bunnydrops

As I said I am a US customer, and things may be a bit different in pricing. With Lyca, I use two SIMs in my phone when in Thailand, one a Thai SIM for local calls and the Lyca with a home country number. Calls to the home country number ring on my phone in Thailand via AIS.

Assuming that all the estimates are correct, I still didn't see where the State and consumer tax were taken into account, and most of the states that give benefits to illegals are paid for by the state, not the federal government. Also, the estimates he uses are assuming low-educated workers making a low wage and therefore paying little in taxes. That may be the case, but wouldn't the cost to the government be the same if you could find a legal worker (if you can) to replace those workers at the same pay scale? The problem seems to be that they are not paid enough for the work they do.

"It is important to note that immigrants without a documented immigration status still pay payroll and income taxes, even though they rarely become eligible for Social Security benefits. In 2022, people without a documented status paid an estimated $25.7 billion in Social Security taxes. " https://www.cbpp.org/blog/immigrants-contribute-greatly-to-the-social-security-trust-funds-solvency They also pay state taxes when buying food and other items like gas.

If you go back and forth and need a phone while in the UK, you might give Lycamobile a look. I am from the US and use them $19 a month, free calling to and from Thailand. They also operate in the UK. Calls to your UK number will ring in Thailand, works with banks. https://www.lycamobile.co.uk/en/

Most here are talking about consciousness as a continuation of the self, but the self includes the body and the existence of the sensations the body brings to it. Consciousness may be like life itself and come in many forms. I once read an analogy that went like this: Consciousness is like a flowing river; there isn't an individual self, but when the river comes to a waterfall (birth), the river divides into many droplets that gain the illusion of self and can see that it is separate from the others, but in the end (death) the droplets reach the bottom and become part of the whole again.

That from someone who believes this guy is credible https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/trumps-image-dead-white-farmers-came-reuters-footage-congo-not-south-africa-2025-05-22/

senseless!

Most phones have a scanner built in, but if yours doesn't, go to the Play Store (assuming it's Android) and download a QR scanner app.

First of all, I never said "most" of anything. That is your addition. And second, I never said we "Need" brown people to do our dirty work any more than we "Need" the kids to do it. But the work "needs" to be done. Who do you know who is willing to do dirty work in the sun and rain for a short time? The only ones I know do it as a way of life and are willing to move around the country following the harvest seasons, living in tents in areas where there isn't any other accommodations.

I have seen many things dangling around the rear wheels from ropes, bunge cords, to children's feet. Some of those side-saddle girls give new meaning to "a positraction rear end."

I don't dispute that. I fly back at the same time every year.

Some facts, Some states offer medicaid to illegal immigrants using state funding only. The fed do not cover illegals. https://www.kff.org/racial-equity-and-health-policy/issue-brief/5-key-facts-about-immigrants-and-medicaid/

I just flew back to the States two days ago on United. The flight from Japan to SF was only 80% full. I fly back every year at this time, and this is the first non-full flight I have been on in 10 years. A funny side note: It is also the first flight that made people change their seats to balance the plane.

I often wonder where they get those figures. It's not like people who hire illegal aliens are reporting to the government.

When I was in High School, I had to work in the fields during the summer picking strawberries, green beans, and digging flower bulbs. The kids were put in one field and the migrants in another. The migrants would be whole families. They were very hard workers, whereas we kids would be in a strawberry fight as soon as no one was looking. Picking strawberries is not fun. You push a little wheelbarrow between the rows in the mud on your knees. The migrants were all "wet backs", the term for illegal aliens at the time. We all knew it, it was just a fact of life back then. After the harvest, they would move on to harvest the pears, apples, melons, or whatever work they could find. Then they would go back to Mexico. I am sure that is the way many of the illegal immigrants still work; they don't count the number of people who sneak back out of the country. The H-2a system is flawed. Harvesters do not work for just one employer; they work for many, and go to where and when the next harvest takes place. I don't think you are going to find enough kids (nowadays, any) to fill the void.

God, I hope no one says while deciding on a birthday gift for Donald "It's curtains for you."

It is not as easy for farmers who need a lot of people for short harvest seasons. The worker needs to find an employer that will hire him while not in the country. And then the employer needs to file the paperwork to get the worker into the country. The farmer will need to do this for each one. To qualify for H-2A nonimmigrant classification, the petitioner must: Offer a job that is of a temporary or seasonal nature. Demonstrate that there are not enough U.S. workers who are able, willing, qualified, and available to do the temporary work. Show that employing H-2A workers will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers. Generally, submit a single valid temporary labor certification from the U.S. Department of Labor with the H-2A petition. (A limited exception to this requirement exists in certain “emergent circumstances.” See e.g., 8 CFR 214.2(h)(5)(x) for specific details.)

It is just the state of the US. Excepting "Hand me downs".

Stimulus checks https://www.pandemicoversight.gov/data-interactive-tools/data-stories/update-three-rounds-stimulus-checks-see-how-many-went-out-and

Getting a bit off topic. But most people vote for someone because they feel they will gain something, whether monetary or not. No taxes on overtime or tips I think, could be a form of bribery. Deregulating an industry could be another.

It happens all the time here. But there isn't any guarantee that they will get the vote since the people take the money from each candidate. One candidate last year or so ago was smart, she gave a thousand baht and said if she won, she would give them another.

As early as the 60s, there was a group similar to Scientology that believed that the US, Canada, and Mexico should be one country that could be mostly self-sufficient. They also believed that children would be tested often from an early age, and their schooling would be directed to whether they would be laborers, doctors, or rocket scientists. They also believed that the perfect family unit would be 2 men to each woman, but I can't remember their reasoning on that. So, no, it isn't a new idea.

My first thought was that we don't need people deciding on what others need. But that is the whole point of politics.

First, you rob someone on the street and then give them $5 back so they can catch a bus home.

Some news to go along with that great news. https://nam.org/ev-battery-plants-being-canceled-33746/