Good news for US pension funds and social security

[gowlerk 1,903]

No, their investments aren't paying well, but their costs are decreasing. To be fair it is probably not just the US experiencing declines in life expectancy. I'm sure someone here will be along shortly to try to pin the blame on vaccines.

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/12/22/1144864971/american-life-expectancy-is-now-at-its-lowest-in-nearly-two-decades

[Phil1111 908]

4 hours ago, gowlerk said:

No, their investments aren't paying well, but their costs are decreasing. To be fair it is probably not just the US experiencing declines in life expectancy. I'm sure someone here will be along shortly to try to pin the blame on vaccines.

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/12/22/1144864971/american-life-expectancy-is-now-at-its-lowest-in-nearly-two-decades

A link from a related story stated that the life expectancy in Panama is now a year longer than for Americans.But they don't have open carry in Panama. So there!

Besides if you live longer Washington just taxes you longer.(A popular FOX talking point)

Its Christmas and your thread is far too negative. Look, Americans live six years longer than Russians on average. Reports on FOX suggest that up to 10k new immigrants are flooding across the southern border daily. So as soon as a new census can be held. The US will pass Panama because those immigrants and children are young. They also mostly don't feel the need for those dangerous carry permits.

[riggerrob 558]

Those immigrants are flooding into North America to compensate for low birth rates in Canada and the USA. They are flooding in to work nasty jobs (e.g. cleaning, picking berries, construction laborer, etc.) that native-born North Americans are unwilling to do.

The difference between Canadian immigration policy and American immigration policy is that Canada openly and honestly welcomes a half million skilled immigrants per year, favoring those of working age with a decent income. Immigrants earn points by completing university, earning professional credentials, speaking both of Canada's official languages, etc. Ironically, immigrants are far more likely to be bi-lingual or tri-lingual than native-born Canadians. The only problem is that their other language is likely to be Africaans, Arabic, Aramaic, Bulgarian, Cantonese, Croatian, Dutch, Farsi, Finnish, German, Greek, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Kurdish, Mandarin, Nigerian (another dozen languages), Polish, Portugese, Punjabi, Russian, Serbian,  Spanish, Tagalo, Ukrainian, Xhosa, Zulu, etc. ... and those are just the immigrants that I work with every day ...

Over their working lifetimes. those skilled nurses, dentists, doctors, engineers, etc. will repay the federal gov't (Ottawa) with income taxes that exceed their re-settlement costs.

OTOH The USA treats immigrants like criminals. By allowing the great unwashed masses ... your poor, your tired ... the USA is importing only low-wage-earners who become little more than a slave class.

Exploiting poor immigrants is not a uniquely American problem. See the book "Rat People" about poorly-documented day laborers living in cellars of major cities in mainland China. Most of these "rat people" came from poor farming towns in the interior of China who moved to the big city in search of work or higher wages. Corrupt landlords rip them off at every opportunity ... even if they are only forced to pay high rents for un-healthy cellar apartments. They are too poor to get state=sponsored medical care or educations. 

How does this differ from the way the Charles Dickens' London was bursting at the seams a couple of centuries ago. See "A Christmas Carol."

[lippy 765]

26 minutes ago, riggerrob said:

OTOH The USA treats immigrants like criminals. By allowing the great unwashed masses ... your poor, your tired ... the USA is importing only low-wage-earners who become little more than a slave class.

As a Canadian-born/raised immigrant to the US, I resent that just a hair Rob...

Yeah there are a lot of immigrants here doing low-skilled work, but don't make it out as if the US has no path for skilled labor as well.  I initially came here on a work visa prior to getting my green card then my citizenship.  In my small world of US oil and gas production I regularly work with highly skilled people from all over the world.  Just on my team alone in a relatively small company I'm working with Turkish, Chinese, Japanese, Scottish, Venezuelan and Nigerian.  I'd be willing to be that in more advanced technical environments, it's even more-so the case...Does BillVon's office look like the UN, for example?

 

[JoeWeber 2,294]

3 hours ago, lippy said:

As a Canadian-born/raised immigrant to the US, I resent that just a hair Rob...

Yeah there are a lot of immigrants here doing low-skilled work, but don't make it out as if the US has no path for skilled labor as well.  I initially came here on a work visa prior to getting my green card then my citizenship.  In my small world of US oil and gas production I regularly work with highly skilled people from all over the world.  Just on my team alone in a relatively small company I'm working with Turkish, Chinese, Japanese, Scottish, Venezuelan and Nigerian.  I'd be willing to be that in more advanced technical environments, it's even more-so the case...Does BillVon's office look like the UN, for example?

 

I reckon BillVon's office looks like a romper room where the kids are made to build things with Lego's because they look like batteries.

