2 minutes ago, Fact said:

This is more pronounced for the low-income workers.

But while immigration improves living standards on average, the economic literature is divided about whether immigration reduces wages for certain groups of workers. In particular, some estimates suggest that immigration has reduced the wages of low-skilled workers and college graduates. This research, shown by the blue bars in the chart above, implies that the influx of immigrant workers from 1990 to 2006 reduced the wages of low-skilled workers by 4.7 percent and college graduates by 1.7 percent. However, other estimates that examine immigration within a different economic framework (the red bars in the chart) find that immigration raises the wages of all U.S. workers—regardless of the immigrants’ level of education.

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-immigration-means-for-u-s-employment-and-wages/

I made a mistake. It should have read: Both legal and illegal aliens put downward pressure on wages, and upward pressure on housing. Illegal immigrants also compete for the same medical and social programs as the working poor.

It is not possible that they do not push wages down and housing up.

Illegal immigration benefits the rich on the backs of the poor.

President Donald Trump is now saying he'll allow several billion dollars to flow to New York on one condition — that he be able to add his name to major landmarks.

CNN reported Thursday that Trump communicated to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) that he would be willing to lift his hold on $16 billion for a long-planned railway project connecting New York and New Jersey underneath the Hudson River. However, the president said he would only release the money if Washington Dulles International Airport (which is in Virginia) and Penn Station in New York were renamed for him.

Two unnamed sources told CNN that Schumer "swiftly rejected" Trump's demand, and reminded the White House that he lacked the power to unilaterally change the names of both locations. The two reportedly discussed the proposition last month, per CNN's reporting.

Trump demands airport be named after him in exchange for federal funding

I propose the largest wastewater treatment plant in the U.S, The Stickney Water Reclamation Plant in Cicero, Illinois is renamed the Donald Trump Sewage Works.

Trump is completely losing his mind and is making himself ridiculous again! 😅

(Ibrahim was released in 2014, during the Obama administration.)

That's what the moron said: 🤣🤣🤣

“I did that. I did that. I did that with one phone call, actually,” he said. “And she had such support, it was so easy. And when I explained it to the powers that be: ‘Yes, sir, we will do it right away.’ I just wish I knew earlier. But it’s a big world with a lot of people.”

‘I did that’: Trump takes credit for a prisoner release that happened before he even ran for president

https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/06/politics/mariam-ibrahim-release-trump-fact-check?cid=android_app

Felix Tshisekedi

President Donald Trump sparked more concerns about his cognitive abilities when he blanked on a very important name during a meandering speech at the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, February 5.

The 79-year-old praised the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, describing him as a “very, very brave, wonderful man.” But when it came time to introduce him by name, Trump blanked.

“The president of the Congo… president… president, would you stand up please,” Trump said, repeatedly calling the man “brave” but never saying Tshisekedi’s name.

Trump draws a blank amid cognitive concerns

1 hour ago, bannork said:

Felix Tshisekedi

President Donald Trump sparked more concerns about his cognitive abilities when he blanked on a very important name during a meandering speech at the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, February 5.

The 79-year-old praised the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, describing him as a “very, very brave, wonderful man.” But when it came time to introduce him by name, Trump blanked.

“The president of the Congo… president… president, would you stand up please,” Trump said, repeatedly calling the man “brave” but never saying Tshisekedi’s name.

Trump draws a blank amid cognitive concerns

No doubt Felix Tshisekedi was on the tip of every leftist's tongue.

On 2/5/2026 at 2:12 PM, Yellowtail said:

Illegal immigration benefits the rich on the backs of the poor.

Can't disagree with that. But how much of DHS's budget is spent on the investigation of white collar crime; those employers, particularly corporate, who tacitly support illegal immigration.

But there is a lot of hot air about "flooding the zone" to punish businesses employing illegals. Find any cases from the last 18 months concerning a national fast food chain, major software house or cab firm.

