jas007

I use the work magic because I think people should take the supposed benefits of tariffs with a grain of salt. On the other hand, the alternative is a recipe for disaster, sooner, rather than later. Have you done the math not he sustainability of an ever increasing federal debt in the face of rising interest rates? As for economists and their overwhelming beliefs? The vast majority of those people are Keynesian, correct? In other words, their mentality is suspect. It's those same people and that same thought process that got the country into the mess it's in. Anyway, their game isn't the only game in town. Ever hear of Austrian economics? Or the Chicago School and Milton Friedman? It has all evolved, for sure, but the last people you want to listen to right now is a Keynesian economist.

In reality, or in fantasyland? In reality, tax cuts, without more, will enable more of the same nonsense. Expand the debt and kick the can down the road. It works until such time as it doesn't and then we're all in trouble. Whether you know it or not, America and much of the rest of the world exists in a debt based system. You think you have money? Unless you have gold or silver, you have debt. Your dividend payments are debt. Your retirement funds are probably packed with lots of debt based instruments. Even Social Security is backed by debt. The Social Security "trust fund" is nothing but a bunch of special purpose US bonds. Of course, some payments are paid into the system by those currently working. But at some point in the future, those payments won't cover the benefits owed. I think the current system runs short in the year 2034 or so, unless they make some changes. In Trump fantasyland, which I happen to think is our best hope right now, tax cuts help keep everything afloat while his tariffs works their magic. Short term economic pain in exchange for a more prosperous future without the rest of the world leeching off America. We had all better hope that Tump and his team are successful in pulling that off. Unfortunately, there are some people who have been well and truly brainwashed. They really do think their problem is Elon Musk, one of the people trying to save the system. Ands yet why would anyone want to help the people committing waste, fraud, and abuse? Why would anyone be happy that other people are living off their hard earned pay? It's a truly insane position to think that way. In a worst case scenario, the US dollar may well have another five years or so as the world's reserve currency. It's in need around the world for various reasons, and isn't going to just disappear overnight. Use that five years wisely, if you can. It may be your only hope to get out of this mess in one piece.

How do I reconcile that with inflation? Simple. Debt. Debt that is unsustainable and a banking system that is currently on life support. The failure of it all is just a matter of time. So far, they've managed to keep it all afloat, but not without a lot of trickery. Every time there's a crisis, the Fed has an "infinite" supply of money to give to the banks, to Wall Street, and to seemingly anyone else who needs it. The Fed even bailed out overseas banks. Did you know that? During his term, Greenspan once said: "Anyone on Wall Street that needs any money, give it to them." Fast forward to 2025 and we now have a banking system that's "too big to fail." It's stated policy. The "Fed put." Do I think Trump can fix any of this and "Make America Great Again"? Nope. But we had all better hope those guys are successful at what they're trying to do. Maybe the decline of the US Empire can be managed. Maybe it'll just fade away over a few hundred years like every other empire in history. I'd be OK with that. If Trump and his team fail, it won't be a pretty picture. However much "money" you think you have, it won't be enough.

Anyone who has ever worked for the government will tell you, if they're being honest, that most of the work is done by about 20% of the people. 30% more sort of work, and the other 50% could be gone tomorrow and no one would ever notice the difference. The question is: how to identify the people that are worthless? Currently, they're protected by unions and civil service regulations. So it's not so simple. And yet some balked at having to reply to an email questioning what they did last week.

I have some of that and some other cryptos I've had since 2017. I still don't trust it, though. Where did it come from? Did they ever figure out who created it? One time, Jaime Dimon (CEO of Chase) stated that anyone who thinks the creator didn't leave a back door somewhere is crazy. Maybe it's a government program designed to introduce the world to an alternate source of money? Money they control? Personally, I don't really trust the government with anything. I don't have much choice, though, so I do the best I can.

