spidermike007

Hello! Huh? Of course consumer confidence is down. When you bear witness to a once vibrant economy, torn asunder partially by Covid, but mostly by imbeciles who are in completely over their heads, and have no idea how to fight this thing, or deal with tourism, the economy will tumble. Nothing will be normal next year, or the year after. Thailand is now heading towards an economic catastrophe that will make 1997 look mild. And it will last a half decade or longer. There is a high chance of a major depression here, and nobody knows how high unemployment is, if you take into account the cash economy. 40%? More? And the goons who are saying the economy will only grow by 1% this year are lost in space. Contract by 8% maybe. And then you have the "exports are way up" crowd chiming in. Alot of fake news out there, no doubt alot of it is administration supported subterfuge, disinformation, and just plain lies. And when you consider that tourism made up a full 20% of the economy, or 110,000,000,000,000 baht that is alot of cash that is gone, baby gone, and not returning anytime soon. I do not think it will ever return. I predict after 5 years, the tourism industry will be 15% of what it was before, or 5 million arrivals, at most. Too much sabotage. Too much punishment. Too much destruction. Too little support. Too long a shutdown.

These analysts are pathetic. Who are they anyway? Of course the baht will fall further. They need high paid people to tell them that? Nearly everything that is coming from these bank analysts is looking more and more inaccurate, more like guesswork, and less like professional, good quality forecasting every day. Of course the baht will fall more. Nothing will be normal next year, or the year after. Thailand is now heading towards an economic catastrophe that will make 1997 look mild. And it will last a half decade or longer. There is a high chance of a major depression here, and nobody knows how high unemployment is, if you take into account the cash economy. 40%? More? And the goons who are saying the economy will only grow by 1% this year are lost in space. Contract by 8% maybe. And then you have the "exports are way up" crowd chiming in. Alot of fake news out there, no doubt alot of it is administration supported subterfuge, disinformation, and just plain lies. And when you consider that tourism made up a full 20% of the economy, or 110,000,000,000,000 baht that is alot of cash that is gone, baby gone, and not returning anytime soon. I do not think it will ever return. I predict after 5 years, the tourism industry will be 15% of what it was before, or 5 million arrivals, at most. Too much sabotage. Too much punishment. Too much destruction. Too little support. Too long a shutdown.

The watches are barely the tip of the iceberg. If there was something in the way of a "watchdog agency", no doubt they would be turning up villas on Lake Lucerne in Switzerland, Manhattan penthouses, Monaco condos, massive exotic car collections in warehouses overseas, and trillions of baht in overseas bank accounts. These guys know no bounds. One can only hope they are held accountable, at some point down the road. But, I am not sure prison is enough.

I do not have the evidence, but if they were not told by the government, all 40 of them would not have closed on the same day at my local Tesco. Basic logic, and more evidence of sabotage, of the local economy and the small business owners.

Most civilized nations truly care about their environment, have policies that reflect that, and enforce them. Thailand has some policies that would indicate there is a minor amount of concern about environmental issues, but as is the case with everything Prayuth, nothing is ever followed up on, and new laws are forgotten within two weeks. And the land and air, in addition to the health of the masses means less than zero. This is the price of extreme self absorption.

20%, if using even a conservative model, that would be well over a million untreated cases in Bangkok alone. The lockdown is showing it's positive effect, right? Cripple the economy, force millions out of work, and accomplish nothing. Nice job, guys.

Thailand to launch space program. Covid will be under control in 3 months. Anutin becomes competent. Prayuth gains credibility. Thailand gets up to 75% vaccinated level. Government helps the poor and homeless. How about that?

No. Because inflation is already very high.

I agree. However, the war on drugs has failed miserably. And millions are in prisons for ganga possession. Wasted lives and resources. And for what? I would like to see all drugs made legal. Like in Portugal. But, at a minimum stop with the arrests for harmless drugs like ganga. Alcohol and many prescription drugs are infinitely more dangerous.

Please do the nation a favor and stay in Phuket permanently. The tourism industry has a slight 10% chance of recovery without you in charge. With you? Closer to 2%.

If they bothered to even attempt to include the cash economy here, the real rate is likely closer to 40%. The 2% figure is an insult to everyone. Diabolically fake news. The economy is utterly decimated right now. All the foreign capital exiting Thailand is proof of that. And anyone with eyes to see, can surmise that millions who were working in tourism are out of work and upcountry playing cards. So much nonsense. Who are these people and why are they considered credible sources of information?

He has initially been charged with damaging a police vehicle as evidence is gathered and further charges could be lodged today. Huh? No charge for assault? The knife attack was so unimportant and insignificant? Mistake nunber one was getting close enough to be assaulted.

Maybe he was being sincere and they really were helping folks out. Frankly, I think this "war on drugs" is ridiculous. Especially ganga. An absolutely juvenile quest, that does little to nothing to stop the flow. If someone wants drugs, they will find them. And here 99% of the ganga "arrests" result only in the enrichment of the local franchisee cop.