76% of the cab market is Uber. Uber has never been convicted. McDonalds Corporation has never been fined. Its franchisees have, the most recent example being 2008, when a Nevada franchise was fined $1m, and allowed 12 months to pay it off. No tech firm has been convicted in the last 18 months.

10 hours ago, Roadsternut said:

Can't disagree with that. But how much of DHS's budget is spent on the investigation of white collar crime; those employers, particularly corporate, who tacitly support illegal immigration.

But there is a lot of hot air about "flooding the zone" to punish businesses employing illegals. Find any cases from the last 18 months concerning a national fast food chain, major software house or cab firm.

76% of the cab market is Uber. Uber has never been convicted. McDonalds Corporation has never been fined. Its franchisees have, the most recent example being 2008, when a Nevada franchise was fined $1m, and allowed 12 months to pay it off. No tech firm has been convicted in the last 18 months.

What is the table you have provided supposed to represent?

On 2/1/2026 at 12:58 PM, save the frogs said:

noting that Trump appeared 'out of his mind'.

Well he is completely mental IMO

15 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

No doubt Felix Tshisekedi was on the tip of every leftist's tongue.

No, it's not, but that isn't the point. If you're a supposed big shot, and plan on naming someone during your address, you take the time to learn the name and how it's pronounced. If your short term memory is gone, you're going to eff up, as Trump does.

The clown is forever claiming he stopped 8 wars, but he can't name any of them. When he tries, he names wars that never existed. Once is a forgivable slip up. Repeatedly is evidence of cognitive decline.

2 minutes ago, Wingate said:

No, it's not, but that isn't the point. If you're a supposed big shot, and plan on naming someone during your address, you take the time to learn the name and how it's pronounced. If your short term memory is gone, you're going to eff up, as Trump does.

The clown is forever claiming he stopped 8 wars, but he can't name any of them. When he tries, he names wars that never existed. Once is a forgivable slip up. Repeatedly is evidence of cognitive decline.

The same cognitive that the left has been howling about for over ten years, yes?

Ol' Biden was sharp as a tack, yes?

Of course Trump is out of his mind. His aggression is getting worse, which is a hallmark of many types of dementia, particularly Alzheimer's. His memory is badly failing. He "recalls" things that never happened, like taking credit for stopping the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. He is also lying more frequently, which given his propensity for mendacity, is not easy.

Here's an interesting interview with former Trump 1.0 lawyer Ty Cobb, a lifelong Republican and lawyer who spent a long career handling matters related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

In the first five or so minutes he notes that he has never seen the level of corruption and self-dealing that this Administration practices, noting that the WSJ reported Trump and his family made $4 billion in a year. He makes special mention of the UAE's $500,000,000 bribe so that the Admin would pull back Biden-era restrictions of selling the prime AI chips, as the tech would undoubtedly end up in China (as it has). Toward the end of the video he notes Trump's serious mental decline, ending with "He's gone" and "This man, with serious cognitive decline, has the nuclear codes".

6 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

The same cognitive that the left has been howling about for over ten years, yes?

Ol' Biden was sharp as a tack, yes?

Wow! Whataboutism! Such a novelty!

Biden had guardrails, and wasn't threatening to invade allies or sending masked stormtroopers into US cities. Biden didn't stay up all night rage Tweeting about meaningless things like what Jimmy Kimmel or Seth Meyers said. Biden also might have eaten tacos, but he never played one in the Oval Office.

Also, Biden is not President today. The demented, corrupt, self-serving, willfully ignorant clown is.

And if the "guardrails" are Miller and Hegseth, oh my!

29 minutes ago, Wingate said:

Wow! Whataboutism! Such a novelty!

Biden had guardrails, and wasn't threatening to invade allies or sending masked stormtroopers into US cities. Biden didn't stay up all night rage Tweeting about meaningless things like what Jimmy Kimmel or Seth Meyers said. Biden also might have eaten tacos, but he never played one in the Oval Office.

