John Drake

He's not only reducing influence (nobody likes to be publicly put down in front of their own people and the world, he's also wrecking the dollar, creating inflation, and turning the world over to China. All because of his own petty personal dislikes and anger. This is what having a teenager in charge of government is like.

She is using it for engagement farming?

What it will do is cause massive inflation, just like Trump's and Biden's Covid stimuli did.

Musk is a degenerate hood rat.

This says they do:

Okay. I see you're correct. I thought I remembered them using it 25 years or so ago. But I guess I was wrong. I did just find this. So how is the child tax credit different from EITC and its availability.

Question: how does the amount going into social security compare to the amounts being paid out to illegals using ITINS who then turn around and claim EITC?

Without looking it up, my light reading on social security shows that contributions closely match benefits rendered. It was something like one percent or so, with there being a positive balance in some recent years. The problem is with medicare and medicaid, which outstrip contribution by 85 percent.

You think it's a scam? A fake? How do you account for the photo of the woman in the hospital?

Give them some money. Or don't give them anything. That's all that is required. No need to put them in this digital version of a pillory so everyone can throw the equivalent of electronic rotten vegetables at them.

If everybody else is getting it, I certainly intend to get mine. Absolutely. But I can recognize that this will go down just like the Covid stimulus and fuel inflation three times as much as then. If we have an emergency to reduce the debt, this money should be applied to that.

So far, one of my banks says the same as yours and insisted I sign a form disavowing any recourse to fraud. My other bank had my photo requirement on the phone app working, but it stopped. I then had to in a few weeks ago and reregister the photograph and passport information. The latter bank still allows for online banking, however, which I prefer. The first bank mention cancelled that service, along with bank branches and ATMs in my area, all but making use of the phone app mandatory for anything outside of a visit to the bank.

Funny to see Trump Republicans now taking the stance that Democrats did in the 1970s. They want a "pure" leader for Ukraine or they'll cut him off. This is exactly the attitude towards the Shah of Iran that created Khoumeini and the Iranian theocracy.

It's probably all been put in Peter Schiff's basement.

Alas, if it comes in a little early and a bit further south, it could hit Bangkok. When would the mob scene start at the airport?

The trouble is that mercantilism fuels colonialism. Or at least that is what happened with European powers in the 19th century, where they fought to control raw materials in particular to manufacture finished products for export back to the colonies and elsewhere. That is precisely what Trump's old trade deal and this supposed new one seek to do, export things like American grain and meat, while receiving finished goods in return. And of course China never even lived up to this agreement originally. This will make the US a colony of China.

For some reason, DJT is also on the warpath about VAT. Thailand loads up on that through domestic and foreign tourists.

Trump and Elon are selling out the US. The country's international standing and domestic stability has been eviscerated in a mere four weeks. The US now has a foreign policy made in Beijing.

Trump, with Elon's backing, completes the circle. First North Korea, then Russia, and now China. I said a year ago on this forum he would betray his supporters on China, and now he's trying to do so. He's running up a surrender flag everywhere. https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/trump-eyes-new-trade-deal-with-china-includes-substantial-purchases-of-us-goods--nyt-93CH-3877869

The imagery is already burning into people's minds, establishing a lasting public perception: Trump sitting at the table with Elon looming over him, while both of them for some reason chuckling about giving the world over to Russia and China.

Which brings up the most interesting question of all: where do they all evacuate to? That impact line runs across some the most crowded impoverished portions of the Global South. Imagine 100 million people moving in one solid mass towards the new homeland in Europe or North America. Somehow, I don't think the Chinese are going to let them in, although that tip in Bangladesh could mean they'll try for China but will probably settle for Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos.

It was inevitable that Trump would botch up things sooner or later. All of his other issues are disappearing from view as he descends into this Ukraine fiasco. There is a shift in perception of him as a leader. You can feel it. He's going to blow his entire presidency because of some personal animosity towards Ukraine. After Greenland, Panama, Canada, Mexico, and Nato, Ukraine might be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

What does this mean? There aren't very many options if you're in the impact zone.

Sihanoukville 2.0 Keep the local riff raff out, unless they're coming in to work cleaning out the toilets and sweeping the floors.

Idiot comment. The title is: Thai Tourism Sector Shaken by US Tariffs and Market Uncertainty Tariffs! Tariffs! It is your comment that is a waste and off topic.