soalbundy

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A large section of Thai voters are not outsiders.

Yes for us Thailand seems to be an island of stability but we have to be aware of the fact that our incomes, state pensions and company pensions, rely on the economy, money doesn't float down from thin air, there is no economic safety just because you get a pension, remember when Argentina, for example, was so broke they stopped paying pensions. Worrying though is pointless, it is as it is, we all float on a sea of causality unable to set our own course, only the ego thinks it is master of its own destiny.

It was a comfort animal.

You personally have no sovereignty over anything, not even your house, it's owned by the bank, whether you still have a job tomorrow is decided by your employers. The laws (over which you have no direct or even indirect control) in the UK are basically the same in every European country so what sovereignty are you talking about....apart from your little voting slip but governments are really ruled by the markets and international events, what you want doesn't really count (would you like an end to homelessness, unemployment, war, high interest rates, income inequality, a failing NHS, long waiting times for an OP, Charles and Kate have no problems there, having to choose between heating and eating). Blocks exist world wide because there is safety in numbers and it is financially viable because size projects outward power and influence, it opens up markets and travel, the lack of which the UK is experiencing now. The UK isn't special, it's not even a nice place to live, how's your frozen pension doing? The EU doesn't do that to its pensioners, they look after their people.....Oh and 'Rule Brittania' died a long long time ago.

Well the Tories have made a mess of things already, Labour won't make any difference because there are no alternatives, getting back in the EU could help with import prices of food and give us back the clout of a European block instead of that of an impoverished island in the North sea. 50% unemployment in China due to the withdrawal of Western companies and a failing Russia which desperately needs western technology are (in my opinion) the main causes of the impending recession. Germany is the main engine of Europe, the lack of cheap energy from Russia is the cause of its recession now which will affect all European nations which includes the UK. China was the worlds factory and a huge market for the west, all gone now. Nothing lasts forever however, we are all dependent on one another, market forces will bring back equilibrium once politics gets out of the way, Russian gas will flow again and companies will eventually return to China but the dead wood of debt must be burnt out of the system first which means pain for all of us, perhaps for a decade but hopefully shorter, a lot will depend on the political structures in China, Russia and the US, Xi, Putin and Trump are the biggest dangers for the world.

Do laws prohibiting theft stop people from stealing?

Every country's citizens will blame their leaders for economic downturns. We are at the beginning of a worldwide synchronized recession, it doesn't matter where you live, China, USA, or Europe, economic pain is everywhere. In the US many small banks are basically insolvent. With people maxing out their credit cards just for basics and so the malls have gone to the model 'buy now pay later' from the 60's era. Recessions due to wars and huge national debts are things we have had before but not in a worldwide synchronized way, there was always an 'engine' of stability somewhere which helped pull everyone out but not now. The great recession in the '30's comes close to our coming situation and indeed correlating economic graphs of today show a similarity of what happened then, especially the huge climbs in the stock market (miles apart from the real economy) just before the great crash.

I don't think you of all people should use the word intelligence.

No not more but increasing, something unheard of in the UK earlier but then so was unheated schools and food banks.

He says his wallet was stolen......the 8,000 Baht he had wasn't in his wallet luckily

Really? where on earth do live and where do you socialize. Your ethnic group is a myth, also guns are now being used in the UK as well. Society is breaking down in the UK, probably due to increased poverty, check it out on Google.

It does if you consider the alternative.

So they spread Charter out on t' tea table, And John signed his name like a lamb, His writing in places was sticky and thick Through dipping his pen in the jam.

The kick-off were sharp at two-thirty, And soon as the whistle had went Both sides started banging each other 'Til the swineherds could hear them in Kent.

Yes, it's enough to make one give up smoking.

I quite agree with you regarding the carrying of guns but the prolific stabbings in the UK doesn't make me think that the UK is safer than Thailand; I've been here nearly 19 years and have never felt threatened.

Sometimes I think that the only decent beings in human society are their cats and dogs.

Obviously a socially responsible and caring man,....... he's wearing a mask.

His Buddha nature fell into a glass of Chang.

Hardly massive, I worked out that if I bring in 76,000 every month then with all the deductions I would have to pay 13,750 per year, works out to 1,145 per month, that isn't going to break the bank, it's important to stay in the 5% bracket.

It narrows down the continent, if they had been white they would be called farang.

Precisely. The West, especially America is saddled with so much debt that the interest paid takes a large part of the GDP, on the other hand Thailand has a low debt to GDP at the moment, they could afford it to pump the economy to tie them over until times improve; The danger is if times don't improve for a long time (likely) they will need even more debt to continue the cycle, however if they don't encourage consumption they will have a stagnating economy, like the rest of the world they are between a rock and a hard place. The West has already run out of economic ammunition to fight the coming world synchronized recession, Thailand is in a better situation in this regard and should act before things get too bad and hope the world has an economic miracle. Nothing wrong with sensible debt ie. debt that will eventually generate income like spending on infrastructure, education, investing in home grown manufacturing etc. Helicopter money as the West has done is short lived, just kicking the can down the road.

I agree, they should follow the example set by the West who have magnificent economies.

50% unemployment in China and they need Thai workers?? Sounds dodgy to me.