Also, Biden is not President today. The demented, corrupt, self-serving, willfully ignorant clown is.

And if the "guardrails" are Miller and Hegseth, oh my!

Of course, nothing else matters but getting Trump.

Weren't you one of the leftists that was howling about Hegseth being a rapist, an alcoholic and an incompetent? You likely would not make a pimple on either Miller or Hegseth's butts.

38 minutes ago, Wingate said:

Of course Trump is out of his mind. His aggression is getting worse, which is a hallmark of many types of dementia, particularly Alzheimer's. His memory is badly failing. He "recalls" things that never happened, like taking credit for stopping the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. He is also lying more frequently, which given his propensity for mendacity, is not easy.

Here's an interesting interview with former Trump 1.0 lawyer Ty Cobb, a lifelong Republican and lawyer who spent a long career handling matters related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

In the first five or so minutes he notes that he has never seen the level of corruption and self-dealing that this Administration practices, noting that the WSJ reported Trump and his family made $4 billion in a year. He makes special mention of the UAE's $500,000,000 bribe so that the Admin would pull back Biden-era restrictions of selling the prime AI chips, as the tech would undoubtedly end up in China (as it has). Toward the end of the video he notes Trump's serious mental decline, ending with "He's gone" and "This man, with serious cognitive decline, has the nuclear codes".

The left has been claiming Trump has been out of his mind for at least ten years.

15 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

The left has been claiming Trump has been out of his mind for at least ten years.

He wasnt crazy though when Hillary was begging him for money

6 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

What is the table you have provided supposed to represent?

% Undocumented by area of employment, job title, educatonal level, and median salary for the job. Fairly self explanatory. For the full report, see Lisiecki, M (2025). The Role of Undocumented Workers in High-Growth Occupations and Industries Across the United States. CMS.

No comment about relative lack of recent action against employers. ICE data shows in 2010, $6.95m was levied in fines for undocumented workers (the fines are based on about $3000 per worker, typically, with some exceptions), rising to $16.3m in 2014. Thereafter, ICE doesn't keep such good records. For 2025, ICE seems to have levied about $9m in fines on corporations, which seems paradoxical, if illegal immigration prior to 2025 was at an all time high. Anecdotally, ICE seems to be struggling to deploy sufficient numbers of field agents, hence recent announcements about the lifting of age restrictions and relaxation of fitness requirements, coupled with large cash sign on bonuses. Some reports indicate that background checks are not being performed properly. ICE redeployed office staff into the field, so this has likely lead to a concomitant reduction in actions against employers recruiting illegal immigrants, the people you referred profiting off the backs of the poor. Snakehead gangs in suits, if you will.

Despite the lurid headlines, by and large, illegal immigrants are motivated by the same things as most people; the desire to have a better life. Corporations actively encourage the recruitment of illegal workers, such as asylum seekers. From what I see, a comon defence is "rogue managers". I don't believe that. Its on too large a scale to not believe that senior leadership is not at least turning a blind eye (which makes them guilty) to such employment practices. This is what provides the pull for people to break the law. Smash that, and you will deal with much of the issue, just like how the Mafia was smashed through going after the accountants.

ESG is much derided, but its an effective tool. A corporation cannot say it produces products to a well managed standard if it has no idea who it employs (the common defence is that factory managers alone know who is employed). The DoD know exactly who they employ (how many illegal immigrants are in the US Army? None). There are almost 3 million people working for the DoD (or whatever its called now), and they effectively manage to not recruit illegal immigrants. Why can't someone like Tyson, headcount a mere 130,000, do the same (Tyson was one of those companies acquitted of employing illegals as they blamed factory managers)?

