Try and error.

kingdragonfly: An irony is these migrant workers are often "on the books" paying US federal taxes, but can't get any benefits. 

They're actually a net benefit to the economy because many of them are using borrowed identities (dead people, people who have left the country, round-robin use by migrant workers of a single identity, etc) and, as you say, paying taxes but not drawing any benefits like medical care or pensions.

Also, a significant chunk of the US real economy (not the fantasy numbers game of stock market valuations) depends on indentured servants working at below-minimum-wage levels.  If you want something like gardening work done you contact casual labour agencies who bring around a crew of guys on the back of a pickup (ute) who do the work for cash.  That's the standard way to do it.  Friend of mine's dad did building cleanups in NY, so gutting the existing rotten old building and re-doing it with new(er) everything, and he employed 100% illegals.  Everyone did, that's the way it's done.  The difference was that he provided them with food and water when they worked and paid them extra for overtime, which many don't.

Not sure how easy this is to explain to people here used to sensible minimum wages and labour laws and ACC and whatnot, just how much of the US runs on the backs of their indentured servants.  If Trump could somehow magic all the illegals to Mexico, significant sectors of the US economy would collapse overnight.

One piece of crazy among the other mass of Trump crazy was his Iron Dome announcement.  Iron Dome has a maximum range of 70km and is used to defend a perimeter of a couple of hundred km (since Israel is 100km wide at its widest but mostly a lot less than that you can site batteries in a few locations to cover everything).

The US has something like 18,000km of border and is wide enough that you have to put batteries all along it to get coverage.

Also if you look at a map, it appears the missile threat will be someone lobbing Qassams from the Mexican section of the Sonoran Desert into the US section of the Sonoran desert.

He's not so much the President as the Ambassador from the Kingdom of Crazy.

And we have 4 more years of this crap to look forward to.

Oh yay.

Here we are over a week in, and still not seeing anything about getting cheaper grocery prices or ending the war in Ukraine "in 24 hours" (yet).

quickymart:

 

• And he’d pull security protection from two of his former advisors in such a manner as to practically invite the Iranian government to assassinate them

The baller move for the Iranians would be to publicly forgive them, 'unlike the godless American President who [insert reasons etc.]'.

neb:

 

One piece of crazy among the other mass of Trump crazy was his Iron Dome announcement.  Iron Dome has a maximum range of 70km and is used to defend a perimeter of a couple of hundred km (since Israel is 100km wide at its widest but mostly a lot less than that you can site batteries in a few locations to cover everything).

 

The US has something like 18,000km of border and is wide enough that you have to put batteries all along it to get coverage.

 

Also if you look at a map, it appears the missile threat will be someone lobbing Qassams from the Mexican section of the Sonoran Desert into the US section of the Sonoran desert.

 

He's not so much the President as the Ambassador from the Kingdom of Crazy.

 

But I'll bet Netenyahu was so excited he nearly bit the end off his pinkie finger when he totted up the price.

neb:

 

Not sure how easy this is to explain to people here used to sensible minimum wages and labour laws and ACC and whatnot, just how much of the US runs on the backs of their indentured servants.  If Trump could somehow magic all the illegals to Mexico, significant sectors of the US economy would collapse overnight.

 

It would never make up for the pain it caused those people, but it would otherwise be beautiful to see.

I watched the Whitehouse press conference thing on the news this morning. 

Hilarious. 

The Press Secretary made proclamations like she was from ancient Egypt and said things like (not a direct quote), "California's water supply is back on after President Trump was there just a few minutes. The incompetent local authorities couldn't get it working in the days leading up the Messiah's coming". 

There really is a weird religious fervour around the Orange One. 

Also - press accreditation will go to Bloggers, Social Media Influencers, Select Celebrities and anyone who delivers "news" in this modern age. Traditional Media Outlets may lose their accreditation as the public no longet trust them...
She really got into that one. 

Then she made some comment about the previous Government and Joe Biden being asleep upstairs instead of ruling the country...it was not only disrespectful and unprofessional, but it was unneccessary. 

Karoline something? Apparently the youngest press secretary in the White House ever...and reading your summarised comments above, it shows.

quickymart:

 

Karoline something? Apparently the youngest press secretary in the White House ever...and reading your summarised comments above, it shows.

 

Karoline Leavitt

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/28/karoline-leavitt-white-house-press-conference

^^That one^^

Reuters - Judge temporarily pauses Trump's freeze on grants, loans

breaking

WASHINGTON, Jan 28 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Tuesday temporarily paused part of the Trump administration's sweeping directive to pause federal loans, grants and other financial assistance, granting a win to advocacy groups who said the policy would be devastating.

 

At a hearing in Washington, D.C., federal court, U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan ordered the Trump administration not to block "open awards," or funds that were already slated to be disbursed, until at least Feb. 3.

 

The judge said her temporary ruling was intended to "maintain the status quo." ...

 

and

The Washington Post - The 5-Minute Fix

The Trump administration threw the federal government into chaos Tuesday by trying to pause spending on billions or even trillions of dollars worth of programs, an action that experts say is almost certainly illegal, as well as troubling in its disregard for Congress’s role in governing.

 

“It’s not just unconstitutional,” said Josh Chafetz, a constitutional-law professor at Georgetown University and an expert on the separation of powers, “it’s anti-constitutional.”

 

Minutes before the freeze was supposed to go into effect, a federal judge blocked it - but just for a few days. Other lawsuits are expected to challenge the pause in the coming days.

 

Looks like OpenAi, Microsoft, Oracle, Nvidia, got its 0.5 Trillion, Elon will get his Moon and MARs funding.

Healthcare gets stripped of its support.

David Seymor and Simeon Brown, watching learning, American style Healthcare, Education is so much better than Nordic style ?

For people that go on about people needing to have more children.
The horror of demographic collapse, programs to cut Healthcare including maternity care.

Children need a lot of maintenance and with dog-eat-dog economy, education and healthcare 
Entirely logical that there is such incentive to have children.

Handsomedan: Karoline Leavitt

 

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/28/karoline-leavitt-white-house-press-conference

 

Well she's got the primary qualifications Trump looks for in a press secretary.  The how-many'th Bullshit Barbie will this be now?