41 per cent of Thais barely make ends meet: poll

[ThailandRyan]

4 minutes ago, Grumpy one said:

I was not referring to the government  ????

Ah counterfeiting.....gotcha....lol

[sandhurstmolonski]

When the base you come from is already stretched to the limit when you fall , you are going to fall hard from even the smallest problem .

Maxed credit cards , debt to family , friends , money lenders etc , often the so called affluent are in debt upto their neck , the issue of " saving face " , with school fees , car payments , pushes the problem further .

Then visit the poor parts of the Kingdom , household debt would be though the roof , as the poor , try everything to keep afloat , with zero tourists it's a very slippery slope .

Would be surprised if the number were not actually higher , but this is the damage done by the " killer " virus that actually kills noone .

[Cake Monster]

6 hours ago, rooster59 said:

41 per cent of Thais barely make ends meet: poll

By THE NATION

Many have to stop living a Champagne life style when they only earn Beer money.

[trainman34014]

6 hours ago, ezzra said:

Unless you leave in the the boondocks of Thailand you wouldn't know that so many are financially strapped, living in the big cities of Thailand you don't see baggers, no raggedy people milling about, no one sleeps in the rough, i think that because to be poor and something to be ashamed of and Thais will do their utmost to hide it..

Plenty of Beggars around in Chiang Mai and District; amazing how many people have their heads buried in Bangkok !

[trainman34014]

Meanwhile ; Thai Bosses would rather employ several million Burmese because it's cheaper than helping out your own Countrymen with a few Baht more per day which would help keep the Wolves at Bay and are being assisted by a Government filled with Numpty's !

[Mr Meeseeks]

15 minutes ago, Cake Monster said:

Many have to stop living a Champagne life style when they only earn Beer money.

Yup.

 

The problem is that many Thais have no education or self-discipline when it comes to money and need to spend money to be happy.

 

Going to get real messy as many of them are still blissfully unaware of what is coming and still think that mass tourism will return overnight as soon as the borders re-open.

 

 

[Lacessit]

5 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Another statistic from that so called leader of the world...

 

Did you borrow the colors in that pie chart from Trump? IMO it would be fitting.

[Mr Meeseeks]

21 minutes ago, trainman34014 said:

Meanwhile ; Thai Bosses would rather employ several million Burmese because it's cheaper than helping out your own Countrymen with a few Baht more per day which would help keep the Wolves at Bay and are being assisted by a Government filled with Numpty's !

Burmese are disposable. They are contract workers and not full time employees.

 

It's a no-brainer.

 

When you get rid of them no need to pay severance pay as there is by law to employed Thais. That severance pay increases annually; the longer the Thai is employed the more you have to pay them.

 

Foreigners also have less recourse through the courts and with the Ombudsman either, making them very compliant when Thais tend to fight tooth and nail and use the employment laws to their benefit.

 

If I could hire more Burmese and Cambodians at our factories I would. 

Edited November 15, 2020 by Mr Meeseeks

[hotchilli]

7 hours ago, rooster59 said:

More than 41 per cent of Thais have no savings and are living pay cheque to pay cheque, a new poll shows.

And Prayut thinks he's done a good job with the economy after 6 years in power.

I wonder how much his personal wealth has increased?

Edited November 15, 2020 by hotchilli

[Lacessit]

My massage person in Chiang Mai has now retrained as a barber, still can't get work. Caddies at the golf courses are getting about one-third of their usual income, no golfing tourists in high season. I know at least four women who would be delighted to take care of me, I tell them one GF is enough.

A multi-lingual tour guide I know in Chiang Mai has been unemployed since February, used to do very well with tours to Vietnam and Cambodia.

[herfiehandbag]

7 hours ago, rooster59 said:

41 per cent of Thais barely make ends meet: poll

I didn't realise so many Thais had a teenage daughter!

Edited November 15, 2020 by herfiehandbag

[herfiehandbag]

43 minutes ago, Cake Monster said:

Many have to stop living a Champagne life style when they only earn Beer money.

Home made cider for me...

[ThailandRyan]

10 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

And Prayut thinks he's done a good job with the economy after 6 years in power.

I wonder how much his personal wealth has increased?

Its increased from 5,000,000 Thb to 2 Billion baht in 5 years.

