Needy to get cash, grants starting December 21

By The Nation

 

 

The government will give more 3 million underprivileged people a Bt500 cash handouts and other grants starting this week.
 

Suttirat Rattanachot, director general of the Comptroller General’s Department said on Tuesday that the department will distribute at least 3,042,741 state welfare cards to low-income earners starting from December 21. Recipients are the disabled, seniors and bed-bound patients.

 

They will receive a one-time Bt500 cash handout on January 1.

 

Cardholders will also receive other grants: a Bt500 monthly transport grant, Bt200 to Bt300 monthly for consumption spending (those with annual income under Bt30,000 will get Bt300), Bt230 for the monthly electricity bill, Bt100 monthly for tap water and a Bt45 discount for purchasing cooking gas every three months.

 

Those over age 60 who do not own their home will get Bt400 a month for rent expenses.

 

Those 65 years and up will receive a one-time grant of Bt1,000 to support their healthcare expenditures.

 

Critics have accused the government of using the Bt500 cash handout as a bribe to boost its political popularity in the run-up to the general election next year.

 

There are 14.5 million welfare card holders in Thailand.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30360630

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-12-18

 

Looks like the Krungthai Bank's ATMs are going to get another flogging as the government hands out more vote buying money on behalf of the pro-junta parties.  

Note: cynicism warning!

Pittance money, these amounts are good only if you're dead, or living 50 years ago.. coz no living person could even begin to live on such meager handouts...

28 minutes ago, Cadbury said:

Looks like the Krungthai Bank's ATMs are going to get another flogging as the government hands out more vote buying money on behalf of the pro-junta parties.  

Note: cynicism warning!

How is it cynicism.. its vote buying just like all the other parties have done in the past with their policies. But this time its worse as the PM had said that such policies should be banned and now doing them himself. 

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Critics have accused the government of using the Bt500 cash handout as a bribe to boost its political popularity in the run-up to the general election next year.

That's seems exactly what they are doing,and using taxpayers money to do it,

in the past they used their own money,that's before Thaksin,he was the one

that started huge populist policies using state funds.

regards worgeordie

23 minutes ago, robblok said:

How is it cynicism.. its vote buying just like all the other parties have done in the past with their policies. But this time its worse as the PM had said that such policies should be banned and now doing them himself. 

It absolutely is vote buying. But other parties have done this in the past. But this is worse ‘cause the PM said he would stop this. But other parties have done this in the past. But it is vote buying. But other parties did this in the past........

 

 

Just now, rkidlad said:

It absolutely is vote buying. But other parties have done this in the past. But this is worse ‘cause the PM said he would stop this. But other parties have done this in the past. But it is vote buying. But other parties did this in the past........

 

 

Sorry I don't get what your saying ?

 

I see this as vote buying just like policies of other parties in the past handing out stuff like this is not limited to the junta. The fact that its WORSE is because the Prayut outlawed popular policies like this and now does exactly the same.

 

So did you misunderstand me or what ?

1 hour ago, webfact said:

' . . . more 3 million underprivileged people a Bt500 cash handouts . . . '

More care over the captions would help but, that aside, hands up all those who believe this scheme to be non-vote-buying. There's simply no end to Prayuth's blatant grovelling and apparently no bottom to the barrel that he keeps digging the cash from.

Just now, robblok said:

Sorry I don't get what your saying ?

 

I see this as vote buying just like policies of other parties in the past handing out stuff like this is not limited to the junta. The fact that its WORSE is because the Prayut outlawed popular policies like this and now does exactly the same.

 

So did you misunderstand me or what ?

I understood you completely. 

 

Just to be sure - parties were vote buying before the junta, right? 

Oh heck not again,i had better get down there before this or use my kasikorn account luckily i saw this coming, no i did not,i managed to get cash out on my passbook without waiting as a mates wife works in my local branch,i would have spent half a day in there otherwise.Plus it buggered up the machines,as they were full of 500 baht notes.

3 minutes ago, rkidlad said:

I understood you completely. 

 

Just to be sure - parties were vote buying before the junta, right? 

IMHO yes, because many of the popular policies now used and are called vote buying are direct copies from the PTP. So when you call these popular policies vote buying (and I do) you have to be fair and call those it copied from vote buying too. You can't just only condemn one side.

 

But i feel this is worse because the PM first openly opposed to policies like this and even made them illegal and is now doing them himself. 

That's a pittance ... the new king inherited in excess of 35 billion from his fathers estate , he could afford to give any village thru out thailand a minimum of a million in a flash.

Just now, robblok said:

IMHO yes, because many of the popular policies now used and are called vote buying are direct copies from the PTP. So when you call these popular policies vote buying (and I do) you have to be fair and call those it copied from vote buying too. You can't just only condemn one side.

 

But i feel this is worse because the PM first openly opposed to policies like this and even made them illegal and is now doing them himself. 

He is indeed. And yes, it’s absolutely and undeniably far worse. But other parties did it in the past, we must not forget. 

8 minutes ago, Ossy said:

More care over the captions would help but, that aside, hands up all those who believe this scheme to be non-vote-buying. There's simply no end to Prayuth's blatant grovelling and apparently no bottom to the barrel that he keeps digging the cash from.

Its always easy spending the governments money, i am just real curious how all this will work out. Will it really work or not that is the only reason i am curious about the election. Otherwise I am not really curious as its just an other group of crooks or the same crooks that will get in power. Nothing will change.

1 hour ago, webfact said:

at least 3,042,741 state welfare cards

I wonder who the '1' is.

1 hour ago, robblok said:

i am just real curious how all this will work out.

Yes, me too. I guess the big question that will affect whether or not the PPRP and their likes attract many voters will be 'which is the stronger public feeling . . . their appreciation for Uncle Tu's manifold gifts or their resent of the man for thinking they could be so easily bought?' I'd love it to be the latter, but that would require a strong ethical stance that might be too much to ask. And as for spending the government's money, will what must by now have amounted to massive costs incurred by the junta's farcical remote cabinets - 'sundry expenses', I guess they'll call them - come out of this year's budget or next years . . . 'cos it's going to be a bob or two?

Is this what they call electioneering by any chance?

Oh the poor politicos. Is this any different to what your home government does. Water, electricity, rental, transport allowances are part of any pension scheme in the west, and they are much more generous than in Thailand.

Thank goodness that we only have 68 days for the politicos to have nothing to complain about. Even if they do not leave at least they will shut up. Or am I being optimistic.

I'm glad I am not a customer of Krungthai Bank!