mfd101

Seen from outside and far away Usofa looks like a once-great nation whose greatness is sinking more or less rapidly in the west ... When you look at all the other nasties in the world (China, Russia, Iran, Nth Korea ... ) it's hard to be optimistic about the future of civilization and democracy.

Depends whether you are from Usofa or from the rest of the 'Western' world. In Usofa: Republicans - far right - Red; Democrats - right - Blue In the rest of the 'Western' world: Left - Red; Right - Blue

GST/VAT same thing. The thing about GST/VAT is that it hits poor people greatly. Rich people don't even notice. The in-betweens in-between. So you need to democratize/socialize your tax system with a progressive (in the technical sense) income tax to produce just outcomes. The point is that you need both.

In other words, to provide a decent pension system you first need a decent & non-corrupt taxation system ... GST is the obvious way to go, along with an enforceable income tax system.

Progressivism is moving inexorably into the MFP camp. Orange + red = victory at the next elections (even if 'MFP' has by then a new designation forced on it).

And I think the Red Shirts have already reached that conclusion ...

(sob! sob!)

Red Shirts are probably necessary for the long-term success of MFP (ie major change & reform in Thailand). They're the ones who do the heavy breathing out on the streets for moving forward, along with - now - the orange students. (In the Oz context I'm a right-of-centre person. But TIT ...)

So far he looks to me like a reasonable guy. Certainly more brain power & energy than the dinosaur Uncles! Can't blame him entirely for the complicated & long-drawn-out appointment processes ...

Age and wisdom aren't necessarily close partners.

Always fascinating to encounter the American anti-social concept of 'freedom'. Not to mention the peculiar association of the colour red with the political right, and blue with the political left. The great Usofan republic leading the world ... Meanwhile back in the real world ... In Oz the current advice I saw 3 or 4 weeks ago was that the new round of viruses was highly infectious but likely less nasty than the Omicron round. And on the basis that most people (in Oz) have now reasonable levels of resistance to covid (because of previous infection +/or vaccines) people should wait 3 or 4 or 6 months before getting the latest round of all-inclusive vaccines still being readied for distribution. (Which probably means we won't see the latest vaccines here in Thailand till some time next year).

Good luck with that. Government subsidies merely distort the market (both supply & demand) and 'benefit' (in the short term) the rich as well as the poor. They also distort or kill the evolution to alternative means of transport (eg in Thailand's case, decent railways both inter- and intra-city).

We shall see.

Yes, I'm aware of that. Perhaps I should have said: 'Would be lovely to have a usable one in Surin'.

Yes, but was Defence 'under civilian control' in her time?

Would be lovely to have one in Surin! (instead of having to drive for an hour to get to Buriram airport) ...

Sitting still is bad for you. Your body was made for movement, swinging through the trees. You should get up and move around every 30 minutes. Staring at a screen is bad for your eyes. You need to exercise your eyes for a few seconds every 5 minutes, looking sideways 'out of the corner' of your eyes, & looking at objects further away from you than your screen (ie refocussing).

(Yawn)

Interesting. Keeping Defence under civilian control will be a new experience for Thailand ...

At least in the shortish term - say, to May next year - he's in a position to stare down his internal opposition and get his own way. The dinosaurs are still licking their wounds. Propaganda-wise he looks good in all the photos & vids. Towering over everyone else, a useful symbolism when you're in politics.

No problems ordering up a transfer from Aus to Thailand this morning. Scheduled for arrival at 1400 tomorrow as usual.

It's their accepting an endless stream of unpalatable facts since forever that has made Thailand what it is - a byword for feudal hierarchy, poverty and corruption!

Yes, the mega-rich could certainly do with being taken down a peg or 3. As to the minimum wage (as Australia is rediscovering under a Labor Government), increasing wages without first increasing productivity through technology & education simply produces runaway inflation. Podactif wot dat?

Notice that the first report above (from Thai PBS) says he'll think about it. The second report above (from something in Phuket) says he's doing it ... No suggestion (so far) of doing anything for expats.

As to the 10K payment (assuming it actually materializes), here in Isaan the people will accept it Tank yo wery mut, and then vote MFP in even larger numbers at the next election. They may be poor peasants and uneducated but they're not entirely stupid.