The link doesn’t open for me.

It does for me.

(I’m in Canada, FWIW.)

Good point, however I suppose I’m writing 2 versions of the story, with 2 descriptions:

the first is for me, where I figure out, if not everything, then nearly everything, in the story; so if someone asks, “what about this?” I can answer it. It also helps with my imagining the the story as I write it.

the next is for readers, or possible readers, who get a more abbreviated versions.

Though there is the possibility that a reviewer, instead of giving me a hard time over the impossibilities, might come up with real world examples, or examples-of-sorts, of elements of my story.

Let’s say a girl was born in Mexico in 1968. Her parents (who are also Mexican) moved to the US soon after and by 1978 become US citizens, which made her a US citizen.

She gets great grades while in school and integrates fully into American society. Let’s say she goes to university and gets a Ph.d, and later serves 2 terms in the US House of Representatives. Perhaps she could try to be US President. She’s not well known but that was true with the last 3 Democratic US Presidents (Carter in 1974, Clinton in 1990, and Obama in 2006 were relative nobodies).

Ah, but she’s not a native-born citizen and thus can’t be a US President.

So if an American philosopher-king was born in Mexico, became a US citizen at 10, and spent the next 50 years in the US should nonetheless not be allowed to be a US President because she wasn’t born in the US?

(Let’s say she was born in 1968.)

I mostly agree

However, in my story—as I presently have it—at least one of my characters—and a possible protagonist—lives in the US as an illegal alien, builds a drug empire (mostly marijuana, nor is he violent—he’s not a Vito or Michael Corelone, Tony Montana, or that guy in Breaking Bad), and then he, if you will, between 1998 to 2004, “cashes out” by laundering his money—in the $100s of millions—in varying banks, perhaps those of this country, and assumes a new life as a citizen there, somewhat of a playboy, who spends most of his time in the country, while running legitimate businesses he bought or started there. He then rarely, if ever, goes to the US.

Would this be possible for him in this country as the US and others continue their war on drugs?

These might help:

wp:Wikipedia:Avoid personal remarks

wp:Wikipedia:Staying cool when the editing gets hot

wp:Wikipedia:No angry mastodons

Lemmy.world is kind of leftist. This is somewhat true with reddit too.

You asked the kind of question that gets people here ticked, so some will probably insult you.

Do people who ask questions about whether homeless people deserve to be homeless themselves deserve to be insulted and accused of being a troll and/or bot?

Try not to insult back, and if it’s too much for you, push back from your computer—hopefully you aren’t using a smart phone, tablet, or something similarly stupid for this—and have a walk, and come back when you’re feeling more at ease, charitable, magnanimous, and thoughtful.

First off, I don’t know for sure who is or isn’t homeless.

A begger with a sign that says “homeless” might be lying. Tents can be second residences.

A homeless person can be reasonably, even well, dressed and/or working.

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In your humble opinion, are the majority of the homeless people responsible for the situation they are in?

As I tend to believe in free will, ultimately yes.

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IOW: do they deserve to be homeless, because it is their personal failure or do they not, because they are a victim of the circumstances (the reasons they are where they are are largely out of their control)?

Do smokers deserve to have cancer, do people who eat over 3000 calories a day deserve their obesity?

No in all 3 cases, but life choices might, or even probably, lead to such.

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Have you ever talked to homeless people?

Probably.

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Are they really just “bad people”

No if they don’t do bad things.

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and “will never change”

I suppose some do.

I suppose most find a home, some never do, and a few die homeless.

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or are they hardworking individuals who’ve just had a punch by life that they were unable to stand after?

I suppose that happens too.

Hey: be nice.

Of these 2 questions, your first was valid.

Okay and thank you for your reply.

Having their own currency is a pride thing. Having it pegged is a concession to the need to have it backed, but pegged to a basket means they aren’t totally financially beholden to anyone bigger than the country.

They also have notes that are worth more than US$1000: one might not need a gym bag of US bills when it could be replaced with a fanny pack of the country’s currency.

The amount of money the US has is, IIUC, slightly over $2 trillion. This country’s currency probably totals to less than 1% of that.

As it is, I imagine the bank would do with the dollars as you’ve described.

The thing is, some US regulators, bureaucrats, and politicians—maybe some from the FBI, DEA, and a few other agencies—as well as those of other countries who have their own drug warriors, would want to inhibit such transactions.

I can easily imagine that they might push their banks to not deal with these types of banks in my fictional country, perhaps none of the banks or other financial institutions in that country, until that country changes the laws and gets in line.

With the Russian-Ukrainian war these past few years, I’ve been hearing about sanctions against Russia and some Russian YouTubers are talking about how hard it is to get money back to their relatives. Presumably Russia deals with partially this by maintaining a banking system in Russia where people in, say, Saint Petersburg and Vladivostok, could exchange money, including electronically, and as some countries still trade with Russia, transfers between these cities and, say, Belgrade, Brasilia, and Beijing (hey 3 "B"s!), might be similarly easy.