In other words, you can't win this argument. Not in a million years. The value of the dollar is, for the most part, vanishing as I type his. And to the extent that, for some purposes, the value of the dollar has increased, there's a good explanation. Some factors are deflationary. Computerization, for example. The invention of the silicon chip was hugely deflationary. For example, offices full of accountants keeping track of budget expenditures have been replaced by a computer somewhere, and all those people previously employed doing so had to look for other work. The AI revolution that's under way now will be deflationary. Millions will be put out of work by AI agents, self driving cars and taxis, robots. It's all coming and it can't be stopped. Other expenditures couldn't be shipped overseas and perhaps can't be performed by robots in the future. Education, health care, etc. Costs for these are through the roof, no?

Blood in the streets? That might happen, but it probably won't be from rioting grandmas and grandpas. Will some people lose out in the process? Sure. The fraudsters and the people who have been scamming the system for years. The people collecting checks who don't even show up to work. They'll be screaming bloody murder and they'll be torching car dealerships and they'll be trying to blame everyone but themselves.

So, how are you controlling yours? What's your plan, going forward? If you have a foolproof solution, let us know.

Let's assume that's right. What then? Who do you trust? The people who have been destroying the dollar since 1913? The politicians who enable them? The "Democrats." The Republicans? Some people are advocating for a return to "sound money." That's what the constitution calls for. Gold and silver. Go read it. And yet somewhere along the line that idea went by the wayside and here we are. If you'd rather not trust "people" when it comes to your money, that's reasonable. Buy some real money with your increasingly worthless dollars. Buy some gold coins. Maybe buy some silver. Find a place to hide it and hope nobody steals it from you.

Of course it's about the "value" of the dollar. People aren't totally stupid. But even you must admit, if you're honest, that the "value" of the dollar has decreased over time. Nothing goes in a straight line, but that's the unmistakeable trend. In recent memory, depending on how old people are, I'm sure there are people here who remember the America they grew up in. The Post-WWII America and the great middle class that once was but that has now mostly disappeared, thanks to the politicians, the debt based banking system, and the Fed. Before long, they'll own it all. That's the plan. "You'll own nothing and you'll be happy." Was that Klaus Schwab at the WEF? In the Post WWII US economy, A single man could graduate from high school, find a factory job in one day, and with the pay from that one job, buy a house in the suburbs, buy a car for the family, support a wife and a couple of kids, send those kids to college, and have money left over to save for retirement. Try telling that to a kid today. ""Work hard kid. Get a Job in a factory, save your money, and you too can live the American Dream." And yet there are problems with that scenario, no? The factory jobs have largely disappeared. Saving money is a fools game because of inflation, and even if such a job could be found, it wouldn't pay enough to support a wife and a few kids, the kids could not afford to go to school, and, if they did get an education, they wouldn't be able to find a job when they graduated, and if they did find jobs, those jobs would pay peanuts. What happened to the value of the dollar?

Better watch what you post, or they might come looking for you. What would you be, a terrorist?

Currently, the US dollar is, I believe, the longest lasting fiat currency. Historically, every single one of them has eventually reverted to its real value of zero. The game is nothing new. Once upon a time, the Romans started to add base metals to their coins. They needed money to pay their soldiers to hold their empire together and that was their solution. Sound money that wasn't so sound. Sound familiar? Anyway, chalk up the dollar's resilience to the gargantuan explosion of debt around the world. The problem is so large that it's almost not quantifiable. Consider gold, for example. Some people hold the real thing. That's real money. But on paper, many parties seem to think they own that same gold. It's been hypothecated and re-hypothecated so many times, it's hard to quantify at this point. Derivatives of derivatives. No one knows for sure. How much gold is really in Ft. Knox? Gold actually owned by the USA? Or, in vaults in NYC? Whenever the debt market freezes up, all bets are off.

What are you doing for health insurance now? It's possible to spend time and even retire in Thailand without heath insurance, provided you have the right kind of visa. Not that I'm suggesting that you don't carry insurance, but it's an option. I'm not sure, exactly, why I ended up in Thailand. For all I know, I'm not here permanently. I think I found out about it online, and ended up following different blogs and websites and mailing lists. So by the time I actually arrived in Thailand for the first time, I had done a lot of research. Of course, I first heard about it during the Vietnam war, when I met some people who had been stationed here. They seemed in awe of the place.

