jas007

In my condo, I occasionally see signs in the lobby about condo renovation in certain units. They apologize for any noise or inconvenience, and they say the construction will be done between 9 AM and 5 PM. Something like that. That seems reasonable. It goes with living in a condo.

That will never happen. A few planeloads at a time? Imagine how long that will take. The bad guys will be gone. The rest will eventually get sone sort of amnesty.

Off the top of my head,, and knowing nothing whatsoever about Thai law, wouldn't it be easier to just move?

I'm not an astro physicist. I don't know much about quantum mechanics. But I like to read up on that stuff when I get the chance. It's fascinating. In any event, the simulation explanation is as good as any, since no one really knows. That much I know for sure.

Puerto Rico.That's interesting. On the face of it, Puerto Rico would seem to be a good choice for US expat retirement. It's close, it has favorable tax laws, and it probably doesn't have to be expensive. It's in the Caribbean. And yet I've known several people who were born and raised there. They all told me the same thing: stay far away. As an American, you'd be a target. Everyone would be trying to rip you off. Even they are a target when they go back. A Puerto Rican, working in Miami, speaks fluent Spanish. And they try to rip him off. If he's a target, what chance do I have? It all sounds crazy to me, but they're probably right.

I'm not sure how any kind of visa policy would necessarily keep out the idiots. It's not as if they can spot them all when they enter. What are they supposed to do, do a thorough background check of everyone that shows up with a passport?

Harris couldn't even handle an unscripted press conference, for this who didn't notice.

"The hour is getting late...." Scientists now seem to think it's possible we're all living in a simulation. Inside some cosmic computer. That would explain the "glitch in the Matrix" some people seem to experience once in a while.

Consider the source. Anyway, If they're serious, they sure did pick the wrong picture to accompany the story. My take: absent some calamity and the end of the world, the Democrats have ended their hopes of being elected to anything for a long long time.

Did you not read what I wrote? I'm not the expert. I don't pretend to be. Sure, Panama City looks like it is doing great. But how are the Panamanian people doing? That's what I don't know. I have no idea. Many of those big buildings in Panama are filled with expats from all over. The condos are not super expensive, but they're not cheap. Most are probably out of reach of the typical Panamanian. I looked into it one time. I may still end up there some day. It's easy to get a retirement visa there. Hire an agent, fill out some paperwork, show your income, and you're all set. They use the US Dollar. The infrastructure is good. It's probably an OK place.

Maybe some Panama expert can chime in. I've never been there, but I've met people from there and when I was in the Army I met people who had been stationed there and seemed to like it. For all I know, the typical Panamanian was doing better with the US in charge of the Canal Zone and with all the money spent by the soldiers stationed there. I'm sure the US doesn't want to control the entire country of Panama. It might have some interest in the big Panamanian banks and any money laundering activities, but then again, would the average Panamanian care, one way or the other? How did the Panamanians react when the US want in and got Noreiga?

I've been through times in my life that, at the time, seemed "awful." In retrospect,, no big deal. I was just temporarily poor. For example, my father supported my through undergraduate school, but stopped when I went to law school. II guess he figured that was my problem. Anyway, even though I had the GI Bill at the time and could use those benefits to pay for food and housing, the private school tuition was expensive, financial aid wasn't really a thing back then, and when I worked it was only part time. So I was doing good to get through every month with just the bare necessities. One time the starter went out on my VW Bug, and for a period of a few months, I couldn't afford to fix it. When I parked, I had to find a parking spot on a hill. To start the car, I started it rolling down the hill and then popped the clutch. Anyway, I was healthy and mostly having fun, so I'd go back in a second if I could.

It's obviously possible, but I don't think all the trade wars and tariffs will amount to such a problem that Americans will begin any great danger overseas. Then again, they probably already are in some places.

Of course they are. Probably there governments as well. They keep it secret because that's the way they think. I don't spend a lot of time worrying about it. What would be the point? It's not as if they're going to be opening up Area 51 to guided tours anytime soon.