Some of these countries might not be too concern with this country allowing the aforementioned drug laundering because they control their own drug trade with repression. Idk.

I wonder if these would happen, and by how much, and how my fictitious country would cope with such.

I don’t think trade deficits matter that much, or if they really exist (if 100 million Americans bought US$100 billion in Chinese electronics, the Chinese get the money and the Americans have the electronics—where’s the deficit when both got what they wanted?).

I don’t know what the banks would do with the cash, but I figure they would find a way to use it.

As I’ve presently imagine it:

The country isn’t so much mountainous as it is hilly. I suppose the skiing there isn’t great and maybe limited to several weeks at most. I describe it as a place where snow falls, but where wild palms and citrus can grow in a microclimate. Part of it is a swamp that leads to the coast. There isn’t a natural harbor, and the water nearby is too shallow, but at least they have air access.

They were occupied until the early 20th century. Lead by a great leader (and maybe with a few Americans who aren’t all that pro-American) employing strategies and at times brilliant tactics against their indolent and incompetent occupiers, they get independence.

They make a treaty with this country and 3 others. These countries together might be the size and area of one of US’s smallest 40 states.

The guerilla leader turns out to be a good political leader, who at the beginning might be semi-authoritarian. He pursues strong neutrality and self-reliance, and with mixed results, industrialization. There is probably conscription in the first few decades. They declare war on Germany in very late March/early April 1945 (they also try to figure out what to do with their millions of Reichmarks).

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Why didn’t others invade?

They have hills and swamps, unique language, decades of self-reliance and some preparation, and pretty well no natural sources of petroleum and natural gas.

What about an economic blockade?

A US battleship might get run aground if it comes too close, aircraft carriers (IIUC) are expensive to run, and a smaller ship might get sunk by them and force a more intense response from the US. IIRC, Bill Clinton was less interventionist than Bush (either of them), Dubya Bush was too busy with Afghanistan and Iraq, and under Trump, Hasan Piker might spend a week or 2 visiting the country and giving autographs, yelling “Viva la [name of the country]!”.

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Strong economic ties to many countries, neutrality in wars, value outside economics (craftsmen).

They buy from pretty well everybody (with maybe some not too costly tariffs), sell to pretty well everybody, and are neutral (today they trade with Russia while maybe 100 of their citizens are in Ukraine’s international battalions).

It’s a fictional country.

I find 2 problems with writing about real countries, I suppose small ones in particular:

1. They might not be good for my story. Monaco is too small for one of my characters, Switzerland is landlocked.

2. Someone who knows a lot about the real country, such Monaco or Switzerland, perhaps someone who lives there, might say: “Oh, that’s not right, in [the country they know about] they do it this way.”

That said, I want the country to be realistic enough that it would fit in the real world and exist, at least more or less, as I described it. That’s why while I want it to be big enough to be viable, but small enough for a realistic enough fit.

As I’ve replied elsewhere ITT:

I’m thinking that their currency is pegged to a basket, which includes gold, silver, USDs, €, £, ¥, and Swiss francs.

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I’m not quite sure how banks work.

Like if a bank takes the gym bag full of money, what do they do with the US$1 million. Do they put it in a vault with perhaps US$100s of millions, as well as also those of extra currencies?

They aren’t resource rich, but they have a reputation for self-reliance. If it wasn’t for tourism they probably would have a trade deficit. I’m thinking that their currency is pegged to a basket, which includes gold, silver, USDs, €, £, ¥, and Swiss francs.

Okay, that’s good.

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However, I should have added, that this occurred between 1998 and 2004.

I thought the US and others have pushed Switzerland to do more reporting and disclosing.

Maybe the US could allocate 1% of what it spends on its military to these instead.

IIUC, Trump graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, while Dubya Bush got an MA in Harvard.

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wp:George W. Bush

In the fall of 1973, Bush entered Harvard Business School. He graduated in 1975 with a Master of Business Administration. He is the only U.S. president to have earned that degree.[16]

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However,

wp:Abraham Lincoln#Early life and education

(my bold)

Lincoln was largely self-educated.[20] His formal schooling was from itinerant teachers. It included two short stints in Kentucky, where he learned to read, but probably not to write. After moving to Indiana at age seven, he attended school only sporadically, for a total of less than 12 months by age 15.[21] Nevertheless, he was an avid reader and maintained a lifelong interest in learning.[22]

elsewhere in the article:

He gained a reputation for strength and courage after winning a wrestling match with the leader of a group of ruffians known as the Clary’s Grove boys.[45]

…

In adolescence he was tall and strong, participating in jumping, throwing, wrestling, and footraces, and demonstrating exceptional strength.[337] Burlingame notes that Lincoln’s clothes “were typically rough and suited to the frontier”, with a gap between his shoes, socks, and pants that often exposed six or more inches of his shin; “he cared little about fashion”.[338]

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I think becoming a US President, VP, and a Congressperson should be more open, including to those not born in the US and ≥18 years of age.