Enzian

You are speaking of Krungsri, and I've been thinking for some time that they are not good in that regard (even though I like them otherwise), so it's important to me to know that others think likewise. That being said, can you or others here chime in on which banks here are considered to give a decent exchange rate? I move lump sums of US SS to Krungsri periodically, but not monthly. Thanks!

I've been wondering why PT bothers to pursue the 10K handout in order to "buy votes", as many of us here explain, since votes don't determine the results of elections anyway, the power elite determines the outcome of any election. And I'm now thinking the handout is not to buy votes at all, it's to distract from the way the last election was manipulated and turned out, and with the vast majority of Thais that strategy seems to be working. There are no protests in the streets; people are just waiting for the money, which of course is taking a while.

Sure, all these women, young and old, sitting invitingly in front of their massage shops are going to clean up their act, or change jobs to doing 8 hour shifts in some downsizing auto assembly factories. I have doubts. And that's the "problem". The tip for an hour's "work" is as much as my step-niece gets for standing behind a counter in a 7-11 all day. And whatever the minister thinks, there's no real stigma attached to such work. How about cleaning up the structural inadequacies of this economy so it can move forward and give women more choices?

Something along the lines of the slaves loving their chains comes to mind...

I no longer understand this "vote buying" trope. The military decides the meaning and result of any election ultimately; it's not decided by the number of votes cast for any given party or candidate. Am I wrong?

The central bank people have said repeatedly that the problems are structural and he’s not addressing them, and we may conclude that for various reasons he doesn’t want to.

That part about "reducing the principle payment" can only mean decreasing the principle amount, the figure on the face of the loan. Pure moral hazard unless there's some god from the machine waiting to come down. And that's the drift I get from this report, that someone thinks there is something coming that will turn events around in terms of the real economy; but these measures all read like stopgaps, not solutions.

There's something I saw when departing for Penang (JW Island Green) and I would buy if I could on my return to BKK on Wednesday. Thanks!

Everyone below them on the social ladder in this society just bends over and takes it from them, so they think we should, and will.

A thing is only worth what others are willing to pay. If there are unsold units then it means the developers and owners have a break-even level that they are currently unwilling to go below. But as Pita mentioned the possibility of catastrophe in another thread, here we have the question of when the economy will reach the point of general capitulation, when the majority just gives up and takes what they can get, and hopes they will survive the effective margin calls. But as far as trust in the policy makers of this country, the damage has been done.

My tgf owes the BAAC a tidy sum for money she borrowed from it to buy a parcel of land back at a time when she was flush. Maybe the Bank could consider forgiving the debts of her and people like her before handing all this money over to a political party to buy votes (which doesn't make sense because the results of any election are decided by the power elite after the fact and not by vote numbers anyway). Or maybe the loan to PT will crash the Bank and all those debts will be washed away in the liquidation; I can dream at least.

I've already spent 93 days out of country, in Spain and California, and atm I'm in Penang Malaysia checking it out. It's also the "low" rain season but the weather is not really worse. Except for imported alcohol (higher that Thailand) things are relatively cheap compared to Bangkok, certainly no worse. The multi-ethnic multi-cultural thing is kind of nice, and all the people have been friendly and respectful so far. I saw an article that even Mlaysia is becoming less foreigner-friendly is some way, but there is a lot of "research" left to do, and it's all good.

I also have a tax ID or TIN or whatever because I have a pink card and I remember the day I got it, I was inadvertently wearing a pink dress shirt. This gave a big chuckle to all the office people about when my picture was taken and printed on my new card; a pink card with a pink shirt! That's about the level all this is happening on.

If you had promised her, in effect, that she would have a roof over her head, and had money sent to her to cover your shared apartment during a period that you were gone, if that's not "moral obligation" then I don't know what is. But to be a bit more serious, this expression must have some history and context in Thai law and tradition, and I wish someone who really knows would tell us.

If something like this were inaugurated by a private entity, wouldn't the directors be at risk of jail terms?

And Thailand seems to always end up first or second in polls regarding infidelity; could that be the real source of the happiness of the young?

