5 hours ago, zzaa09 said:

I think all this might category itself by unnecessary lifestyle and inability to adjust - in good times or bad times. 

I am sure there is an inescapable strain of logic there, but I can not just put my finger on it. 

 

On topic I surprisingly only know one who had to go home skint, but several others who got stuck outside and won't come back due to  quarantine and some not being up to the CoE. At least after 3 rejections they abandoned it. 

Never mind. Are the Chinese not going to buy up all these businesses?

We will never know.

No statistics available from Thai Authorities "how many Farangs have left, because they were broke".
Also, no "home-country" produces any statistics of "xxx numbers of our citizens have come home because they went broke in Thailand". And hardly will any returning Farang wear a T-shirt saying " I went broke in Thailand and I deserve your sympathy".
Ergo: We will never know.

Is there an equivalent to a furlough scheme in Thailand?

How many of these same foreigners would have gone broke in their respective home countries? 

5 hours ago, swissie said:

We will never know.

No statistics available from Thai Authorities "how many Farangs have left, because they were broke".
Also, no "home-country" produces any statistics of "xxx numbers of our citizens have come home because they went broke in Thailand". And hardly will any returning Farang wear a T-shirt saying " I went broke in Thailand and I deserve your sympathy".
Ergo: We will never know.

ฝรั่งขี้นก......

 

 

 

8 hours ago, StreetCowboy said:

When half your tenants have stopped paying rent, and the other half have shuttered up shop and gone out of business, your invested life savings seem less valuable.  Especially when the government runs up inflation on the printing presses churning out monopoly money, and you can see your fixed income and your savings dwindling in value.

On the bright side, there is a little bit of schadenfreude for those with no children, knowing that  other people's future generations will be saddled with the debt incurred during the pandemic to protect primarily the elderly.

What does that have to do with Thailand and the OP  I know the post you quoted was not about Thailand but your response is also off topic and confusing 

7 hours ago, ChristianBlessing said:

Fair enough. My comment concerned retirees in the US, where the vast majority do not rely on rental income for retirement needs. I understand that not all countries provide a decent safety net or social security/pension plans. As for future debt, yes, we'll all be paying, but very little of the Covid relief funding was earmarked for protecting "primarily the elderly". 

The COVID restrictions were aimed at controlling a disease which was progressively more harmful the older the patient.  

It seems some of the posts have gone a little of topic.

 

I know of one Australian whose tourist-dependent business closed late last year.  His Thai wife and her family kept making financial demands on his very limited savings and pension income.  After many arguments, he left them here and returned to Australia to live with one of own his children (from his first marriage) in Australia.

 

I have two American friends in Bangkok - one teaching English, the other a musician - they both returned to the USA earlier this year after manymonths of no income.

 

I have two other European friends with Thai families who also had tourist-dependent businesses.  They are still here, but have significantly downgraded thier lifestyles - ride motor bikes, and sold thier cars; moved from good farang rentals into good cheaper Thai rentals out of town.  They are both just hanging on, highly stressed, with no real option of returning back to Europe.

 

10 hours ago, Golden Triangle said:

Surely you mean the clock is ticking ????????????

Different fuses have set burn rates, so no......

A better question to ask is simply How many foreigners have gone

 

and

 

why would they want to stay even if not broke

1 hour ago, NightSky said:

 

 

why would they want to stay even if not broke

You're just being negative, maybe depressed

Open but no customers (tourist related)

No help whatsoever from anybody.

Can still manage on saving but have properties as back-up.

1 hour ago, NightSky said:

A better question to ask is simply How many foreigners have gone

 

and

 

why would they want to stay even if not broke

Family, wife kids etc.

A year and a half ago when the government closed down hair salons we cleared out my wife's shop. The land lord didn't want to give any sort of relief to keep her there. When she said not my problem,  I can get higher rent from someone else.  We cleared everything out . Nothing but bear wall. When she saw this she almost sh/ t herself.  I explained it is better to close and start over sometime in the future than pay 10,000 baht a month for the next year or so on a government closed shop. She backed peddled and started making all sort of promises if we stay. I asked why do that if you can rent it out for higher rent as you said. She has 14 rental shops that she stubbornly wouldn't budge on rent. Only one stayed.  Now might be a good time to go back and offer 3,000 less and reopen. 555

10 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

19 hours ago, kwilco said:

How many of these people have shut up shop and how many have had to return home?

How many didn't think to burn it down and claim on the insurance.

.

 

Pattaya, two nights ago.....

17 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

No government IMO is going to volunteer to give us bad news. If they ain't <deleted> scared of what will happen next election they should be.

Here in Thailand its not necessary to have those expensive elections...a coup will do!

