Thomas J

On 1/20/2020 at 9:25 AM, Tug said:

How so trump you wrecked their markets and not only that we have to pay twice the amount that Obama used to bail out the auto industr

Tug, 
You are as Reagan described, not ignorant, you just know so much that is not true, Obama, did not 'BAIL OUT" GM, he confiscated it using the guise of saving it.  Virtually every major airline has "gone bankrupt" United, Northwest, Delta, Air Canada, and THEY ARE STILL FLYING.  Companies such as Sears, Texaco, Mattress Firm, David's Bridal etc. all declared bankruptcy but are still open.  Under normal bankruptcy is gives the company protection from being sued by its creditors all contracts including leases and union contracts are voided and the company gets to renegotiate. The only ones protected are the "secured" creditors who have lent money based on pledged assets. 

What Obama did was confiscate the company. He voided bankruptcy law and wiped out all  of the secured creditors and bond holders.  The unions gave wage concessions and he awarded them an ownership position in the company.  That is something that never would have happened in bankruptcy court.  THE UNIONS DID NOT OWN ANY OF GM PRIOR TO BANKRUPTCY so they would not have gotten any after bankruptcy.  The wage concessions were something the UAW would have had to do in normal bankruptcy anyway. So under the guise of rewarding them for their sacrifice Obama gave a multi billion dollar gift to his union voting base.  He screwed the bondholders who got nothing, even though they made loans to GM based on US bankruptcy law that would have given them preference. 

https://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/obama-auto-bailout-was-a-union-bailout/
 

On 1/18/2020 at 8:38 PM, tgw said:

it always depends on the money.

it takes much more money to feel comfortable in the West than in Thailand.

TGW  I disagree,

The food in Thailand is much more expensive than it is in the USA.  The home prices are not cheap here either.  You can buy in many regions such as Texas a nicer home than Thailand for less money. Restaurant prices are as expensive, and cars are more expensive. The only thing in Thailand that is noticeably cheaper are cell phone plans, internet services and anything you want done by labor such as a haircut, taxi, gardener, etc. 

2 hours ago, KhunFred said:

I have found Chang beer to be a good substitute for ammonia

KhunFred,

To drink or use for cleaner? 

Looking for household Ammonia for cleaning windows.  I have never found in Tesco Lotus, Big C, or Maakro.  Is it available in Thailand or is it banned for some reason?

On 1/17/2020 at 8:12 PM, NaamGin said:

and my point is that the dynamics that shape immigration laws in the US and  Thailand are different and as such have different systems, one might argue that the US system if infinitely more stringent than the Thai system, but that's an argument for another thread,

NaamGin, the dynamic that shape immigration law in the USA are very simple.  The employers want cheap labor and the Democrats want voters.  The USA previously embraced "cheap labor"  it was called slavery.  That didn't work out too well did it.  Now illegals are de facto slaves by being pushed into jobs with substandard working conditions and pay.  In the end, this will end badly with the USA being transformed gradually into just a proxy looking like Mexico with decrepit homes, trash, drugs, and crime. 

On 1/17/2020 at 4:46 PM, xylophone said:

certainly hasn't got a clue about how drugs are smuggled into the USA

Xylophone and you do?  Drugs do come across the border with Mexico and cross on foot.  Is that the only way - No. But if you have a leak in your roof, you plug one hole at a time.  Also the wall serves the dual purpose of stopping the major flow of illegals.  Many of whom end up in the drug trade to support themselves. 

6% GDP growth is nothing to be ashamed of with the world's second largest economy.  At 6% their GDP will double in 12 years. It does prove however that for the time being, China needs the USA market far more than the USA needs China.  It is always true that the buyer has the power and the seller needs the buyer.  The USA economy went through the trade war with hardly a speed bump.  I would hope the USA continues to pressure China to open its market.  Free trade is great so long as both sides do not put in place policies that effectively shut products from entering their respective countries. 

Wealthy countries MAKE THINGS.  If you look at the wealthy countries of the world.  The USA, China, Germany, Japan, and the U.K.  All of them make products.  Wealth is created when humans add value to raw materials and produce finished products.  The educated work force is great if you are moving to the next step when you have an economy that requires CPA.s, Engineers, Computer Technicians.  However you don't leap frog to that when your only economy is based on tourism and selling natural resources.  With computers the requirement for skilled blue collar workers is diminished.  You need a favorable government policy to encourage companies to locate their manufacturing plants in Thailand versus someplace else.  That will employ Thai's and raise the standard of living for those people and the service providers who sell them clothes, food, cars, etc. 