I've already been out of the country a full 93 days so far this year, so I have some flexibility for the remainder, and the fact that my Non-O rolls over Dec. 20 seems convenient. So is there a written rule that being in country any parts of 180 days makes one a tax resident, or is 180 safe and it's 181? Also, saying they go global, how does Thailand calculate taxable income on residential rental property? Is it based on gross receipts, or gross receipts after the usual (USA) deductions for property tax, debt service, insurance, maintenance and repairs, etc.? Or something in between? Would they want to look at a US Schedule E? Or would rental income abroad be exempt? Finally now, I'm concerned about them establishing something statutory but not enforcing it, or only selectively in a few kinds of cases. Because then if we move with the herd we could always be technically in violation, they would always have a gotcha to apply, or suddenly institute on everyone. Just like it's impossible to file a US Schedule E without there being something there that the IRS could second guess: like why did you put the cost of this piece of work in current expenses and not on a depreciation schedule? Thanks.

The 35-45% is not my figure, it was part of what someone was trying to push on me as part of an argument that nothing will really change; I agree with you that the figures are absurd and can't be that high, though it's impossible to know the real figures since so much happens on a personal level. There are a couple of corresponding points, one being that many of us expats think we are more important in several ways than we really are, and therefore will be left alone, and you might agree. Another is that those who think nothing can or will happen tend to be those who own property, one or several, and their conviction smacks of wishful thinking, because if they are wrong they are going to feel very betrayed and it's not going to be pretty. Myself, I own nothing, I can stay or go, though I'd rather stay; and I have no idea how this will turn out.

Many expats (though not typical on this forum), assume that the ruling elite of this country constitutes what in economic theory is called a "rational actor". I've just had someone tell me that the 800K requirement won't be raised because that amount is enough for emergencies and medical surprises. That insurance requirements won't be changed because the present requirements are adequate to the purpose. And best of all that income taxation won't be enacted because it would drive out expats who contribute 35% to 45% of GDP and no rational actor would risk losing that. I think what's being missed is that the main concern of the power elite is not money per se but to maintain the de facto feudal system that we ourselves also benefit from. They have ways to get money, but if they were ever to lose status it would be all over.

If we want to see the baht chart continue its upward (meaning downward)movement, we should root for Srettha. If we would like not to see the Thai people suffering two or three years in the future, root for Sethaput. Unless, of course, this has in fact all been decided one way or the other and articles like this are just part of the theater.

For the record: as an official policy yes. And my FCD dollar account worked for me for 2 or 3 years till I got the same old IO gal two years in a row who got tired of checking with my bank that my FCD account was real and gave me an ultimatum: I'm going to put this visa in your passport and you are going to walk out of this cubicle and downstairs and move all those dollars into your (til then minimal) Thai baht account, and you better do it. So I did, at 33/dollar, and don't particularly regret it since I got deposit insurance by doing so. What was bad was when they stopped the affidavit method, but there was a personal upside to that which I don't need to go into. The big picture is that IOs will always differ. Sorry so long.

I might agree with you if it weren't for the realities of the educational system.

Of course it's a slow motion train wreck that even the submissive Thais understand isn't going to conclude anytime soon. But look at the bright side: the baht is at 36.9 to the $ this morning. For a long long time a 1000 baht note cost us $33; now its barely $27. And I gotta admit, the std banks here convert CC charges at a decent approximation.

AFAIK we're all still waiting to see lower prices on the shelf, in spite of what this article says. I've almost stopped looking at wine because of how absurd the prices are, though there is one Australian Chardonnay I keep on hand. Also, in this climate a glass full of ice and mixer with a spirit almost makes more sense than wine. I did pick up a 750ml of a name brand vodka at Gourmet Market recently for half of the usual price. I don't think it was a pricing error, more likely phasing out old stock for the new labels coming; it's probably dreaming to think it was because of lower taxes kicking in, but we'll see.

It's strange because in person he looks sturdy; but that's how heart conditions can be, I guess. It's not wishing him ill to hope for his early retirement. He's is definitely one of the crowd (along with Thaksin) generally making things more complicated and expensive for us ex-pats here. Every day I miss Prayuth lol.