Real Inequality In The Thai Society

[webfact]

Real Inequality

A front page headline on an exclusive story published on the last Tuesday's edition of Krung Thep Turakij Newspaper, has revealed the Cabinet members' wealth and exposed a true inequality presented in this country. According to a report by the Krung Thep Turakij Newspapers, at least 40 ministers from the four governments since the Thaksin administration to the current Abhisit administration own more than 100 rai of land each.

Uraiwan Tienthong is at the top of the list, as she is owning 1,886 rai of land while 90 percent of the Thai population does not even own one rai of land. This is merely one of the examples of those who must submit their lists of assets to the National Anti-Corruption Commission for a review.

There are still many more individuals and politicians who have intentionally failed to disclose all of their assets. This means that the social inequality is a chronic problem, not something new as some may have been led to believe.

The social inequality has existed in the Thai society because we have been practicing patron-client system and operate a relatively an imperfect judicial system. Because of this, in order to bring about a true national reform, the politicians must be courageous in appointing advisers and various committees to find the best solution for the future of the country.

The gap between the rich and the poor has always been there and will continue to be widen if the politicians are still playing it safe. By turning the poor against the rich will not solve the inequality problems. By transferring the wealth from one group to another will also not eliminate the socio-economic gap.

From what we have seen since the past, some politicians have been preaching that they are trying to create opportunities for the poor, but instead they have used their power to line their own pockets and knowingly or unknowingly widen the gap between the haves and have-nots like what we are seeing in the Thai society today.

Taken from Analysis Section by Suthichai Yoon, Kom Chad Leuk Newspaper, Page 4, July 28, 2010. Translated and Rewritten by Kongkrai Maksrivorawan

Please note that the views expressed in our "Analysis" segment are translated from local newspaper articles and do not reflect the views of the Thai-ASEAN News Network.

-- Tan Network 2010-07-28

[somo]

Athough Thais say they love each other and the nation they in reality don't give a fig. They only care about number one and everyone else can starve.

[Pib]

It's hard being an elected or appointed government official because you are "damned if you do and damned if you don't" when making decisions and taking action (or no action) when in office. This is not to imply all government officials don't have the country's best interest at heart. I expect most do but some may put self interest first.

[Deeral]

Athough Thais say they love each other and the nation they in reality don't give a fig. They only care about number one and everyone else can starve.

any time I've posted stuff on the inequality of wealth or it's distribution - including figures, it's bee poo-pooed by most people who either don't believe it or think it's OK. This is one of the main factors that make reconciliation impossible.

[dumball]

Something like what is being done in the west at this time could be suggested , billionairs have been asked to give half of thier wealth to agencies for the poor , billions of dollars have poured forth to aid the poor since the requests started and it seems more is to follow . Who needs that much money any way ?

[surangw]

It's hard being an elected or appointed government official because you are "damned if you do and damned if you don't" when making decisions and taking action (or no action) when in office. This is not to imply all government officials don't have the country's best interest at heart. I expect most do but some may put self interest first.

first rule of politics "don't climb a fence you can't sit on"

[JohanV]

I would say there is another underlying problem that needs to be solved before it is even possible to discuss wealth redistribution...

namely the simple fact that it is utterly useless to spread wealth to people totally unable to handle it.

- before you start ranting - I am NOT saying that anyone is stupid or that the poor are useless.. NO,

I am saying that true wealth is created by ideas, entrepreneurs, and people who can build structures from means of current wealth to assure future wealth. And, as long as people here are simply trying to - at best - become "the perfect employee" instead of creating something new, there isn't much more they can do with the money than go shopping with them.. ..which will only transfer the doe right back to the multinational companies anyway..

The people of Thailand don't need "shopping power", they need a new culture that values individual thinking, new ideas, inventions and audacity.

Only to people possessing those properties has a transfer of wealth any lasting effect.

So, perhaps changing the mindset of the young generation, education etc. prior to redistributing wealth would do the trick ??

Just my five cents..

Edited July 28, 2010 by JohanV

[zzaa09]

Athough Thais say they love each other and the nation they in reality don't give a fig. They only care about number one and everyone else can starve.

