In an effort to introduce a serious topic into the house of Bedlam, here is one that I hope will elicit some serious responses:

If you were President of Thailand for a day, what would you change to make the country better?

Set up universal superannuation and supporting welfare services.

What would I do, or what should I do?

What should I do is quite difficult.......

Ensure the country has the correct infrastructure everywhere, where need is more important than ability to pay, including all public works, the education system and health care ... collect taxes from those who don't think that they should pay anything and ensure that the money goes into the public purse (to pay for the three things mentioned before) assign higher level jobs to people based on ability and not who they know or have married.... make all the patrol BIBs ride around on Hello Kitty motorcys for fairly obvious reasons.

What would I do, based purely on the fact that none of the above is ever likely to happen .... make as much money for myself as fast as possible and then scarper.

If you were President of Thailand for a day, what would you change to make the country better?

The drinking laws. Put them back to what they where, when i first started visiting Thailand.

I'll vote for that!

Set up universal superannuation and supporting welfare services.

Pete

I think you need to elaborate on that....

there is a sort of superannuation and welfare system that exist (social security is a requirement (compulsory), all employers, employees and government contribute to it; while most companies are encouraged to join pension funds for their staff - its not compulsory but there are tax benefits for those that do

are you talking about more?

if yes, my question is....a lot of european countries (scandinavian, germany) that are high welfare states, are realising its not sustainable and some of them are facing very serious problems as a result. I wouldnt want thailand to go down that same path.

Set up universal superannuation and supporting welfare services.

Pete

I think you need to elaborate on that....

there is a sort of superannuation and welfare system that exist (social security is a requirement (compulsory), all employers, employees and government contribute to it; while most companies are encouraged to join pension funds for their staff - its not compulsory but there are tax benefits for those that do

It has been a long time complaint of many farung workers that we are required to pay tax, superannuation and health insurance whereas most Thais are not because they are paid in cash and without proper records. Where I worked in Chiang Mai it was a major labour problem because for most of the workers it was the first time that they had to pay any of these things and they felt that the money was being "stolen" from them. Most could not see the benefits of paying for these things believing that both health and superannuation care should be free but not grasping the issue that someone ie the tax payer must pay for the funding. My g/f can't understand it either believing that children are responsible for keeping their parents when too old to work ie traditional superannuation.

a lot of european countries (scandinavian, germany) that are high welfare states, are realising its not sustainable and some of them are facing very serious problems as a result. I wouldnt want thailand to go down that same path.

This is the situation in Australia which has an aging population that is costing more money to support. The tax burden is increasing to cover the costs of health, pensions, welfare etc. I have been fighting with the Dept of Defence for my military pension for the last five years and the bottom line is that they keep extending the age when it will be paid to me in an effort to delay it.

CB

Set up universal superannuation and supporting welfare services.

Pete

I think you need to elaborate on that....

there is a sort of superannuation and welfare system that exist (social security is a requirement (compulsory), all employers, employees and government contribute to it; while most companies are encouraged to join pension funds for their staff - its not compulsory but there are tax benefits for those that do

are you talking about more?

if yes, my question is....a lot of european countries (scandinavian, germany) that are high welfare states, are realising its not sustainable and some of them are facing very serious problems as a result. I wouldnt want thailand to go down that same path.

As long as the basic social fabric is based on hierarchy, loyalty and obedience over justice and integrity, I don't see much hope for the poor of this country. A head of state can change little in this regard.

My first job would be sell that stupid aircraft carrier and various other superfluous military hardware and use the proceeds to go towards the development of a better education system.

The second job would be setup farang ghettos where they can buy land in designated zones, which Thais have no interest in and charge exorbitant amounts of taxes on transfer and annual foreign ownership taxes and again use these proceeds to develop education.

I would also raise taxes at retail pumps to alleviate congestion and funnel these funds towards education and mass transit.

My first job would be sell that stupid aircraft carrier and various other superfluous military hardware and use the proceeds to go towards the development of a better education system.

The second job would be setup farang ghettos where they can buy land in designated zones, which Thais have no interest in and charge exorbitant amounts of taxes on transfer and annual foreign ownership taxes and again use these proceeds to develop education.

I would also raise taxes at retail pumps to alleviate congestion and funnel these funds towards education and mass transit.

Excellent ideas Quicksilva. It's a shame that they are too practical for Thailand. I agree with you that education should be the number one priority of any Thai government. It is their investment in the future of the country...but I'm not sure the politicians would want an educated electorate.

One DAY?

Install a puppet regime to milk the country on my behalf - Oh sorry - That's what they do anyway.

Install a puppet regime to:

a. Redo the entire education system. Reward children for THINKING - for ASKING QUESTIONS - and, of course for QUESTIONING AUTHORITY.

b. Institute the death penalty and confiscation of ALL assets for corruption over a certain limit, say 1,000 Baht.

c. A truly independent commission against corruption overseen by senior officers recruited from overseas police forces, The Met, AFP etc.

d. Land reform. Move people back from city slums to farm land they own.

