How Much Has The North Of Thailand Lost In All This?

[tigerfish]

so how much do you think the north/north east of thailand has lost out, when it comes to earnings that are usually sent home.

as anyone knows bangkok is a metropolis full of people that come from all over the land to earn a "better standard of living".

be it your average guy from ubon/siesakete who drives a taxi 14-16 hours a day and sends money home to his wife and kids. or maybe its a young girl from nakhon phanom who works in one of the many hotels in the capital to send money home to her ageing parents, who cant work the rice fields anymore. the som tam street vendor from khon khen, saving money for his wifes operation. the many girls that work the bars/clubs, that have to pay grandma for looking after her children. the kids have to be fed, clothed and sent to school. there are many more examples, but all have one thing in common. these are all people that come from the so called heartland areas of the very core of the red movement. the same people that our red friends are ment to care so much about.

but, from what i have seen whilst living here in bangkok, is that there aint that much money being made to send back home!

one of the very arguments that this so called movement uses, is hindering and hurting the very people it is meant to be doing all this for! yet they cant see that they are not only making everyday life here a pain in the rear, but they are doing it to their own people.

next time you pay a visit to the big smoke, ask your taxi driver, the girl on reception, the som tam vendor and the girl in the bar.

where they come from, is business good and hows the family back home.

i bet, i can guess the reply. "no money".

[jackdawson]

i would say a lot to quite a lot

[fiddlehead]

I don't think nearly as much as in the south and the tourism that's been hurt worse.

Farmers crops grow anyway. (although so do the weeds of course)

On the other hand, you would think the baht would drop because of all of this which helps the exporters (read farmers)

Today, in a Reuters article talking about the clashes in Bangkok, they slipped this sentence into the middle of the article:

"Five-year Thai credit default swaps, used to hedge against debt default, widened by more than 30 basis points -- the biggest jump in 15 months -- to 142 basis points."

[taff33]

No pain no gain

[tuky]

Perhaps some of the wages lost are being made up by the Brothers, Uncles and Dads who are getting paid to be cannon fodder and general trouble makers?