE countries in the world that does not recognize residence-based taxation. One of the other two is Eritrea, and the third is some other small nation in Africa, I forget which. All Americans with legal residences overseas are required to file US tax returns, which are expensive (due to local taxes also needing to be filed, causing expensive accountants' bills), and, in some cases, causing double taxation, despite existing treaties intended to avoid it.

I WISH I were replaceable!! For the benefits my job offers, you'd think I'd find a few people jumping at the chance to apply. The trouble is, the specific requirements, when put together, are difficult to assemble on one person, and two or three don't work. It was great when I didn't want the competition for my position--I never had any. But now, it works to my detriment.