The regime change in the (still currently) USA has led to sky-high levels of anxiety and hopelessness. To wit, many feel distraught, angry, disgusted, scared, betrayed, depressed, and/or exhausted -- and don't have any idea what they can do about it. The way I see it, there are three distinct paths of action unhappy Americans can follow right now: plot to fight for your life here, plot to leave, put your head in the sand and hope for the best. I cannot know which approach is best for you as it is an intensely personal decision, but I can offer a little direction on the options that do not include putting your head in the sand.
I want to stay but don't know what to do!
This is tough as there is no consensus or indication of efficacy on how to protect your family, finances, or democracy. Plus, everyone has their own limits on how much they can handle and are willing to risk. I am going to address a couple of widely espoused action items which might help protect our democracy, and maybe your finances. But, to be clear, I cannot say any of these will make a difference. Still, it can't hurt to try, right??
Protecting our democracy:
Legal channels are being flooded with law suits and judges have already blocked some of the most unconstitutional of Trump's Executive Orders (like birthright citizenship & paying for grants already approved). Contacting and supporting advocacy groups (financially and/ or emotionally) can always help. Reach out to your preferred groups or unions and ask what they need most from you. (In my experience, it is usually calling congresspeople and donating money.)
Call and visit your elected representatives to let them know that you are not happy with what's going on. Calling and visiting (locally or in Washington, DC) is apparently far more impactful than emailing or texting.
Check out 5 Calls which provides phone numbers and verbiage on any number of troublesome issues. I have heard from many that this is super-easy and we already know that the switchboard in congress has been taking unprecedented numbers of calls, so I'm guessing it is working.
If the theft of your personal information from the Treasury computers is a top issue for you, email privacy@treasury.gov and demand protection of (y)our personal information and privacy rights. Sample of text to use is here:
If you are worried about repercussions from personal communications, people (the ubiquitous people) say you should close out and delete communications from WhatsApp (a Meta app) and switch to something called Signal Messenger, which is widely believed to be more secure than WhatsApp.
If you are concerned about tracking and have an iPhone with the latest ios version, you likely have Apple Intelligence and Siri reading all your apps. To turn this function off, you need to:
Get into your Settings and open Siri. Then scroll down to the very bottom and you'll see “apps.” You will then need to open each app and toggle OFF the "Learn from this App" button. OR you can:
Go into your settings, and open Apps
Open each App individually, find the button that says Apple Intelligence or Siri, and click on that button
Toggle it off
At the very least, this is recommend for your messaging apps, but to be extra secure, do this for all apps.
Protecting your finances:
[DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT A FINANCIAL PROFESSIONAL (NOR DO I PLAY ONE ON TV) SO KEEP THAT IN MIND AND SPEAK WITH AN EXPERT IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS!]
There is no way to know what the future will bring financially, nor even whether this country's medicare and social security programs will be around much longer. And, with many people concerned about a depression coming and Musk and his minions (with Trump's permission apparently) having accessed our most personal information (social security numbers, banking records, etc.), there's good reason for concern. So I am sharing some action items I've read about to help you avoid fraud (we don't know what will be done with our personal information, after all) and try to protect your money.
Put a credit freeze on your accounts. Unless you are likely to need a credit report pulled in the immediate future (buying a car or house, getting a loan or credit card, etc), the single easiest thing you can do right now is to have the three credit reporting agencies freeze your credit. It is free and easy to undo. Here are the links: Experian, TransUnion, Equifax.
Close/ change the bank account which is associated with your tax payments. The routing and account number may be used for fraud. At the very least, set up two-factor authentication for access to your banking if you do not already have that in place (which you should, IMO).
Have the IRS establish a PIN for you to use when filing your taxes if you do not have this set up already. This will deter fraud.
While I am in no way recommending this, I have heard of a decent number of people making changes due to a lack of confidence in their future income streams... If you are one of those questioning the funding of your pension or social security benefits, perhaps consider taking pension or social security payments early. The thinking is that it is better to get at least some now than potentially none (or less) later...
I want out!
If you are looking to leave the US, there are some options, but none which work for everyone. It seems the easiest way to get papers allowing you to live abroad is to have family who will sponsor you. If that isn't in the cards, there are three other paths I have found: through ancestry, through working, and through investing...
If you have direct ancestral lineage to certain countries, you may be able to apply for an ancestry passport. Requirements are country-specific and require proof of lineage which may be difficult to find. Here's a non-exhaustive list of countries that offer citizenship based on descent (some have links, some don't):
Australia: Australia allows citizenship by descent for eligible applicants born outside the country if at least one of their parents was an Australian citizen at the time of the applicant's birth.
India: India allows citizenship by descent if one of the eligible applicant's parents is an Indian citizen.3 Children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of a person of Indian origin may be eligible for overseas citizenship of India (OCI), a form of citizenship that has restrictions compared to full citizenship.4
Ireland automatically gives citizenship to individuals if one of their parents was an Irish citizen born in Ireland. Otherwise, eligible applicants can become citizens if one of their grandparents was born in Ireland or if one of their parents was an Irish citizen at the time of their birth but was not born in Ireland
Italy is known as one of the easiest countries to receive citizenship through descent. Individuals may be eligible for it so long as they can prove ancestral ties to Italy. The number of generations is not limited
South Africa: Individuals born outside of South Africa can become South African citizens if their parents were citizens at their birth.
UK Citizenship to the UK is usually automatically passed down for one generation to children born outside of the country. Children of British parents can apply if they were not automatically given citizenship
If you are young/ still working and have a skill set which is in demand, you can apply for jobs abroad (which may or may not include paths of citizenship). Pick your country of choice and look up their visa/ immigration/ citizenship requirements. Some countries are easier to enter than others (Iceland is really hard!).
If you are older/ retired/ almost retired/ have a lot of money. If you have enough money (to invest in your country of choice), you can buy what is known as a golden visa/ passport. According to Conde Nast Traveler (2/22/2025) here are the top golden visa programs. Feel free to google any of them if you want more information.
Australia National Innovation Visa Program
Austria Private Residence Program
Canada Start-Up Visa Program
Canada Quebec Investor Immigration Program
Costa Rica Residence by Investment Program
Cyprus Permanent Residence Program
Greece Golden Visa Program
Hong Kong Visa Programs
Hungary Guest Investor Program
Italy Residence by Investment Program
Jersey Residence by Investment
Latvia Residence by Investment Program
Luxembourg Residence by Investment Program
Malaysia My Second Home Program
Malaysia Premium Visa Program
Malta Permanent Residence Programme
Mauritius Residence by Investment Program
Monaco Residence
Montenegro Residence
Namibia Residence by Investment
New Zealand Active Investor Plus Visa Program
Panama Residence by Investment Program
Portugal Golden Residence Permit Program
Singapore Global Investor Program
Spain Residence by Investment Program
Swiss Residence Program
Thailand Residence by Investment Program
UAE Residence by Investment
UK Innovator Founder Program
Well, wasn't that a fun read? I had very much hoped I would not be writing any other politically (ish)-focused posts, but people have been asking, and as my credo is "Knowledge Is Power," I felt obliged to share these ideas with you. Use them as you see fit and I wish you all success in whatever path you choose.
Peace out.
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