And you think the crime rate is related to the length of the visas? Why? And I'm not sure how people "working illegally" would relate to the crime rate, assuming you mean violent crime that disturbs everyone. In any case, I'm sure that the Thai tourism industry woful benefit from less crime, overall. People want to feel safe when they go on vacation.

On my iPhone, I can also set it so that every call I get that isn't from someone in my address book or from selected friends, goes straight to to voicemail.

Why not, if it makes him happy. Assume arguendo, or for the purpose of discussion. A court order is just a piece of paper. In and of itself, it doesn't provide a remedy. Someone needs to enforce it. And in the judicial system, that means you have to first file an appeal. That's your remedy. Sometimes, a higher court will issue an injunction, but that's a powerful tool requiring a strong showing of impending harm and so on. Usually, the request is denied and the case moves forward in the usual fashion. If the case makes it to the Supreme Court. the court will grant certioari, meaning it will take up the case for further review, or they will deny certiorari, meaning they don't want to waste their time with it. Whatever court issues the final ruling on the merits of the case, whether it's the Supreme Court after further review or the lower court that issued the previous order, that's the end of it. That's the order that can supposedly be enforced.

I just noticed. You're from Britain? Check your Magna Carta. The right was granted there, for sure, and has evolved over time. In America, we now have procedural due process and substantive due process. It's not all etched in stone.

The Trump administration is apparently trying to skirt the requirement of the invasion being by a foreign nation or government by rationalizing that the gang members are in cahoots with Venezuela or some other foreign powers. A proxy invasion, of sorts. Maybe this will work, maybe it won't. It'll all end up in court. It should be interesting. What happens if the El Salvador prison won't send them back, even if some court orders it? My guess is that those guys are in that prison forever.

I had to go back and try to figure out what you're talking about. And I figured it out. You're directing your question to the wrong person. Go back and look.

Like I said, blame them all. I don't think for a second that the Fed ought to be lowering rates just so Trump can cut taxes. But, the system is on the verge of collapse, so the Fed will eventually do what they always do, not to support any particular politician, but to keep the banking system from collapsing. Remember, at the end of the day it's all about the Western banking system and US dollar's world reserve currency status. And the Fed is owned by all the big banks. If the banking system collapses, we're all in trouble. So, I go with the flow. I watch what is happening and try to make the best of it. Trump wants to cut taxes? Fine. Trump wants lower rates? Not fine, but it'll happen one way or the other and I'll deal with it.

The right bar in the right location can make more money than the owners can count every day. I'm sure there are some bars on Bangla Road in Patong Beach that fit description. On the other hand, you have to wonder what some people are thinking when they open some of the bars scattered around town. Some of the beer bar complexes are mind boggling. One bar after another. And someone comes along and they think they've got the secret formula?

Let's just say the concept of "due process" had more respect in days gone by. As fro your examples, I think the Japanese people in the US who were sent to camps during WWII, were sent there under the authority of the Alien Enemies Act. As for being "factually correct"? Certainly you don't think that every person who ever inhabited the North American continent received "due Process" in every dealing with authorities. Violations of due process happen all the time. People argue about that issue every day in court, in one case or another. It's a constitutional right set out in the 5th (for the federal government) and 14th Amendments (for the states).

I think you should be blaming "politicians," not just Republicans. The destruction of the middle class started long before 1981 and Ronald Reagan. And both parties have contributed to the mess. Your train of thought is typical, though, of the current crop of Democrats. No matter what the problem, it's always "the Republicans" who ruin everything.

Just a figure of speech. I'm not "afraid" in the sense of being scared. You're right, though. The country is better off without foreign gang members.

I did mention business along with politics. Anyway, I'm sure immigration is no different. Continual flux, bosses come and go. Somebody always has a "fix" to make everything better. That's life.