Simple, establish documented hiring practices with responsibility right to the C-Level. Strengthen ISO-9001 (the US government can play a huge role here). Make a strengthened ISO-9001 a requirement of any corporation wishing to export goods to the US, that way the US will play a powerful role in improving employment practices around the world, at zero cost to it. And its a virtuous circle; improved job standards at home incentivises people not to emigrate. Yes, it will lead to an increase in the price of goods and squeezing of margins, but illegal migration is already costing each adult American about $600 in costs borne by the Federal and State authorities. I see one estimate for private industry to NOT employ illegals is anywhere from $380bn to $620bn. Which are big, scarey numbers But corporate profits in the US are about $3.3 trillion a year, another big number. Of course drilling into impacts on margins by industry is complex, and likely some industries, the labour intensive ones, will need to helping hand of government, to remain viable. Which I suppose what lay behind the Government's one time proposal to sell illegal immigrants to some farms, as some sort of modern version of indentured workers, indentured workers of course, coincidently, being the backbone of the early North American colonies.

8 minutes ago, Roadsternut said:

% Undocumented by area of employment, job title, educatonal level, and median salary for the job. Fairly self explanatory. For the full report, see Lisiecki, M (2025). The Role of Undocumented Workers in High-Growth Occupations and Industries Across the United States. CMS.

No comment about relative lack of recent action against employers. ICE data shows in 2010, $6.95m was levied in fines for undocumented workers (the fines are based on about $3000 per worker, typically, with some exceptions), rising to $16.3m in 2014. Thereafter, ICE doesn't keep such good records. For 2025, ICE seems to have levied about $9m in fines on corporations, which seems paradoxical, if illegal immigration prior to 2025 was at an all time high. Anecdotally, ICE seems to be struggling to deploy sufficient numbers of field agents, hence recent announcements about the lifting of age restrictions and relaxation of fitness requirements, coupled with large cash sign on bonuses. Some reports indicate that background checks are not being performed properly. ICE redeployed office staff into the field, so this has likely lead to a concomitant reduction in actions against employers recruiting illegal immigrants, the people you referred profiting off the backs of the poor. Snakehead gangs in suits, if you will.

Despite the lurid headlines, by and large, illegal immigrants are motivated by the same things as most people; the desire to have a better life. Corporations actively encourage the recruitment of illegal workers, such as asylum seekers. From what I see, a comon defence is "rogue managers". I don't believe that. Its on too large a scale to not believe that senior leadership is not at least turning a blind eye (which makes them guilty) to such employment practices. This is what provides the pull for people to break the law. Smash that, and you will deal with much of the issue, just like how the Mafia was smashed through going after the accountants.

ESG is much derided, but its an effective tool. A corporation cannot say it produces products to a well managed standard if it has no idea who it employs (the common defence is that factory managers alone know who is employed). The DoD know exactly who they employ (how many illegal immigrants are in the US Army? None). There are almost 3 million people working for the DoD (or whatever its called now), and they effectively manage to not recruit illegal immigrants. Why can't someone like Tyson, headcount a mere 130,000, do the same (Tyson was one of those companies acquitted of employing illegals as they blamed factory managers)?

Simple, establish documented hiring practices with responsibility right to the C-Level. Strengthen ISO-9001 (the US government can play a huge role here). Make a strengthened ISO-9001 a requirement of any corporation wishing to export goods to the US, that way the US will play a powerful role in improving employment practices around the world, at zero cost to it. And its a virtuous circle; improved job standards at home incentivises people not to emigrate. Yes, it will lead to an increase in the price of goods and squeezing of margins, but illegal migration is already costing each adult American about $600 in costs borne by the Federal and State authorities. I see one estimate for private industry to NOT employ illegals is anywhere from $380bn to $620bn. Which are big, scarey numbers But corporate profits in the US are about $3.3 trillion a year, another big number. Of course drilling into impacts on margins by industry is complex, and likely some industries, the labour intensive ones, will need to helping hand of government, to remain viable. Which I suppose what lay behind the Government's one time proposal to sell illegal immigrants to some farms, as some sort of modern version of indentured workers, indentured workers of course, coincidently, being the backbone of the early North American colonies.

The table does not really support the claim that corporate America is hiring illegals.