I saw an image of a farmer working in his field, with his father, wearing a mask. Out in the open, working meters away from someone he shares a home with. This is a good indication of how scared the people are, and how successful the authorities have been with regard to instilling an overly toxic level of fear into the hearts and minds of the people. What could possibly be more insane, and less science based behavior, than wearing a mask out on a farm with no people around? I saw another guy the other day driving his car with a mask on. Nobody in the car with him. Huh? This is not the Bubonic plague. This is Covid. Yet, one would think this is the Zombie Apocalypse and the end of the world.

Last I heard, Medpark in Bangkok was still offering the Pfizer. For free. No doubt thanks to a stipulation by the US, and NOT having anything to do with the "Prayuth largess".

That may be from your clinical research, but often in the real world, things are quite different. It matters little to me what the studies say. What matters to me is how many mosquitos are biting me, and how many flies are pestering me. In my years of trying different oils, and blends, this is one of the best ones, one of the most effective ones, one that lasts the longest, and one that smells the most pleasant.

The big question is which currency will decline more? Though my bets are on the long term decline of the dollar, if I were betting on currencies right now, I would bet against the Thai baht in the medium term (next 6 months to 2 years). The economy is in a shambles, tourism will not return for years, exports are way down, homelessness is exploding, the unemployment rate might be as high as 40%, and foreign investors are now scared of anything related to Thailand.

Nope. They have been closed by many provinces, without any science or reason. Perhaps the lack of a lobby, to argue the need for the small guy to make a living? Sheer ivory tower consciousness rules the day.

This could have been avoided. There are so many things the goons could have done, to prevent this, minimize this, and the least effective way to handle this is the economic shutdown. It is obviously not working. DUH! So, stop inflicting sadism on the masses. Let them get back to work.

I mix my own repellent using a blend of citronella, lemongrass and eucalyptus oils. The last one cuts down the smell to a tolerable level. A very effective blend. Also works to keep flies away. All flying insects seem to hate the smell. Lasts a few hours, and is not toxic like the DEET stuff, which gets into the liver if used often.

It is all relative. Thailand actually has some rather nice National Parks, and many are very well maintained. It also has alot of relatively unknown wilderness areas, where nobody is allowed. Really gorgeous areas, with old growth timber, alot of monkey, huge stands of bamboo, and spectacular forests. I do not often praise the government here, but this is one area where they deserve praise. Granted Prayuth inherited the system. But at least he is not attempting a Trump type move, to sell off the national lands to the highest bidder.

A friend recently arrived on Samui for the sandbox scheme. Even though he has been tested four times, he was confined to his hotel room for 7 days. He kept asking for a reason, he kept insisting that he came due to the promise of being able to leave his hotel after 3 days, yet all he got was imprisonment in his hotel. Word gets around, there are too many travel forums, Thailand already has a black eye in regard to tourism, and many problems existed long before Covid came along. So, now with the extremely long closure period, the inconsistency policy, the draconian restrictions, word getting out about improperly enforced policy and inconsistencies, it is only going to get worse. The bottom line is that the industry has been decimated to the point where it almost appears to be a form of sabotage and sadism, and it will NEVER recover. We may see as many as 5 million tourists a year in five or ten years. Maybe.

Exactly. Doing something, is better than doing nothing. It would be far better for Thailand to import its sugar, and put the land to far better use. Sugar is not a top crop. And it is extremely toxic to the environment. The burning is atrocious, and the authorities have no interest in regulating it, no matter how bad the air gets. And few can argue that the air seems to be getting worse each year. So, how can you justify doing nothing to improve on that? Rice is a commodity that essentially ensures a life of poverty, for the farmer. Even the Thai government is attempting to get farmers to stop growing it. Ms Prapatpon, 48, returned to school last month for a state-funded training programme designed to wean farmers off water-intensive rice and teach them how to grow other crops. With lessons spanning everything from accounting to chicken husbandry, the government is trying to reduce a record stockpile of the grain at a time when farmers are facing the worst drought in two decades. https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/thai-rice-farmers-urged-to-grow-other-crops

Progress is the answer. Forward movement is the answer. Any alternative to diesel would be a wise move. Anything. Just do something, not nothing.

A rosy prediction. I see a 15-30% downside risk. 40-45 baht per dollar, within 12-18 months. In 1997 the baht fell to 56 to the dollar. This economic crisis is going to make 1997 look like a cakewalk. A four to seven year recovery period. The extent to which they have demolished the tourism industry is beyond comprehension. Same applies to the economy in general, with the constant shutdowns, the inconsistent application of policy, the completely botched vaccination program, and the Covid fear mongering. You could not have destroyed the future of the nation more, if you were deliberately trying to do so.