[kallend 1,621]

16 hours ago, riggerrob said:

 

OTOH The USA treats immigrants like criminals. By allowing the great unwashed masses ... your poor, your tired ... the USA is importing only low-wage-earners who become little more than a slave class.

 

I was treated very well when I came to the USA,  Got my green card in 8 months.  It probably helped that I had recommendation letters from the US Dept. of Energy and US Naval Research Lab.  The immigtation officer even called me "sir".

Only negatives I recall were that my (then) wife was asked in the interview if she intended to engage in prostitution,  and a couple of years later when my wallet containing the green card had been stolen, having to wait in a very  long line for a second interview.

[Phil1111 908]

18 hours ago, lippy said:

As a Canadian-born/raised immigrant to the US, ... Just on my team alone in a relatively small company I'm working with Turkish, Chinese, Japanese, Scottish, Venezuelan and Nigerian. ...

 

The US would be the top identified destination for most immigrants in the world. Norwegians and Canadians excepted of course.

Canada recently sent gold toned, embossed invitations to over 10,000 prospective immigrants. Along with free first class open airline tickets.

[riggerrob 558]

Dear lippy,

No offense intended.

I got a NAFTA visa to work as a technical writer when I worked in the USA. Apparently my employer (Rigging Innovations) could not find any one else with my combined skills as an FAA Master Parachute Rigger, CSPA Instructor, USPA Instructor and print journalism diploma.

The fact that a previous job included writing technical manuals for MBB Helicopter of Canada helped with my visa application.

[lippy 765]

1 hour ago, riggerrob said:

Dear lippy,

No offense intended.

I got a NAFTA visa to work as a technical writer when I worked in the USA. Apparently my employer (Rigging Innovations) could not find any one else with my combined skills as an FAA Master Parachute Rigger, CSPA Instructor, USPA Instructor and print journalism diploma.

The fact that a previous job included writing technical manuals for MBB Helicopter of Canada helped with my visa application.

No offence really taken, just wanted to point out that your claim of the US importing ONLY low-wage workers was demonstrably false.

It's definitely true that parts of the economy here are based on low-wage, low-skill, often-undocumented labor.  I hate to admit this but whenever I'm in Canada visiting, it's almost inevitable that I do a double-take in a hotel when I see white housekeeping staff.

Years ago during a Canadian Invasion, Aidan made arrangements for a bunch of us to take a tour of Rigging Innovations.  Sandy seemed like a great guy and I'm sure it was a great place to work, that was made all the better for your contributions.

[ryoder 1,381]

15 minutes ago, lippy said:

Years ago during a Canadian Invasion, Aidan made arrangements for a bunch of us to take a tour of Rigging Innovations.  Sandy seemed like a great guy and I'm sure it was a great place to work, that was made all the better for your contributions.

Sandy was my jumpmaster on jump #1 at Austin Lake, MI.

[Phil1111 908]

1 hour ago, lippy said:

No offence really taken, just wanted to point out that your claim of the US importing ONLY low-wage workers was demonstrably false....

 Agree, Most Billion-Dollar Startups In The U.S. Founded By Immigrants

The report, “New American Fortune 500 in 2022: The Largest American Companies and Their Immigrant Roots,” found that 43.8%, or 219 companies, in this year’s Fortune 500 list were founded by immigrants or their children.

Then along came trump!

"Under President Donald Trump, we are not far from this hypothetical. Trump’s immigration ban and H-1B visa restrictions will significantly harm the U.S. technology industry, diverting the steady, decades-old stream of foreign tech talent to international competitors.

And there’s no country better positioned to welcome this diverse group of innovators than Trump’s northern neighbor: Oh, Canada. At the center of the country’s identity is Toronto — the fourth-largest city in North America. Boasting a diverse community, booming tech scene, and forward-thinking government, this city is the leading contender to welcome tech talent and become the next epicenter of innovation."

Thanks trump. I don't know why I was so down on you all this time. Maybe Brent, Ron, etc. are right about trumpism.

[kallend 1,621]

1 hour ago, Phil1111 said:

At the center of the country’s identity is Toronto — the fourth-largest city in North America.

And the 6th largest conurbation.

[Coreece 189]

7 minutes ago, kallend said:

conurbation.

Thanks, had to look it up.

I would've thought it was some type of autoerotic prison sex.

 

[riggerrob 558]

On 12/24/2022 at 1:16 PM, ryoder said:

Sandy was my jumpmaster on jump #1 at Austin Lake, MI.

Sandy Reid was the best boss I ever had: knowledgeable, flexible and willing to share his experience in making parachute harnesses and containers. I learned a lot about parachute rigging while working for Manley Butler, but even more when working for Sandy Reid.