I guess you would say, he ended up with the short end of the stick. 

Typical government employee.  A person spends hundreds if not thousands on a trip.  Do you think saving a few Baht for a free visa really pushes someone over the fence in terms of vacationing in Thailand?  When I travel to countries requiring a visa, I find the complexity of getting is often far more of a reason to avoid the country rather than the cost of the visa. 

https://homepaternity.com/cart/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=pla&utm_content=050918&utm_term=paternity&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI4rfp1IOD5wIVTvDACh0keQbrEAQYASABEgKUt_D_BwE

On 1/12/2020 at 8:05 AM, rooster59 said:

Queen Elizabeth

Not being from the U.K. I perhaps don't have a great understanding of the British Royalty.  However, given that they really do not function to rule, I have to question why the British have not abolished the idea of a King and a Queen like the majority of the world has done decades ago. 

Here are some photos of those suffering dementia in both the USA and the U.K. 

On 1/11/2020 at 10:55 PM, DjChris28 said:

Hello,

DJchris28,

You could either keep your money invested in a U.S. bank/brokerage account and transfer back to the USA.  You can also open an account with numerous brokerage houses like Schwab, in Hong Kong, or there are some others in both Hong Kong and Singapore.  Citibank also has a dual currency account.  U.S. dollars and Baht.  You can deposit your baht and have it invested in the funds they offer or convert the baht to USD. 

Here is just one example.  This is the check in at the airport in Singapore. You insert your passport.  The machines camera verifies it is you through facial recognition.  The passport is used to find your flight which you confirm.  The machine then prints your boarding pass and luggage tags.  You place luggage on conveyor and it weighs your luggage.  Not a single human until you get to security. 

18 hours ago, X4711 said:

A water pipe belonging to the common property broke and the water damaged the floor in my condo. Does anybody know who will be responsible for fixing and for paying the floor of my condo according to Thai law?

x4711  I don't know law in Thailand but in the USA it would be your insurance. You carry insurance on your unit in the event of damage irrespective of what caused the damage. 

On 1/9/2020 at 5:15 PM, graexx said:

On dec 25 I enterred at don muang with a 2 month tourist visa obtained in myanmar. The io warned me i would probably be rejected next time i enterred unless i had a retirement visa because it was my 4th tourist entry in 2019. I expressed surprise and said i only stayed a total of 3 mths for 2019. They (the io and his supervisor) were adament. I asked them when could i next enter with a tourist visa - after 8 months? They said "probably". They were very unsure. Then he stamped me for 56 days instead of the 60 days - so i will incur a 2 day overstay penalty when i depart. Can i get the stamp error amended?

graexx, 

This "may" work.  Go to your immigration office and have them correct it.  I had my passport stamped with a 30 day tourist visa by mistake instead of my re-entry on my O Visa.  Immigration corrected it and changed the dates. 

20 hours ago, Kenny202 said:

Need to get a will witnessed and would rather have someone of position sign and witness it.

Is a notary here the same as a Justice of the peace ie official title or anyone of position eg teacher, police, solicitor etc

Most law offices have notaries.  Also I do know the U.S. Embassy has notary service for U.S. citizens.  

22 hours ago, Beggar said:

I think many countries will prosecute people without valid visa

Yes just tell them to come to the USA where we will give them free education, medical care, a drivers license, food stamps, and of course housing assistance.  We will even let them vote. 

How can there be more things to sanction?  

Time for getting gun control here in Thailand.  Oh wait, Thailand makes it extremely difficult to obtain a firearm. Perhaps they can copy Mexico where there is a minimum of a 6 month waiting period, have an extensive background check, and there is only a single gun store in the entire country that is guarded like a prison. Certainly it has worked there ????

Went to Tesco Lotus yesterday and deliberately left my cloth bag in the car thinking I would buy a couple of their forever bags.  They are <deleted> and I would not trust them to carry any noticeable amount of weight.  While I think the intention to reduce plastic is worthy, the biggest plastic nuisance is plastic soft drink and water bottles that are immediately discarded and much heavier plastic than bags. I also ponder going into Maakro and see that you get plastic bag with every collection of fruits, vegetables, meat, etc. When I was young we use to get paper bags but plastic replaced it because we were destroying trees.