gamb00ler

The only time I would recommend sending large sums of US$ to Thailand is if the US$ looks to be falling with respect to the Thai ฿. The yields on deposits or the market opportunities in US are far superior to what's available here. Normally it's better to transfer what you need for the short term but have the ability to transfer larger sums when emergencies require it.

complete bunk. do you not include interest in the value of your IRA,401(k),SEP's? In 2010 the government would borrow exactly the same amount if it had to repay some Chinese investor instead of paying interest to the SS trust fund. The SS trust fund then judiciously decided to use that interest to pay benefits owed. I really can't believe you're so easily misled about this. and some more bunk. The Treasury borrows what it needs to service the national debt and the current fiscal year's deficit. It would borrow that same amount regardless of what the SS trust fund does with its capital. Therefor the national debt and the interest it accrues does not change when the SS trust fund buys a T-bill. The national debt is a continuing debt completely separate from SS funds. As T-bills mature, the capital plus interest is sent to the buyer of the T-bill and then a new T-bill is created and sold to replace the maturing issues. The national debt remains the same after the transition to the newly issued T-bills. Can you not understand that a loan from the SS fund is identical to a loan from any and all other T-bill purchasers? Like most investors with a maturing T-bill, the SS will keep its money safely invested by purchasing a new T-bill. The SS funds are invested in a revolving loan to be used by the Treasury to cover the revolving national debt. You're just being paranoid. There is no slight of hand. The dealings between the Treasury and the SS trust funds only differ in how the Treasury repays the T-bills principal plus interest. Instead of two cash transactions needed for the Treasury to repay the lender (SS trust fund) and then for the lender to purchase a new T-bill.... the Treasury just sends out the benefit payments via cheques and deposits, the total of which is then deducted from the amount owed to the SS trust fund. Other than that repayment method the dealings between Treasury and SS trust funds represent completely normal transactions between borrower and lender.

A post that fits in perfectly with your 'it's all about me' attitude.

Many jurisdictions impose fees/taxes that are almost exclusively targeting non-locals. Hotel room and car rental tax come to mind. Many US cities have these specific taxes in addition to sales taxes.

Your statement seems to be at odds with the ABC News article which said: Prosecutors said they then met with available family members last week, "weighed the right path forward and made a formal offer" to Kohberger. I see other new sites also disagree with the ABC News on that matter. Another reason for me to continue ignoring ABC.

How 👍

You have completely misunderstood what I have said in previous posts. I agree 100% with what is in the first half of the article from TheHill. The portion of TheHill article that begins with "And then here’s the dirty little secret" makes an error that far too many people make. It conflates two issues that are completely unrelated. The two issues are a) the national debt and b) the impending shortfall in SS funding of benefits from 2033 onward. That essay in TheHill appeared in the Opinion section and bears the typical disclaimer attached to opinion pieces. I see that the author is Merrill Matthews a member of the very right leaning Federalist Society. It's not surprising that he uses the 'dirty little secret' phrase to add spice to his fact challenged attack on a cherished component of the American safety net. Here's the historical year end balance reported for the SS OSDI trust fund for years '57 - '24: https://www.ssa.gov/oact/STATS/table4a3.html Should I point out in what year the reported annual balance begins to decline? Since 2010 there has been a shortfall between the total benefit expenditure and the total intake from FICA and SS taxes. Up until 2021 that shortfall was covered by the interest paid by the Treasury on the special bills held by the SS trust funds. The above linked SS web page clearly indicates what is happening with the trust funds. Appendix A: The relationship between the US national debt and the SS trust funds is identical to the relationship between the Treasury and all other investors in US T bills. Of course the Treasury sells new T-bills to pay off the old maturing T bills..... it can't work any other way. Mr. Matthews is just trying to gin up anger to be used for political gain. Well... at least he did get the facts in the first half correct. Loosely related but interesting details: https://www.pgpf.org/article/the-federal-government-has-borrowed-trillions-but-who-owns-all-that-debt/

Many AN posters have no clue how the exchange process works for credit and debit cards. The card processing companies set the exchange rate (VISA and MasterCard). No bank is involved in setting the exchange rate as long as you refuse the offer to have the transaction conducted in your home currency. Credit cards and debit cards use the exact same exchange rate. The exchange rate is set once each day at about 7AM (Thai time) on Tu, W, Th,F and Sat. You can check the rates online whenever you like. The exchange rate used is the one in effect on the day the transaction is initiated. The rates are not terrible unless your home country's currency rises sharply after 7AM. The card processors won't change the rate to follow until the next business day. I find the card's exchange rate (for US$) is usually within .33% of WISE's rate unless the currency is very volatile around the transaction time. If you choose your credit/debit card(s) with no foreign transaction fees and an issuer that refunds ATM fees (Schwab does) you will not pay any fees for purchases or cash advance on debit cards. With such cards your net result will be very competitive with WISE after deducting WISE's fees. Currently only Krungsri bank will allow cash advances (at the teller) on debit cards with the caveat that VISA cardholders will pay a 200 baht fee but there is no fee for MasterCard holders. The max cash advance is 150K baht.

To me it sounds like the poor victim could have been cheated by some kind of charlatan. Maybe some misguided fool convinced him that advice from 1880 was the gold standard and the victim wasted all his money on very old medical science. The internet and the 'research' some poor souls take as gospel has really led some folks down the wrong path.

