A chat with a Thai friend today:

 

Very sad.  Also just reading about one more Thai suicide of a poor family, due to lack of money and no 5K from the government. This ineffective and unnecessary lock in business needs to be ended now.  This cure is far worse than the disease for many millions of people world wide..  

5 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

Very sad.  Also just reading about one more Thai suicide of a poor family, due to lack of money and no 5K from the government. This ineffective and unnecessary lock in business needs to be ended now.  This cure is far worse than the disease for many millions of people world wide..  

9 more cases today in a country of 70 million and they want to extend for one more month!

Cases of suicide will outnumber deaths from the virus.

Open the damn businesses already!...impose social distancing, face masks, and other restrictions as needed.

 

People are not by nature suicidal...when all hope is gone...taking one's life becomes an option for some out of desperation.

why extend it full a full month, that's what i want to know

 

should be a set period of days based on a severe it is

I personally believe the restrictions will be lifted in part, all the hype is to make him look good when he announces the partial lifting of the restrictions, I think I have worked out this pollie, but let's wait and see, bridge is only up the road for me, as for jumping, well that's an option, for some.

32 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

Very sad.  Also just reading about one more Thai suicide of a poor family, due to lack of money and no 5K from the government. This ineffective and unnecessary lock in business needs to be ended now.  This cure is far worse than the disease for many millions of people world wide..  

The cure is okay. The government should help out the poorest and needy people and stop proping up all their rich cronies in the stock market bailout. 

Part of the problem is also that many people, not only in Thailand, need all their usual monthly income to pay for rent, electricity, leasing of the car and the phone and whatever. If they earn even a few THB less then they have already a big problem.

How many individual or families can even go on for one month without their regularly income? It seems many.

The most important thing on these occasions is: do not lend money.

3 minutes ago, zhounan said:

The most important thing on these occasions is: do not lend money.

But please feel free to give money, as I have done to many people.

Or maybe you meant "borrow", which will be a choice many will not be able to avoid.

3 minutes ago, zhounan said:

The most important thing on these occasions is: do not lend money.

People shouldn't have to borrow if the Government helped them...3% off a Lekky bill doesn't put much food on the table.

44 minutes ago, greeneking said:

9 more cases today in a country of 70 million and they want to extend for one more month!

Cases of suicide will outnumber deaths from the virus.

There is an article on Khaosod about a Thai women who stood outside the ministry of finance, and because she could not get the 5,000 baht assistance, shouted out "No one cares about me!", then ate rat poison to kill herself.

 

https://www.khaosod.co.th/breaking-news/news_4026285

Thats if yo truly believe the Thai governments figures ????   Some hospitals are busy  others seem to be avoiding  taking in infected people ,The Funeral parlours seem to be doing a lot of extra business and the  temples are burning a lot of dead bodies  around Pattaya ,Kabinburi, Amanatcharoen, Kalasin , Surin  and Sattahip  according to  my friends and family members ,, non of them believe the government numbers ,,,  My girlfriend has to travel around from her farm to markets   with produce and she  is also now supplying the monks at  temple near BanChang   they normally only have  2 or 3 funerals a month ... so far in April 8 funerals !!!!  only 2 were  old age the others were all Covid 19 .

My ex wifes nurse neighbour  says  there are many more cases in Pattaya than official figures  state ,, and some private hospitals are NOT admitting patients with Covid .

 

Im in Uk the official figure  of Just hospital deaths is now over 20,000  but even the government admits thats  not including people dying at home or in Care / nursing homes  or refuge hostels   and is likely to be 30-40% higher once the fog of war  clears and real numbers can be collated ,,,

I think people need to learn to save something for bad times - in Thailand and everywhere. At the moment I pay the car credit for my EX girlfriend because she has no savings at all and no income at the moment. She didn't ask me for it but I know her financial situation. She is my ex but still a good friend. I don't expect any money back. She bought the car when the government helped the people to get it cheaper. I hope she learns something now. If I am honest I am not sure. But next time she will have to live with the consequences. I warned her already. 