Having lived here for 16 years I’ve seen many foreign businesses go belly up normally it a fella who has met up with a bar or massage girl and been persuaded to part with money into some venture and to make things simple they put everything into the new GFs name only to find that the business constantly trades at a loss so much so the doors close and the foreigner is forced to return home and start all over again to many of them leave there brain at the departure lounge when they come to visit Thailand big big mistake !

My next door German neighbor and his Thai wife were evicted few weeks ago, apparently defaulted on bank loan payment.

Yesterday SCB officials put this sign on. Few others in our mooban facing the same situation.

 

 

 

 

This pandemic has badly affected hundreds of millions around the world. At least in the US, many got assistance, rent relief, and they could not be evicted for long periods of time, however they ended up racking up tons of debt in the process. Homelessness is now skyrocketing, due to the housing market continuing to enjoy a fake stimulus, that will end in disaster, quite soon. And lack of employment.

 

Here, there are millions out of work, and with the exception of one rather bold economist who recently forecast that the economy here would take years to bounce back, and end up being worse than 1997 (as I have been saying for awhile now), few seem to be admitting how bad the damage is, how high unemployment is (perhaps as high as 40%?), how badly this has shaken investor confidence, how many Thais are now homeless, how thoroughly wrecked the tourism is, and how ill equipped this administration is, to deal with these rather extreme issues. 

 

I know several foreigners who own bed and breakfast spots, restaurants, and bars. Most have closed. One is hanging on. He tells me he is breaking even, and even though the hours are long, he is not willing to let a business he has invested so much into, shut down just yet. Nobody that I know of is getting anything meaningful in the way of assistance, from this spectacularly stingy, and short sighted administration. 

4 hours ago, NightSky said:

A better question to ask is simply How many foreigners have gone

 

and

 

why would they want to stay even if not broke

Many farangs love Thailand, and will stay regardless. They are generally not on threads like this.

I'd have stayed if I could, even during this unfortunate phase.

19 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

No government IMO is going to volunteer to give us bad news. If they ain't <deleted> scared of what will happen next election they should be.

The government allocated a number of unelected seats to the army at the last election. They will always have a majority.

13 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

how many Thais are now homeless, how thoroughly wrecked the tourism is, and how ill equipped this administration is, to deal with these rather extreme issues. 

I know another country that could apply to. IMO nothing unique about the way Thailand has dealt with corona.

1 hour ago, BMW Overlander said:

My next door German neighbor and his Thai wife were evicted few weeks ago, apparently defaulted on bank loan payment.

Yesterday SCB officials put this sign on. Few others in our mooban facing the same situation.

 

 

 

 

Posts like this make me happy to be a glass half empty sort of guy.

23 hours ago, kwilco said:

How many of these people have shut up shop and how many have had to return home?

It's been the biggest wealth gain annually in almost a decade for me, and i'd imagine for some, well placed positions in 2-15/2-16 came through, the markets were a gold mine, and opportunities everywhere, I probably 600x'd my net-worth (physical) over the past two yrs.

 

If you sit around moping, and not seeing the opportunities, and not doing anything you become a victim of your own lack of drive.

21 minutes ago, Jenkins9039 said:

It's been the biggest wealth gain annually in almost a decade for me, and i'd imagine for some, well placed positions in 2-15/2-16 came through, the markets were a gold mine, and opportunities everywhere, I probably 600x'd my net-worth (physical) over the past two yrs.

 

If you sit around moping, and not seeing the opportunities, and not doing anything you become a victim of your own lack of drive.

Some people only see the negative so will always struggle making money

British friend of mine had a lovely, healthy niche restaurant in Bangkok On Nut area. After the incessant and unnecessary jerking around...open/closed/dine-in allowed/take away only/travel/no travel every other month...she finally shuttered it for good last month. 

1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I know another country that could apply to. IMO nothing unique about the way Thailand has dealt with corona.

I take exception to that. The vaccine effort was likely one of the worst, amongst the top 100 nations in the world. A spectacular failure. And the shutdowns have been highly selective, and punitive to all but the super rich owners of the canning plants, the construction sites, and some others. 

23 hours ago, thaitom said:

 

Perhaps if the USA had public tax funded healthcare for all, a reasonable equitable tax system (it isn't even remotely either of these), and other democracy norms re: maternity leave, tax funded semi-to-free education system etc. Parents and grandparents wouldn't have to support their adult kids. 

13 hours ago, kwilco said:

Is there an equivalent to a furlough scheme in Thailand?

There has been some  repayment deferrals  on property and vehicles loans..payments deferred for a  period of time but all interest and total loans to be paid back in full after that period ends...just kicking the can down the road.