[tandor]

6 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

I hope your being sarcastic.  I see beggars everyday on street corners on the Skywalk, homeless sleeping around lumpini park, in closed doorways and such here in Bangkok.  

..baggers might be different !

[herfiehandbag]

2 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Its increased from 5,000,000 Thb to 2 Billion baht in 5 years.

Probably just a change in accounting methods - nothing to see there...

[Eddy Ozark]

So how was this situation 5 years ago, 10 years ago, 20 years ago? Not that different from todays' situation. The lack of perspective is appalling. True, Covid has thrown an additional spanner into the works, with extra torment. But basically, this is old news.

[JimHuaHin]

8 hours ago, ezzra said:

Unless you leave in the the boondocks of Thailand you wouldn't know that so many are financially strapped, living in the big cities of Thailand you don't see baggers, no raggedy people milling about, no one sleeps in the rough, i think that because to be poor and something to be ashamed of and Thais will do their utmost to hide it..

I do not know where you live, and unless you are blind, you are clearly not living in Bangkok.  I was in Bangkok for a week at the beginning of the month.  I spent from about 2000-2400 each evening travelling the outer parts of the BTS and MRT networks, getting off about even 10 minutes, and walking around the outside of the stations.  Within a few hundred metres of almost every station I witnessed people sleeping on the streets and beggars.  Who knows how many others are sleeping out in other parts of the city, or in temples, etc.  Millions of Thais, including many university educated professionals, are doing it rough now.  The only people I personally know who are not struggling at this time are those employed as government officials.  All of my Thai friends working in the private sector are suffering hardships.

[rwill]

Outlawing credit cards would help.

Living debt free helps more than how much money you have.

[ChipButty]

20 minutes ago, JimHuaHin said:

I do not know where you live, and unless you are blind, you are clearly not living in Bangkok.  I was in Bangkok for a week at the beginning of the month.  I spent from about 2000-2400 each evening travelling the outer parts of the BTS and MRT networks, getting off about even 10 minutes, and walking around the outside of the stations.  Within a few hundred metres of almost every station I witnessed people sleeping on the streets and beggars.  Who knows how many others are sleeping out in other parts of the city, or in temples, etc.  Millions of Thais, including many university educated professionals, are doing it rough now.  The only people I personally know who are not struggling at this time are those employed as government officials.  All of my Thai friends working in the private sector are suffering hardships.

Like my wife says the only people who dont want the boarders open are the ones who work for the government because the get paid every month, here in Phuket every business is suffering the ones that are still open.

One lady we know was telling us the other day she used to get 20 trips a day for her minivans now she's lucky if she get one

[mr mr]

i will stake my reputation (what very little there is) that the deaths that can be directly related to the economy will outnumber the wuwu....if thailand stays on the current path. 

[ChipButty]

15 minutes ago, mr mr said:

i will stake my reputation (what very little there is) that the deaths that can be directly related to the economy will outnumber the wuwu....if thailand stays on the current path. 

What reputation?

[Mr Meeseeks]

23 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

Like my wife says the only people who dont want the boarders open are the ones who work for the government because the get paid every month, here in Phuket every business is suffering the ones that are still open.

One lady we know was telling us the other day she used to get 20 trips a day for her minivans now she's lucky if she get one

I don't want the borders open for a second wave and I am sure the vast majority of my employees don't either.

 

So many businesses would not survive another lockdown, that's the reality. It would be catastrophic for the Thai economy.

 

Unfortunately the tourism industry is going to have to take the hit on this one.

 

Just think about how lucky we are that life is relatively normal in Thailand and look over at Europe and the US with their open border policies and the disastrous consequences that has had.

[ronaldo0]

8 hours ago, soalbundy said:

That could be said of farangland as well, don't fool yourselves, I know enough falangs in Europe who would be out on the street but for their credit card or mum and dad helping out.

Seems they now ship them abroad as samui is full of them ! I have met people whose parents pay them to stay away from their house , paid for kids to set up businesses destined to fail and do after years of parents bailing them out , who give their kids monthly amounts of money while the kid works in a teaching job or as a manager in a bar getting paid peanuts . Oh and when I say kids I mean adults 30-45 year old who have no shame taking their parents cash ! 

