Will Thailand Always Be A Poor Country Because

[sonnyJ]

WHERE'S IZZY?

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My thoughts on this topic:

1) Issan people will always be poor because of lack of decent education, excessive alcohol consumption, expensive loans, the lack of work ethic and the lack of planning for tomorrow. I could easily obtain two crops from my rice farm each year as I have abundent water - but the villagers would rather take life easily and only work a few months of the year, planting and harvesting one crop a year.

well, I agree with your view on the Isan life, but I wouldn't conclude that they will remain poor because of it, au contrary; that's why they are already rich ! depends what value you count ... ever read any Buddha books?

2) Honest city Thais will never become rich, because even with a university education it is very hard to obtain meaningful work. My partner is sitting for an examination tomorrow, along with 30,000 other people, hoping to obtain a permanent government position. There's 30 permanent positions available. Not great odds! The next chance he will get is in 2 years' time when the next examination is held. Lack of job security restricts your lifestyle.

well, what to say, tons of people in Bangkok having a good solid job and building up a middle-class life for their children

3) Unequal rewards: Study hard and apply yourself - load yourself up with hundreds of thousands of baht in debt due to educational LOANS (not grants) and spend the rest of your life paying them off - OR don't do well at school, have no debts and escape to the entertainment/nightlife areas of Thailand, pick up a bit of English and make up to 30,000 baht a month working in a bar.

Peter

like those are the only options ...

[junkofdavid2]

Here's what I don't get. Why has Thailand boomed so much in the last 20 years while the Philippines has not? Both are riddled with corruption. Both have lax work ethics. Both value face over truth. Both have poor education systems. (And let's face it--sanuk may be superior in many ways or even overall, but it takes facts and truth to get a rocket ship on the moon.)

The PI has better overall natural resources and better English, but is an island nation somewhat more isolated.

So why one and not the other? The point on this thread being that one can't use one of the above factors to say Thailand will always be poor, or at least that's not totally satisfactory, because even with such baggage, Thailand is pulling away from the PI.

And here's what's even more ironic.

Many Thailand based companies, especially regional offices of multi-national western companies, import Filipino upper-classed to be top management and CEOs in the Thailand based offices.. and they prefer them to lead the companies instead of Thais because these Filipinos have a lot of initiative and are generally believed to be reliable, intelligent, educated, think "more western", can analyze and make good decisions on their own (without having to always rely on a higher authority to make decisions).

And yet, the Philippine macro-economy has been left behind by Thailand's macro-economy.

One theory told to me by some...

In the Philippines, they can't get their act together because they are all "thinkers" and all "have initiative" and therefore most of them want to do their own thing without listening to the boss... so there's not enough cooperation to lead the country's economy (and companies) in the same direction; as the Filipino managers end up fighting amongst themselves each wanting their own way; and in the end, nothing gets done.

In Thailand, you have a few smart people who everyone follows, bringing the company forward (at least more forward than a Philippine company). This later explains why these same Filipino managers excel in countries like Thailand... because the Thai staff under them follows them and brings the company forward; whereas in the Philippines, their own fellow-Filipino staff would have "a mind of their own" and oppose the boss and nothing will get done.

Not saying this is true... it's just a thought.

Edited November 3, 2007 by junkofdavid2

[Jingthing]

To be clear I was not and I do not believe the original article I posted meant that poor countries will stay poor because they are LAZY. It did say they will stay poor because of their CULTURE. Not the same thing at all.

I am a pretty good example. I am a very lazy American, though most Americans are not lazy. But I inherited some money and bought and sold one real estate property in a rich country, so I am not poor. Being lazy or not had nothing to do with whether I am poor or not. The trick was being born in America to a not poor family, much more likely in the west than here.

Edited November 3, 2007 by Jingthing

[TonyLeung]

this thread seems to be filled with people speaking based on their own limited experiences and throwing around statistics and things they heard in hotel lobbies or sitting on the runway from other businessman or and coming to conclusions without any facts.

[junkofdavid2]

Anyone prefer facts instead of opinions?

Go read an almanac!