If your friend has the Bolt app on his phone, that might work, even for a long trip. On time in Pattaya, I was trying to go from my condo in Wongamat to Soi Post Office in central Pattaya. Somehow, I accidentally selected the Post office at Patong Beach, Phuket from the drop down menu. And the app came back with a quote for the trip. I can't imagine taking that kind of cab ride, but I guess Bolt would try to find a driver.

Last year I bought a 15" MacBook Air with the M3 chip. I can't think of anything to complain about. I am glad I bought the 15" version. Bigger is better. From what I read, the MacBook Air with the M4 chip will be released very soon. Unless you have some specific need for the MacBook Pro, why spend the extra money? Just for the heck of it, I also bought the new MacMini with the M4 chip. The base model. That's a good deal if you can get by with a desktop computer and already have a keyboard, mouse, and monitor. It's very small.

Somehow, Brexit happened. I wonder if there's anything about the UK political system that might work against populism gaining traction more so than in the USA, where Trump has decisively disrupted the political structure?

I started looking at this forum when I was first looking into Thailand Visa issues. It was a lot of help back then and I managed to finally walk out of Jomtien Immigration with a Retirement Extension Of Stay without too much trouble. That was in 2006 and although I had the Affidavit of Income I obtained at the US Embassy, the Immigration officer at Jomtien also wanted a "bank letter." So I had to leave and go do that. Other than that, it went smoothly. More recently, I just pay an agent and save myself the trouble, As for whether the forum is "addictive"? Not particularly. Social media in general can be somewhat addictive, though. I guess I post here just because I come here to look at the local news and I'm already here and I have yet to be banned. I think one of my posts got deleted once by a moderator because I didn't support my post with a link to a "acceptable" source, as if that would guarantee some. sort of truth. Anyway, that's OK. A month or so later it all turned out exactly as I said it would. I make some effort not to post nonsense, but whatever. A few years ago, I got in the habit of posting on Reddit, but that place seems to be run by a bunch of left wing psychopaths who can't handle the truth. The forum moderators only seemed to like people who agreed with the party line 100%. I found myself banned from about 80% of the forums after a few posts. It was almost fun. How quickly can I get myself banned? I finally. just deleted my account. Let the people blab away in their left wing echo chamber.

Even if we assume that there can be some accurate measurement of what part of the "value" of a product or service is added in China or in any other country, we can also be sure that Apple Computer will do whatever is in its power to weasel out of paying taxes however it can. Anyway, it's all a great game, and so long as large multinational corporations operate in the international arena, reaching any. kind of consensus or agreement as to tax rates will be problematic. The issues are political and economic. It's not just an accounting problem.

So in one fell swoop, people think that they can wave a magic wand and effect changes to international law, international tax treaties, and accounting practices for the taxation intellectual property profits?

You could put it that way, although I think some Greenland officials have expressed the opinion that the matter should be left to the people of Greenland. And if money makes Denmark happy, what's the problem?

Absent some magical reduction in the cost of oil and transportation flowing though the economy almost instantly, none of Trump's campaign promises will likely result in a reduction in the cost of living anytime soon. He knows that. Everyone knows that. That's why he is now "demanding" that interest rates be lowered. And yet it's almost a given that the bond market probably won't cooperate. So it won't be Trump's fault. He tried. Greenland would be a god deal for the USA. I'm npt sure what it would cost, but it would probably be a bargain. Edit: Keep in mind, I'm not an economics wizard. Lots of things could crash the economy and result in lower interest rates. Commercial real estate loans going bad. A real estate crash. Massive layoffs of people due to AI. It's going to be crazy. Another Great Depression.

You absolutely have a point, but companies exist in the legal realm, not necessarily in reality. Neither Apple nor any other company files their taxes based on "reality." That's not how it works. They act in the company's best interest. In the best interest of the owners, the shareholders. If that means that Apple Computer rents out a small office in Dublin for their IP headquarters, so be it.

Do you really think Trump needs a "political ploy" at this point? He won the election. He can't run again, absent some change in the Constitution. I think he just sees it as a strategic move for geopolitical purposes. In the best interest of the USA.

Am I mistaken, or has Ireland already addressed some of these issues via legislation? The effective tax rates there will no longer be so low? Either that or there have been some significant court cases. Maybe both.