Penny-pinching plans: Finance ministry’s welfare budget shuffle in the works

[webfact]

 

In an attempt to ease the strain on government spending, the Ministry of Finance is contemplating new measures regarding the allocation of the public welfare budget, an anonymous source from the finance ministry disclosed.

 

This primarily pertains to the bracket of public welfare budget expenditure which, the source identifies, consists of redundant items that do not necessarily correlate with the section of the population who are most in need of welfare payments.

 

One glaring example of this mismatch surrounds the old age allowance (OAA) scheme which currently pays progressive rates ranging from 600 to 1,000 baht monthly, relative to the age of the beneficiary. For instance, individuals aged between 60 to 69 are allotted 600 baht, those aged 70 to 79 get 700 baht, those aged 80 to 89 are granted 800 baht, and those aged 90 and above receive 1,000 baht each month.

As it stands, approximately 11 million people benefit from the OAA, which utilises an annual budget circulating around 80 billion baht. Alternatively, should the OAA be confined to only the low-income elderly sector, or individuals who hold a state welfare card with an annual income not exceeding 100,000 baht, the number of OAA recipients would be reduced to 5 million. This would in turn halve the state budget to 40 billion baht, according to the source.

 

by Alex Morgan

Photo courtesy of guide2thailand.com.

 

Full story: https://thethaiger.com/news/business/thailands-finance-ministry-considers-overhaul-of-welfare-budget-allocation

 

-- © Copyright Thaiger 2023-07-31

 

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[mfd101]

It would be nice if, having reduced the number of recipients from the merely to the extremely poor, they were then to double or even treble the allowance.

[ozz1]

How about cutting out a lot of government workers that would be a good start but that will never happen too many people in the trough

[hotchilli]

1 hour ago, mfd101 said:

It would be nice if, having reduced the number of recipients from the merely to the extremely poor, they were then to double or even treble the allowance.

That's not saving money?

[billd766]

27 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

That's not saving money?

One way of saving money would be to get rid of 1,xxx non active generals, scrap the submarine budget, scrap the F 35 budget, scrap conscription and cut the "sacred" military budget by 50%.

[anterian]

600 baht per month is a joke, 20 baht a day won't buy a meal, let alone pay rent and utility bills.

 

[newnative]

3 hours ago, mfd101 said:

It would be nice if, having reduced the number of recipients from the merely to the extremely poor, they were then to double or even treble the allowance.

Thought the exact same thing.  600 baht a month???

[billd766]

2 hours ago, anterian said:

600 baht per month is a joke, 20 baht a day won't buy a meal, let alone pay rent and utility bills.

 

Successive governments don't care about that as those in power have plenty of money and perks, and the poor and elderly are just a drain on the countries resources.

 

The attitude is let them eat cake, and let their families look after them. An attitude found in many countries worldwide.

 

Or in Royal Navy speak,

 

"Pull up the ladder Jack, I'm all right".

 

[billd766]

2 hours ago, newnative said:

Thought the exact same thing.  600 baht a month???

But the government will tell you that the elderly DO get a rise. However they only get the rise, a whopping 100 baht extra every 10 years.

 

At 60 it is 600 baht per month

At 70 it is 700 baht per month

At 80 it is 800 baht per month

At 90 it is 900 baht per month

At 100 it becomes the enormous sum of 1,000 baht per month with NO rises in the intervening years.

 

In the village that I live in I only knew 1 man who lived to be 100 and he died a few weeks after his 100th birthday.

 

His unmarried daughter looked after him.

[newnative]

55 minutes ago, billd766 said:

But the government will tell you that the elderly DO get a rise. However they only get the rise, a whopping 100 baht extra every 10 years.

 

At 60 it is 600 baht per month

At 70 it is 700 baht per month

At 80 it is 800 baht per month

At 90 it is 900 baht per month

At 100 it becomes the enormous sum of 1,000 baht per month with NO rises in the intervening years.

 

In the village that I live in I only knew 1 man who lived to be 100 and he died a few weeks after his 100th birthday.

 

His unmarried daughter looked after him.

As my dear old Dad used to say, don't spend it all in one place.

[Bundooman]

6 hours ago, billd766 said:

One way of saving money would be to get rid of 1,xxx non active generals, scrap the submarine budget, scrap the F 35 budget, scrap conscription and cut the "sacred" military budget by 50%.

And get rid of 250 Senators.......

 

[hotchilli]

16 hours ago, billd766 said:

One way of saving money would be to get rid of 1,xxx non active generals, scrap the submarine budget, scrap the F 35 budget, scrap conscription and cut the "sacred" military budget by 50%.

Now you're talking