Helping The Family In Surin

[legendarysurfer]

This is not 100%, but it is not uncommon either.

It is a shame that one often has to perform some function that is not beneficial for society to make a profit, and when one offers a useful service that is beneficial for society, there is no profit in it. 

Case and point.  My former wife runs an underground lottery using the Government Lottery numbers, The Government Savings Bank numbers and The Stock Exchange numbers.  She makes 200K to 400K per month from her small Esarn village.  That is a sizeable sum from such a small place.  I am against gambling because it is not a gamble from the business's perspective and I do not see a benefit going to the consumer.  It is simple mathematics on the part of the business.  I do not liek the sale of alcohol either, but there certainly is a lot of profit in it.

I lend money.  I make 3%/month doing so.  There is no risk on my side.  I have a large number of land title deeds, and ownership books and paperwork for cars and motorcycles.  I cannot lose as I loan to a maximum of 50% of value, and all collateral must be insured by the borower.  3% / month is cheap in Thailand.  Thais lend for a great deal more than that - 6% / month, 10%/month,  20% / month.

My gaining interest income does not benefit society.  It is not money going to its most needed location.  It is not coming to the aid of others in need.  It is usery.  Neither the bible nor the koran are in favor of interst payments.  There is a good reason for it. 

I may very well be a hypocrite, yet I have never taken anyone's assets, and have always made alternate arrangements for their payments interest-free after the term of the loan has been completed in the cases where they had not yet accumulated enough money to pay off the balance.

These are ways that money is made in Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya and in Esarn, the Philippines, Cambodia and Vietnam.

As long as your family always takes collateral in the form of land WITH real land title deeds, cars and motorbikes with proper books and full insurance, and lends to only 50% of value, they will never be without money. This may not be applicable in your village, as the people who want to borrow may not have any assets.

If your family loses at this, then consider finding a new family.  I am not a fan of families.   I helped out this one Thai girl who had been to Europe a couple of times, whom I had known for years up until the time she went to Engalnd.  Well, after a while there, her brainless husband asks her to hint around to me about sending them some money because she did not have enough - I love reading his ext messages abut her not having enough money.   I still pay for one of her sisters to attend college and drop a few baht on the other one when I see her in Bkk.  These are reasonably-nice, straight girls.  They are where I draw the limit on family assistance.

So, to summarize, I have met a lot of people who have tried to finance business ventures for their wive's family in Esarn.  Few pan out.  I would never try to sell something in that region unless it was cigs or whiskey.  There is a reason that so many of them leave the region for greener pastures in the country.  No one has much money up there.

If you can do some fish farming and then sell the fish somewhere... GREAT, but fish, pigs, cows, rabbits, etc., can become ill and die.  And, do they know anything about raising these animals?  See what they want to do, as if you push them, they will not do a good job of anything, but if they want to do it, they will give it their all.

See how they could leave Esarn.  If they are steadfast about staying there, consider forgetting about the whole thing.  Most Thais with some gumption are in a big hurry to get out of the small villages.

  Good luck

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What a depressing thread from a loanshark. He admits what he does is of no use for society, excusing his high interest rates as cheaper than Thais, where is he from, India? His English doesn't suggest a native speaker.

My wife has been raising cattle since she was young, she took over from her father, very few have ever died from illness, similarly with fish, bla nin and bla duk, a low deathrate if you take care and have the space, nowadays vets are within easy reach.

The quality of life in the villages; space, fresh air, natural environment, the friendliness of the locals coupled with the leisurely pace of life, will ensure a steady supply of farangs trying to make a go of it upcountry. The horrendous pollution of Bangkok, both carbon monoxide and noisewise, the madness of streetlife where pedestians literally have to run for their lives to cross the road, offer no dignity to those who yearn for a decent quality of life.

As bina says, agriculture is more than a job, it's a way of life and a love and for those who persevere there's really no choice.

bannork

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Honesty is good. It takes guts to be that way even though it makes one look bad. I try not to be judgemental. We all have our own demons to contend with.

[Malenonsense]

If he's offering lower rates he's much better than the others. The Thai government doesn't care about helping people by stopping loansharking. The Chinese own most of the wealth in Thailand because of it. I'd say most loansharks are Chinese. You can see all the pawn shops in the cities are run by Chinese. Like it or not right now lending money this way is accepted. The wimpy powerless limpwristed Thai government allows it. People need money so why shouldn't Thai-Thais and others get into the business and bring rates down. Like I said the govt won't do squat for the people. As much as I don't like seeing people making excessive profit for lending money I'd rather see the average guy getting into the business than seeing it controlled by just one group like the Chinese.

I guess if someone is really against borrowing they shouldn't have credit cards, bank accounts which pay interest etc.

The solution is for the government to do its job set some standards and police the lending markets. But like I said this govt doesn't have nuts.

[legendarysurfer]

Thai-Chinese business people taking advantage of Thais in the loan industry has been accompanied by the Thai government, itself, that offers small loans to country people but does not educate them on how to effectively use loan baht... One of the attractions of living in the Issan is the simpleness of the people. This is also their Achilles Heel.