Group says it will ask political parties to endorse welfare state

[snoop1130]

Group says it will ask political parties to endorse welfare state

By Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer

 

Welfare card holders wait in line Dec. 9 to withdraw 500-baht holiday stipends in Yala province.

 

BANGKOK — A group of activists said Monday it will try to persuade political parties to turn Thailand into a welfare state.

 

Calling themselves “We Fair,” the group held a meeting to discuss their goal of introducing progressive income, land and inheritance tax and cutting the defense budget by 70 percent among others to ensure basic welfare for everyone.

 

Full Story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/politics/2018/12/17/group-says-it-will-ask-political-parties-to-endorse-welfare-state/

 

-- © Copyright Khaosod English 2018-12-17

[webfact]

Universal welfare ‘crucial’ to curb Thai inequality

By Pratch Rujivanarom 
The Nation

 

Civil group urges political parties to forge national safety net

 

NATIONAL budgeting and the welfare system need serious reform if Thailand is to solve its grave problems of social inequality, social justice advocacy groups said yesterday.

 

The We Fair Network of 13 organisations presented its proposal for reform of the country’s welfare system in seven aspects to key political parties at a forum yesterday. The group said improving the welfare system, making changes to tax collection and improving budget management were essential to solving the problem of wealth disparity and social inequality. 

 

A Credit Suisse report recently named Thailand the most unequal country in the world, with 1 per cent of the population owning 66.9 per cent of the wealth. 

 

The We Fair Network said progressive policies to create an efficient universal welfare system were necessary for combating the problem of gross social inequality. It also cautioned that the government’s approach to reducing poverty and social inequality by targeting social welfare at the poor only was misguided.

 

Decharut Sukkumnoed, an economics professor at Kasetsart University, said at the root of social disparity in Thailand was insufficient and poor-quality welfare as well unequal access to state welfare among citizens. 

 

“Many poor people are unable to pursue their goals and improve their livelihoods because they do not get enough assistance from authorities to get good education, which is an important foundation in life,” Decharut said.

 

“Meanwhile, many middle-class people are also facing financial problems as they have to rely on expensive education and healthcare services from the private sector, because the quality of state welfare is poor.”

 

The network proposed changes on seven fronts – education, healthcare, housing, employment, pension and social equality.

 

It proposed a boost in budget for the education sector, so the system can be improved. As for health, it urged that all healthcare schemes be merged into one, so each citizen can be provided with quality medical care. 

 

Also, it suggested a progressive land tax, low-interest loans for housing and access to at least 15 rai for each family.

 

In order to boost earnings among low-income Thais, it suggested that the minimum wage be regularly adjusted for inflation. It also suggested that the same be done for pensions and that a state subsidy be provided for the disabled. 

 

 

Decharut said the most sustainable solution for societal inequality would be a standardised welfare system for one and all, unlike the exclusive welfare for the poor delivered the pro-junta Pracharat Policy.

 

“It has been found that up to 30 per cent of poor people do not have access to government welfare, so it would better for our society as a whole if the government allocated more funds to enhance the state welfare system,” he said. 

 

Decharut said that even though We Fair Network’s proposed policies would require up to Bt1.4 trillion to install and maintain, this huge expenditure could be considered a wise investment considering the great public benefits. 

 

“If we consider the government’s spending as a whole, we can see that allocating a large part of the country’s budget on welfare is possible,” he said.

 

“We can boost the country’s revenue by cutting down tax deductions and benefits for direct investments and impose a progressive land tax or inheritance tax on those who can afford it to fund our welfare system.” 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30360601

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-12-18

[YetAnother]

cut military spending by 70 % ? sounds like a great idea, somewhere else; military controls things here, now directly, soon, indirectly

[mikebell]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

We can boost the country’s revenue by cutting down

on submarines.

[edwinchester]

Can't see a military govt, or one of the next few hobbled by the military imposed constitution cutting the bloated armed forces spending. Best to hope for is a zero percent increase over the next few decades. Even better would be a party with the balls to end conscription and scrap the new constitution.

I have never liked an across the board rate of vat as it hits the poor most.

 

[Kittycat66]

I am so confused about this. How would a thai person be considered at poverty. What is the minimum income.

[Srikcir]

Generating more state income:

• Freeze civil service pay raises for 3-5 years. The junta government has given 5% pay raises every year in their control of the legislature.
• Eliminate all of Prayut's jumble of financial "gifts" to different public sectors and consolidate into a progressive unified welfare program.
• Consolidate small agricultural farms into "sector" farms for economy of scale and automation to improve profitability.
• Prayut did pass legislation for higher property taxes and new inheritance taxes but now delayed inexplicably for two years. Inheritance tax is essentially symbolic with only tax on domestic assets and asset value exclusions from property taxes are too high.
• Improve income tax collection and high penalties for tax fraud and failure to file.
• Sell off all state-owned enterprises.
• Withdraw active duty military and government officials from all corporate board of directors.
• Shrink the size of government that has grown into a massive maze of oversight committees and super committees.

[sammieuk1]

A general cull would be the biggest cost saving????

[Eric Loh]

I don't think Thailand can afford to be a welfare state like the Scandinavia countries which are well-known welfare poster boys. Thailand is not economically equal and does not have a large enough middle-class paying income tax demography. It will need a lot of taxpayers and only a few people who permanently need the welfare. The inequality is just too large and disproportionate of small pool of tax payers versus a large pool of those needing welfare. Moreover Thailand has an aging population who will soon become net beneficiaries of welfare. We also have a large pool of unemployed young people who are not interested in be part of the work force. No doubt it will need serious reform and continuity (no coups). Thailand may perhaps look at the eastern approach to welfarism like in Singapore. 

[marko kok prong]

This is all pie in the sky stuff,the 1 % are not going to let go,and have the money and influence and Army on their side,a laudable idea,just one that will never work or be introduced here.

[Odysseus123]

Hot air.

 

Still.I suppose that they have put their ideas out there and that is something..

[GarryP]

The education budget is already very high. What is needed in terms of education is to introduce more modern methods and stop rote learning, not increasing a budget which is used badly. 

[robblok]

37 minutes ago, Eric Loh said:

I don't think Thailand can afford to be a welfare state like the Scandinavia countries which are well-known welfare poster boys. Thailand is not economically equal and does not have a large enough middle-class paying income tax demography. It will need a lot of taxpayers and only a few people who permanently need the welfare. The inequality is just too large and disproportionate of small pool of tax payers versus a large pool of those needing welfare. Moreover Thailand has an aging population who will soon become net beneficiaries of welfare. We also have a large pool of unemployed young people who are not interested in be part of the work force. No doubt it will need serious reform and continuity (no coups). Thailand may perhaps look at the eastern approach to welfarism like in Singapore. 

Big problem is also with this who will check all of this, i see huge corruption and benefit fraud in systems like this. But all your points are real valid its just not going to happen

[brain150]

Socialism .... that's what it is called !!!