That will do for day 1 - The list for week 1 or month 1 would break the servers.

You've obviously given this some thought p1p.

You've obviously given this some thought p1p.

Many a sleepless night, tossing and turning over the hopelessness of it all. Forty plus years of experience does that to you!

Prob'ly install a gay prime minister too. Pa Prem wasn't too bad.

Set up universal superannuation and supporting welfare services.

Pete

I think you need to elaborate on that....

there is a sort of superannuation and welfare system that exist (social security is a requirement (compulsory), all employers, employees and government contribute to it; while most companies are encouraged to join pension funds for their staff - its not compulsory but there are tax benefits for those that do

are you talking about more?

if yes, my question is....a lot of european countries (scandinavian, germany) that are high welfare states, are realising its not sustainable and some of them are facing very serious problems as a result. I wouldnt want thailand to go down that same path.

As long as the basic social fabric is based on hierarchy, loyalty and obedience over justice and integrity, I don't see much hope for the poor of this country. A head of state can change little in this regard.

Universal superannuation in NZ, is available to all citizens on reaching 65, and is funded from the country's general tax take.

There is no means test, earn a million bucks, you still qualify.

If your partner, hubby/wife is not working and not 65 to qualify, they will be given an associate super payment, roughly one third of the full payment.

I understand the vagaries of wage and salary in LoS, but it could be easily, set up.

Education of the masses would be needed, possibly over an extended period, to explain the benefits.

In an effort to introduce a serious topic into the house of Bedlam, here is one that I hope will elicit some serious responses:

If you were President of Thailand for a day, what would you change to make the country better?

The visa/entry rules... again.

Free somtam for all

At least 12 years of universal free western-style (thinking and questioning) education. There's so much bloody human talent wasted in Thailand because of the lack of decent education.

At least 12 years of universal free western-style (thinking and questioning) education. There's so much bloody human talent wasted in Thailand because of the lack of decent education.

Bingo !

I see the same in a number of other countries, where the kids get minimal (if any) education, and are often put to work before even hitting their teens. A small, privileged class gets the advantages of a better education, and uses their knowledge to "rule" those less fortunate.

Most of the "advanced" countries in the world have attained their status pretty much directly from having an educated population. Countries with high literacy rates tend to be better off than those with low rates.

But as endure mentions, it has to be quality education as well. Simple repetitious recital of material, without inquisitive interaction, would lead to a nation of educated zombies. Still better than nothing, but well off of what could be.

bah hambug

was in middle of a long response on the education aspect (relatively by my standard, extremely short by Kerry's standard)

but it disappeared!!

grrrrr

I pretty much gave up on educating Thais after 2005. I know enough still to moderate the teaching forum, but I do not teach Thais. It was not hopeless, but too difficult and frustrating. It is not the fault of the students or most of their parents (who usually got an even worse education). Clearly, those who run and control this country have consciously decided that it is not beneficial to the ruling class, to have educated non-rich Thais. It is intentional and malign neglect, which dooms this country to never enter the 21st century. However, this is a great place for a farang to be retired.

bah hambug

was in middle of a long response on the education aspect (relatively by my standard, extremely short by Kerry's standard)

but it disappeared!!

grrrrr

I really must learn to type shorter posts (seriously) !

I can already feel this one becoming much longer than it should, as I contemplate the idea and relative value of short posts compared to long ones.

Short ones of course, are easier for people to scan and digest, whereas longer ones often get passed over. Too little time and too much to digest. It would almost be better to take one long post and break it into many smaller ones. Most people aren't here to read online novelettes, so when confronted with a wordy post, even if well written and punctuated, they either glance over it quickly, or pass by it all together.

I labour under the impression from time to time, that whenever someone new joins ThaiVisa, their default settings are automatically set to have me on "Ignore" !

Perhaps that is fortunate in many cases. We've all seen posters that like to quote entire posts, and add a word (or smiley), or a single line to the end of it. And those that will then quote that entire post to add their 2 satangs worth of wisdom, and so on until they eventually reach the software limit on nested quotes.

If more people were to read my posts instead of ignoring them, then TV would need to invest in larger storage media, as more people would be inclined to quote and re-quote my lengthy diatribes, thus increasing the size of the TV databases at a geometric rate !

(I really need to get a life. Either that or spend even more time at work and less time on TV.)

bah hambug

was in middle of a long response on the education aspect (relatively by my standard, extremely short by Kerry's standard)

but it disappeared!!

grrrrr

I really must learn to type shorter posts (seriously) !

I can already feel this one becoming much longer than it should, as I contemplate the idea and relative value of short posts compared to long ones.

Short ones of course, are easier for people to scan and digest, whereas longer ones often get passed over. Too little time and too much to digest. It would almost be better to take one long post and break it into many smaller ones. Most people aren't here to read online novelettes, so when confronted with a wordy post, even if well written and punctuated, they either glance over it quickly, or pass by it all together.

I labour under the impression from time to time, that whenever someone new joins ThaiVisa, their default settings are automatically set to have me on "Ignore" !

Sorry about that. I think I've fixed it now...