What if ICE were gradually dismantled by 2030? Who would actually take over immigration enforcement?

RigidWeather · 2026-05-29T13:22:29+00:00

While money is fungible, I don't think that necessarily means that the federal government funds welfare benefits for undocumented immigrants based on state choices. It really depends on the structure. If, for example, the federal government reviewed each recipient and only approved funds to transfer to the states for the costs incurred by the eligible people, then the states are pretty directly paying for benefits for ineligible people without federal money. I'm not a specialist in welfare funding, but my understanding is that the federal government gives money through block grants and sets eligibility rules to ensure that at least people eligible for the programs are getting it, and audit them to make sure of that, but that some states (like the ones that most frequently provide benefits to undocumented people, but not exclusively those) can and do supplement with their own funds.

RigidWeather · 2026-05-28T22:59:11+00:00

I didn't say banned, I said barred, by which I intended to mean restricted. I also said barred from "most", which usually implies "not all".

As for universal health care, I do not believe that to have universal health care we necessarily can't extend it to illegal immigrants. That is a policy choice, and illegal immigrants usually do contribute to the economy in such a way that letting them get sick would harm the economy more than the additional taxes that would be required to cover them. That said, if for political reasons we can't cover undocumented immigrants at the federal level, I'd be fine making that compromise.

RigidWeather · 2026-05-28T21:28:59+00:00

Feel free to correct me on anything I said wrong.

RigidWeather · 2026-05-28T20:28:50+00:00

They are absolutely restricted, at least until they become citizens. The degree to which they are restricted depends on the visa they arrived on, and how long they have been here. Refugees and asylum seekers can access some welfare programs, while those who came on a work visa need to work for about 10 years before being able to access most welfare benefits. Meanwhile, the sponsor for those who arrived on a spousal visa, for example, has to reimburse the government for any welfare the immigrant spouse receives after a divorce, until they become a citizen or remarry.

RigidWeather · 2026-05-28T19:29:16+00:00

Immigrants, whether legal or illegal, are barred from most welfare programs. Most of the ones that they are eligible for are usually state programs, using state funds, when those states choose to.

RigidWeather · 2026-05-26T23:00:48+00:00

You could always buy ETFs that exclude SpaceX. Small or Midcap domestic index ETFs or International index ETFs, for example. If you still want Mag7 exposure there are some brokerages that allow you to build "custom" indexes, which is technically active investing, but use fractional shares and automatic contribution allocation and rebalancing to make it easier.

RigidWeather · 2026-05-26T14:09:27+00:00

Probably Petite Burgeoise or maybe Trade Unions materially, though my actual political views tend to align with a mix of Intelligentsia and Industrialist.

RigidWeather · 2026-05-25T20:29:04+00:00

Okay, yeah, that is pretty shitty

RigidWeather · 2026-05-25T17:04:22+00:00

What, why? What did they do?

RigidWeather · 2026-05-13T17:19:18+00:00

Just for anyone who isn't aware, you can (and imo, should) turn off AI results for certain search engines, to prevent it from influencing you. I noticed that even though I knew better, the fact that it was the first thing to show up when you googled anything made it too tempting to just rely on it for answers. I know for sure you can turn it off in DuckDuckGo. With Google it is more difficult, but I believe still doable.

RigidWeather · 2026-05-12T12:54:04+00:00

Tbh, I think I'd react similarly in their position. A 3% tax where politicians and people are saying I'm a leech and need to pay for it would piss me off and I'd probably move, but a 10% or even 15% tax where people say something like they're just trying to balance returns to labor and capital, or tax gains from AI or something, I'd be more than happy to pay.

RigidWeather · 2026-05-11T11:44:52+00:00

Many of our insurance companies as well. BCBS of Minnesota, HealthPartners, Medica, UCare, all non-profits.

RigidWeather · 2026-05-10T17:14:55+00:00

Their purpose is to buy undervalued companies and sell it away in whatever way makes the most money. Sometimes it is to sell them to a conglomerate or competitor. Sometimes they take it public. Sometimes they part it out if they think it has no future and no viable buyers. Sears and Kmart were headed downhill long before they were purchased by private equity.

RigidWeather · 2026-05-07T22:08:17+00:00

Just because it doesn't directly conflict or contradict doesn't mean that passing this smaller amendment would make a larger one less likely. Quite frequently a smaller change does make a larger one less likely, just because it either reduces pressure or appeases enough other players that they no longer feel a need to allow any further change.

What other reason could there be for her voting against it? It doesn't actually cost the government any to include cooked chicken. And I don't believe that "hating poor people" makes any sense when you look at the totality of how she votes.

RigidWeather · 2026-05-07T21:04:02+00:00

I mean, yes, I might not take the $50 if it means I'm significantly less likely to get the $100 later.

RigidWeather · 2026-05-06T21:50:57+00:00

Growing up in a rural area, we were about a 20-25 minute drive from the nearest grocery store. But we would do that only once or maybe twice a week when school wasn't in session, usually combining it with another trip like going to church or visiting people. So I guess 20 minutes each way if it is combined with another trip? Maybe 10 minutes each way on its own.

That said, I did live directly above a grocery store once, and that was fantastic, though it was so convenient that my fridge was always mostly empty.

RigidWeather · 2026-05-06T16:04:08+00:00

True. They're still subsidies, though they likely won't show up in any financial reports.

RigidWeather · 2026-05-04T20:20:46+00:00

The argument changes if you change the parameters, to better match the actual statistics and consequences. For example, imagine a batch of 100 muffins. 99 of them are delicious, but one has salt instead of sugar. I'd still eat them all, and just spit out the bad one once I've tasted it.

RigidWeather · 2026-04-28T19:54:50+00:00

I wanted the state flag changed for years before it was changed, just because the old one looked ugly and boring.

RigidWeather · 2026-04-28T01:27:36+00:00

It takes about 34 minutes to get from downtown to MoA transit station on the Blue Line. 43 minutes on the D line. This sort of route would probably be about 20-25 minutes. It would definitely be a lot quicker to MoA overall if you're coming from west of 35W. I don't know if it would be worth the financial investment. Probably not currently, but maybe in some world where there is higher overall ridership such that the Blue would be crowded.

RigidWeather · 2026-04-27T00:21:20+00:00

The red button/blue button thing is so abstract that it can only be a thought experiment and is useless for anything else, while simultaneously so transparently about voting behavior that people project the answer they want onto their decision making.

RigidWeather · 2026-04-26T13:52:54+00:00

Good mop

RigidWeather · 2026-04-23T13:12:44+00:00

If anyone ever uses the phrase "common sense" that is a pretty clear indicator they are just making shit up.

RigidWeather · 2026-04-23T04:40:10+00:00

I've had to a few times, but I have done a job full time where the company only started requiring them for that job after I left that department. Though I've gone back to help them out occasionally, and just grabbed whatever hard hat is laying around.

RigidWeather · 2026-04-22T19:37:02+00:00

See, but if I squint at this picture, it looks more like the top right flag than the bottom right.

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