You've forgotten the heavy dosage of confirmation bias that you apply to your 'research'. That heavy layer of bias means your crazy notions just won't clear even the lowest threshold of logic.

Not much useful content. Perhaps you could advise the OP how to avoid some of the graft that banks try to pull off (eg. need to buy some other product) when newbies ask for an account.

Have you ever seen the per capita GDP differential between Thailand and Germany? Germany is 17th in the world @ 56K and Thailand is 94th with < 8K.

How long before the virus deniers on here pounce spouting advice from the 1880's? I predict before 10AM.

USA is so lucky that the top guy still 'cares' about the opinions of every voter.

In August 2021 I successfully opened accounts at SCB. I only took along my passport, my Thai tax ID and a Certificate of Residency from Thai Immigration. I was and still am on a retirement extension so obviously no work permit. I opened an EZ Savings account at SCB. It pays 1.5% on up to 2M on deposit. Initially the SCB staff said I needed a work permit but they were also willing to call their support staff and confirm that I could open accounts with my current immigration status and documentation. In December '24 I opened an account at Krungsri with the same documentation. They did not ever say I needed a work permit. At the same time as I opened all the accounts, I requested that the banks not withhold any tax on the interest I earn on the deposits. I don't expect I will ever owe any tax in Thailand so I didn't want to file taxes to get back what little tax was withheld. All 4 of my banks complied and don't withhold any tax. I recommend SCB bank for its higher interest. I hope you're successful on your first bank visit.

Since Koch's era in the 1880's humans have determined that ducks can fly and that viruses do exist. Haven't you heard?

You're not 'arf as smart as ya tink. Or, we're twice as smart as ya tink.

I think you must live on the same plot as @owl sees all. He has a 'duck house' just like you.

Calls to Canada and USA over WiFi are free from anywhere. If I have an excellent mobile data connection to my Thai provider, then I can also make GV calls using that connection. Essentially I have 3 phone lines on my iPhone XR, a True number, an UltraMobile number from USA and my GV number. The last two must connect over a data connection or WiFi.

https://voice.google.com/u/0/rates

Koch's work was very good in the 1880's. Do you only have very old material to learn from? I assume you use gas and oil lamps the same as Koch used since electrification was extremely rare those days. I like the kerosene lamps myself because they amazed me when I was under 10. Here's a recent publication that identifies the flaws in that 19th century effort by Koch. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/kochs-postulates Enjoy, read and join the modern era!

I use Google Voice (GV). There is a mobile phone app and you can use on your computer as well via a webpage. The call recipient can be on any landline or mobile with no app. I don't call any country other than USA and Canada which are free to call using GV. Many years ago I did use GV rarely to call Thailand from US and the rates were reasonable but the connection was mediocre. Lately my connections to USA from Thailand have been near perfect so the connections have probably improved. I think you may need the assistance of someone in the USA to help you set it up initially. I did that myself before I moved here 5 years ago. GV requires an actual US based phone number to get started. If you need more help, just ask on AN. There are many GV users here.

Yeah... sign me up.... I'll write a chat bot to fill your misinformation group with real information. Sorta like your role here only faster!

See above. All in English and layman's terminology. Easy peasy..... can you not read?

Even your all time hero, Koch abandoned one of his postulates (assumptions). Here's a breakdown of the refutations and limitations of the 140 year old Koch postulates: 1. Viruses and Prions: Viruses: Koch's postulates were originally designed for bacteria and other culturable microorganisms. Viruses, being obligate intracellular parasites, cannot be grown in pure culture outside a host cell, making it impossible to fulfill postulates 2 and 3. Prions: These infectious proteins cannot be grown in culture and also don't elicit an immune response, making them impossible to identify using Koch's postulates. 2. Asymptomatic Carriers: Koch abandoned the first postulate when he discovered asymptomatic carriers of cholera, where an individual carries the pathogen without showing symptoms. Modern understanding of diseases recognizes that many pathogens can be carried without causing illness, making it difficult to definitively link a microbe to a disease solely based on its presence in all affected individuals. 3. Difficulty Culturing Pathogens: Some pathogens are difficult or impossible to grow in the lab, even with modern techniques, preventing the fulfillment of postulate 2 (isolation and culture). Examples include viruses, some bacteria, and certain fungi. 4. Polymicrobial Infections: Koch's postulates tend to focus on a single pathogen causing a disease, but many diseases are actually caused by a combination of different microorganisms. This polymicrobial nature makes it challenging to isolate and test the role of each individual microbe in the disease process. 5. Genetic and Host Factors: Individuals can have different susceptibilities to the same pathogen due to genetic factors or other underlying health conditions, meaning the pathogen may not always cause the disease in every individual. This variability makes it difficult to apply the postulates universally. 6. Molecular Koch's Postulates and Alternatives: Modern approaches, like molecular Koch's postulates, focus on identifying specific genes in a pathogen that are responsible for causing disease. Techniques like PCR and DNA sequencing have also been developed to identify pathogens, even those that are difficult to culture, and to establish links between pathogens and diseases. Other criteria, such as the Bradford Hill criteria, are also used to establish causality in infectious diseases.