[mrfill]

8 hours ago, KannikaP said:

Once again, I wonder what the photo is supposed to depict, an article about poverty, and it shows someone with a wad of 1000s.

 

And three hands apparently

[ThailandRyan]

3 minutes ago, mrfill said:

 

And three hands apparently

Falangs hands trying to get the gals attention and willing to buy her the eggs and maybe more  Looks like the article writer is trying to telegraph how to fix the poverty level...

[Dumbastheycome]

10 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

I hope your being sarcastic.  I see beggars everyday on street corners on the Skywalk, homeless sleeping around lumpini park, in closed doorways and such here in Bangkok.  

And those massively many that do marginally  better and live indoors but in conditions that are sickenly primitive.

[Lacessit]

3 hours ago, mr mr said:

i will stake my reputation (what very little there is) that the deaths that can be directly related to the economy will outnumber the wuwu....if thailand stays on the current path. 

You would rather have the open economy of the US, with a quarter of a million deaths and over 4 million active cases?

The problem in Thailand is not the economy, it's a government who won't come to the aid of its citizens when the chips are down. Check out what Australia has done, a conservative government providing welfare on a scale any socialist would be proud of.

And the junta wonders why there are hundreds of thousands of Thai protesters on Bangkok streets. Duh.

[billd766]

3 hours ago, rwill said:

Outlawing credit cards would help.

Living debt free helps more than how much money you have.

I got rid of mine years ago. I have 2 bank debit cards that I cannot overspend on and if I don't have the money in the bank we have to make do or do without.

[Dumbastheycome]

1 minute ago, Lacessit said:

You would rather have the open economy of the US, with a quarter of a million deaths and over 4 million active cases?

The problem in Thailand is not the economy, it's a government who won't come to the aid of its citizens when the chips are down. Check out what Australia has done, a conservative government providing welfare on a scale any socialist would be proud of.

And the junta wonders why there are hundreds of thousands of Thai protesters on Bangkok streets. Duh.

To be  honest IMO I would not put so much  credit on the "pandemic"  for the agitation occurring in Thailand.

Certainly  it  may have assisted  in spurring  enough additional reactionary response not so directly associated to those who have  lost employment but to those whose aspirations indirectly  have  been cancelled by the  economic confusions.

The  reality  of the "freeze" on overall sub employment economic  expansion  has had  much less effect on the  base  macro profitability . Those  are  the industries  that form the  base  economy  regardless  of  secondary but debatably significant   secondaries.

SCOMO has  demonstrated  an uncohesive  response  second only  to Trump in many aspects.

Fortunately  for  Australians the independent  State authorities  have contraversaly  used  the  middle digit  to defy that despite  having to  ask/justify permission  to  depart  !

In Thailand the  agitation is  more  about  questioning  the legitimacy  of  reason  to stay.

 

 

 

[Lacessit]

4 minutes ago, Dumbastheycome said:

To be  honest IMO I would not put so much  credit on the "pandemic"  for the agitation occurring in Thailand.

Certainly  it  may have assisted  in spurring  enough additional reactionary response not so directly associated to those who have  lost employment but to those whose aspirations indirectly  have  been cancelled by the  economic confusions.

The  reality  of the "freeze" on overall sub employment economic  expansion  has had  much less effect on the  base  macro profitability . Those  are  the industries  that form the  base  economy  regardless  of  secondary but debatably significant   secondaries.

SCOMO has  demonstrated  an uncohesive  response  second only  to Trump in many aspects.

Fortunately  for  Australians the independent  State authorities  have contraversaly  used  the  middle digit  to defy that despite  having to  ask/justify permission  to  depart  !

In Thailand the  agitation is  more  about  questioning  the legitimacy  of  reason  to stay.

 

 

 

i don't disagree with you, there are a number of factors operating in Thailand w.r.to the current unrest. Having said that, losing 15% of the country's GDP ( tourism ) is hitting a lot of Thais hard, and it's a ripple effect.

I'm just enjoying the irony of a Liberal government, after all its bleating about a budget surplus, bringing in a support package which any Labor government would be proud of. They knew if they didn't, a drover's dog would have annihilated them at the next election, and no amount of ScoMo flim-flam would have saved them.