17 minutes ago, liddelljohn said:

Thats if yo truly believe the Thai governments figures ????   Some hospitals are busy  others seem to be avoiding  taking in infected people ,The Funeral parlours seem to be doing a lot of extra business and the  temples are burning a lot of dead bodies  around Pattaya ,Kabinburi, Amanatcharoen, Kalasin , Surin  and Sattahip  according to  my friends and family members ,, non of them believe the government numbers ,,,  My girlfriend has to travel around from her farm to markets   with produce and she  is also now supplying the monks at  temple near BanChang   they normally only have  2 or 3 funerals a month ... so far in April 8 funerals !!!!  only 2 were  old age the others were all Covid 19 .

My ex wifes nurse neighbour  says  there are many more cases in Pattaya than official figures  state ,, and some private hospitals are NOT admitting patients with Covid .

 

Im in Uk the official figure  of Just hospital deaths is now over 20,000  but even the government admits thats  not including people dying at home or in Care / nursing homes  or refuge hostels   and is likely to be 30-40% higher once the fog of war  clears and real numbers can be collated ,,,

Yes, good old monks.  Trust them to make a profit out of people's misery.  Blood sucking Parasites on society. 

13 minutes ago, Oldie said:

I think people need to learn to save something for bad times - in Thailand and everywhere. At the moment I pay the car credit for my EX girlfriend because she has no savings at all and no income at the moment. She didn't ask me for it but I know her financial situation. She is my ex but still a good friend. I don't expect any money back. She bought the car when the government helped the people to get it cheaper. I hope she learns something now. If I am honest I am not sure. But next time she will have to live with the consequences. I warned her already. 

Let's put you on a 12,000 baht salary, rent for your shoebox room is 3,000 baht, pay for commuting to work every day in BKK, electric, water, phone, food, supplies, then see how much you save each month.

2 minutes ago, timendres said:

Let's put you on a 12,000 baht salary, rent for your shoebox room is 3,000 baht, pay for commuting to work every day in BKK, electric, water, phone, food, supplies, then see how much you save each month.

You are right and I started very poor too. But I only bought what I could afford and never ever needed a credit. In respect of my girlfriend - a car is very expensive and I warned her before she bought it. But the government supported this at this time. And I am afraid already if the car will need an expensive repair. But she is not alone with such a problem and the people need to learn to buy only what they can afford or to live with the consequences. 

 

maybe the government knows something about the number of infections and deaths that they are not letting on.

 

certainly the government have a responsibility to support the poorest and needy in society as many other countries are doing, unfortunately, seemingly, they dont have the data or organisational ability to deal with the problem effectively, hence they give everyone x amount of money. support should be driven via employers and/or tax records, as in other countries, unfortunately this is difficult with the black/grey economy and corruption at all levels so prevalent in thailand.

 

another issue is the lack or organised and effective charity organisations with structures and presence in society to help. i see one resource that could be exploited is the network of temples and monks; facilities and manpower, and in some areas this seems to be effective but i feel they could be co-ordinated and do more, as religious organisations are doing in other countries

11 minutes ago, Oldie said:

You are right and I started very poor too. But I only bought what I could afford and never ever needed a credit. In respect of my girlfriend - a car is very expensive and I warned her before she bought it. But the government supported this at this time. And I am afraid already if the car will need an expensive repair. But she is not alone with such a problem and the people need to learn to buy only what they can afford or to live with the consequences. 

You and I are the same. I was raised with a German grandmother who lived through the depression of the 1930's. She drilled it into my head every day: "NEVER borrow money". To this day, I watch every dollar as if it were my last. Agreed that the car was most likely a poor decision. But what I often see is Thais who grew up poor in Isaan that desperately want to buy things they never dreamed they could own. Can't blame them for the desire, and they rarely have good guidance to help them make the right choices. Often, the parents are egging them on to spend as well.

1 hour ago, cyril sneer said:

why extend it full a full month, that's what i want to know

 

should be a set period of days based on a severe it is

Whose extending what another month, if it's staying in curfew OK if it's not being able to buy a beer not OK. ????

7 minutes ago, timendres said:

You and I are the same. I was raised with a German grandmother who lived through the depression of the 1930's. She drilled it into my head every day: "NEVER borrow money". To this day, I watch every dollar as if it were my last. Agreed that the car was most likely a poor decision. But what I often see is Thais who grew up poor in Isaan that desperately want to buy things they never dreamed they could own. Can't blame them for the desire, and they rarely have good guidance to help them make the right choices. Often, the parents are egging them on to spend as well.

The parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles are sending them out to work sex. They seem to send most money home and are left with little but depends on how successful the girl is. Tough times because they are struggling to get money for themselves let alone parents and any children they have

1 minute ago, timendres said:

You and I are the same. I was raised with a German grandmother who lived through the depression of the 1930's. She drilled it into my head every day: "NEVER borrow money". To this day, I watch every dollar as if it were my last. Agreed that the car was most likely a poor decision. But what I often see is Thais who grew up poor in Isaan that desperately want to buy things they never dreamed they could own. Can't blame them for the desire, and they rarely have good guidance to help them make the right choices. Often, the parents are egging them on to spend as well.

First, good for you for helping out... 

 

Dreams are often things and not just here. I had employees in USA who understood that a new vehicle was not a good financial decision. We would talk about this as I was always in a 2nd hand but decent quality car. And i was their employer. Then one day they would show up in a new pick-up that a salesman told them they could afford... when that new car program came in a few years ago, I think many people were not educated as to carrying costs... and I think it hurt a lot of retail too as people had less disposable income. 

 

Giving is not always easy too... I have given, once, twice, 3x before saying no - as amounts grew larger... and then had people <deleted> off at me... not family - and the requests are coming more often lately. I will continue helping out as I can but cannot help everyone all the time. It gets tough when people you like come for help... and your limits get them upset... 

Just now, scubascuba3 said:

The parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles are sending them out to work sex. They seem to send most money home and are left with little but depends on how successful the girl is. Tough times because they are struggling to get money for themselves let alone parents and any children they have

That is a relatively small percentage of the population being discussed. There are many who work in 7/11, restaurants, entertainment venues (like Tawandaeng), and other low paying jobs. These folks are generally pulling in less than 15.000 a month, and are trying to send at least 5,000 back home. That is an extremely difficult things to manage, and certainly does not allow for savings. Then the family back home will have emergencies that popup, depleting any savings made.

31 minutes ago, samsensam said:

 

another issue is the lack or organised and effective charity organisations with structures and presence in society to help. 

 

I drove past the 7th infantry today, there were grapes of people, throngs of people all clustered together waiting for free charity hand outs because the lockdown has deprived them of their livelihood.

 

So the lockdown is actually increasing the risk of infection, if the social distancing dogma were right, because people have to attend mass meetings to get charity.

1 hour ago, 4MyEgo said:

I personally believe the restrictions will be lifted in part, all the hype is to make him look good when he announces the partial lifting of the restrictions, 

Agree, but there is a balancing act to making sure he is seen as looking good rather than looking weak.

1 hour ago, 4MyEgo said:

I personally believe the restrictions will be lifted in part, all the hype is to make him look good when he announces the partial lifting of the restrictions, I think I have worked out this pollie, but let's wait and see, bridge is only up the road for me, as for jumping, well that's an option, for some.

 ..... and I believe the restrictions will stand until at least 31st July.

I wonder what the chat in the first post meant 'money is not enough, the water bill is not enough at all' - I get the lack of money, but what's water got to do with it? Not enough cash to pay the water bill? 
Also where are second hand markets and how do you find one? Thanks 

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Part of the problem is also that many people, not only in Thailand, need all their usual monthly income to pay for rent, electricity, leasing of the car and the phone and whatever. If they earn even a few THB less then they have already a big problem.

How many individual or families can even go on for one month without their regularly income? It seems many.

Its worldwide. Paycheck to Paycheck. It all started in 2008 and now this is Season 2 of klicking the can down the road and stimulus not helping real people. 

16 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

 ..... and I believe the restrictions will stand until at least 31st July.

And as you do, so do I.  The writing is on the wall.  The weekly US Embassy alerts are indicative that they feel soon there will be no available flights to leave Thailand, and additionally they are advising those still here and not on long term visas to either leave, or apply for the right Visa. They also have said they will no longer give out the extension letters either. 

I think that what we can read on the news, or what we can hear from friends is nothing compared to the real daily situation of the people in such trouble.