I am all for prosecuting employers and think E-Verify should be mandated, but it's going to be small business owners that bear the brunt, not big corporations.

How do illegal aliens get driver's licenses?

4 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

The same cognitive that the left has been howling about for over ten years, yes?

Ol' Biden was sharp as a tack, yes?

"Ol' Biden" isn't president any longer (unfortunately). But your lame diversions are understandable seeing as Trump proves his brain is mush every time they stick him in front of a camera.😆

6 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

The table does not really support the claim that corporate America is hiring illegals.

I am all for prosecuting employers and think E-Verify should be mandated, but it's going to be small business owners that bear the brunt, not big corporations.

How do illegal aliens get driver's licenses?

You misunderstand the table then. Look up the paper then come back.

95% of the US taxi market is now controlled by two corporations. I find it difficult to believe that therefore if you book a cab with a local firm you will certainly have an illegal driver.

Illegal aliens dont' have drivers licences, though isn't it super easy for High Schoolers in the US to get fake ID for beer? McLovin. If illegal aliens don't have licences, then corporate employers are ignoring that, and are culpable.

No one is above the law. Small businesses by being small don't have an opt out. If the only way they survive is by paying slave wages and smuggling people in, then they deserve to go under. The onus is on them to prove their employees are legal. Sounds like you are soft on illegals.

3 hours ago, Yagoda said:

He wasnt crazy though when Hillary was begging him for money

You mean back when he was voting for the Dems?

4 minutes ago, BLMFem said:

You mean back when he was voting for the Dems?

I dont know who he voted for, you tell us.

7 minutes ago, Yagoda said:

I dont know who he voted for, you tell us.

He registered as a Democrat in August 2001 and stayed registered as one until September 2009.

Hope this helps!

Just now, BLMFem said:

He registered as a Democrat in August 2001 and stayed registered as one until September 2009.

Hope this helps!

Im a registered Democrat and have been since 1974, with a break as an Independent between 1999 and 2007. So what?

I wonder if Don voted for Ed Koch. I did.

From 2017

https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2011/EFTA02555059.pdf

Probably talking to the writer about some other guy at a dinner in december 2017.

On 2/5/2026 at 8:50 PM, Yellowtail said:

Both legal and illegal aliens put downward pressure on wages, and upward pressure on housing. Illegal immigrants also compete for the same medical ad social programs as the working poor.

On 2/5/2026 at 9:12 PM, Yellowtail said:

I made a mistake. It should have read: Both legal and illegal aliens put downward pressure on wages, and upward pressure on housing. Illegal immigrants also compete for the same medical and social programs as the working poor.

It is not possible that they do not push wages down and housing up.

Illegal immigration benefits the rich on the backs of the poor.

https://www.cato.org/white-paper/immigrants-recent-effects-government-budgets-1994-2023#

4 hours ago, jvs said:

https://www.cato.org/white-paper/immigrants-recent-effects-government-budgets-1994-2023#

More nothing from you.

All hands bulletin.
Attention in the psych ward, Bad Grandpa is off his meds again!

9 minutes ago, BLMFem said:

All hands bulletin.
Attention in the psych ward, Bad Grandpa is off his meds again!

You dont agree with Buy America? Got it. You dont think the US should be entitled to some revenue from this Bridge? Got it.

13 minutes ago, Yagoda said:

You dont agree with Buy America? Got it. You dont think the US should be entitled to some revenue from this Bridge? Got it.

Oh, and Congresswoman Dingell has a few things to point out to Trump, you and your ilk. Like the fact that Canada paid for the bridge!

https://x.com/RepDebDingell/status/2021018664770670994?s=20

25 minutes ago, BLMFem said:

Oh, and Congresswoman Dingell has a few things to point out to Trump, you and your ilk. Like the fact that Canada paid for the bridge!

So?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambassador_Bridge#:~:text=The%20bridge%20was%20constructed%20with,the%20Detroit%20International%20Bridge%20Corporation.