This. 9000%. The bolded part.
Thailand has built it's wealth and their ticket entry into the current century on the back of their hookers and that's physically speaking AND metaphorically speaking as well.
Getting rid of prostitution by getting rid of the mongers and there you are left with a broken Kingdom that has nothing to offer, Thailand in itself is absolutely nothing special, in fact let's face it for once and all; Thailand is a dump, that attracts nothing but criminals, (ex)cons and dodgy characters, the entire Kingdom is a complete mess without it's tourism economy and it's women spreading their legs wide opened was the only incentive they could ever possibly offer.
These days I rarely post here at all, why you may ask? Because Vietnam and Cambodia have caught up, the Thai incentive has sailed, the junta has effectively killed the golden goose.
Even if they did a 180 degrees U-turn and all of a sudden allowed us foreigners an easy path to Thai citizenship, 10 years visas without the 90 days reports like criminals and also offered the possibility of legally owning land (think small land enough to build and own our homes), it wouldn't overturn, balance or even out all the damage they have done to their reputation. I for one, would never be able to TRUST a Thai ever again, I wouldn't think of returning to this dump ever, the incentive has sailed, they have shown their true colors, they can rot for all I care.
Thailand elites have shown their disrespect, their zero gratitude attitude towards us, heck, they have zero gratitude towards their own kin, the average somchais who are the bottom of the crooked social ladder and of course, they have zero gratitude towards their hookers even though as I said above, they built their entire economy on (in?) their backs, bunch of xenophobic clowns.
Thailand was a dream, I woke up from that dream, I now see it for what it is; a nightmare.