Isn't this the reality in every society and culture around our lovely globe?

[Deeral]

THe element certainly exists in all countries but it is extreme in THailand; Thailand is a wealthy country - and one of the reasons that people keep calling it (wrongly) third world, is that they see everywhere people living on the poverty line - whether it's beggars, security guards or labourers in the fields - they are in fact a symptom of a huge underclass resulting from some of the worst distribution of national wealth in S.E. asia.

Of course this massive pool of poor people helps keep the wealthy were they are and gives the foreigners a false impression of "customer service"- it's just a vast pool of people who are prepared to do incredibly menial, servile tasks simply to stay alive.

Do you really think the sex trade would appeal if the differentiation between a farm girl's life in Issan and the money she an ear in places like Bangkok and Pattaya wasn't so great?

The wealthy elite also control the media and the ruling elements, in principal the army and these are used to maintain their privileged position.

Edited July 28, 2010 by Deeral

[Deeral]

I would say there is another underlying problem that needs to be solved before it is even possible to discuss wealth redistribution...

namely the simple fact that it is utterly useless to spread wealth to people totally unable to handle it.

- before you start ranting - I am NOT saying that anyone is stupid or that the poor are useless.. NO,

I am saying that true wealth is created by ideas, entrepreneurs, and people who can build structures from means of current wealth to assure future wealth. And, as long as people here are simply trying to - at best - become "the perfect employee" instead of creating something new, there isn't much more they can do with the money than go shopping with them.. ..which will only transfer the doe right back to the multinational companies anyway..

The people of Thailand don't need "shopping power", they need a new culture that values individual thinking, new ideas, inventions and audacity.

Only to people possessing those properties has a transfer of wealth any lasting effect.

So, perhaps changing the mindset of the young generation, education etc. prior to redistributing wealth would do the trick ??

Just my five cents..

?

If you believe that individuals are more important than society, maybe you are partly right, but who is it who instills creativity etc in a society - the education system is a primary source and who decides on the kind of education offered? - the elite again who essentially have produced an education system where to put it simply, Thai culture,history and values have been created by successive govts and rammed down the throats of the populous, smothering most free thinking.

[JohanV]

..Thai culture,history and values have been created by successive govts and rammed down the throats of the populous, smothering most free thinking.

That's exactly my point. In my opinion that has to change before there will be any true heirs to the future wealth of Thailand.

The potential for wealth amongst new groups in society is relative to their creative capacity, I would say..

Just think of the fact that basically everything we surround us with today in the modern society was invented and developed by stubborn individuals,

many times seen as lunatics, fools and odd outsiders before it came to public use.

For example; the light tube, air condition, batteries, telephone, aircraft, cars, radio, penicillin and much much more..

Until the day that Thailand will foster and accept strong, free thinking individuals - regardless of their family origins - there will be no real wealth generation

in Thailand. And, yes, I define "wealth" as true original value that increases the living standards for people - thus sellable in any situation - rather than short-term stock exchange gains or money made on serving rich CEO's at golf courses, as that - in my opinion - is highly volatile and doomed to be depending on those CEO's making their golf course money somewhere else first - thus eternally putting Thailand in dependancy of other's wealth.

Now, how many internatioally recognised companies producing anything does Thailand have ? Except for maybe Singha beer ??

Compare that to for example Germany with a similar population count..

And, of course,..

until the day that Thailand will foster and accept strong, free thinking individuals - regardless of their family origins - there will be no change in Thailand's political or economical structure either.

Anyway, I'm an optimist. My son is only seven years old now, but wait and see..

Edited July 28, 2010 by JohanV

[chantorn]

Inequality? No way.

The rich and poor in Thailand both have equal rights. Both have only 1 vote.

[Jingthing]

Many countries have even wider gaps between rich and poor, USA is a good example. You really don't want a totally flat country, that is impossible and will only result in misery.

[JohanV]

Many countries have even wider gaps between rich and poor, USA is a good example. You really don't want a totally flat country, that is impossible and will only result in misery.

Well, I don't think the actual gap size is a good measurement, rather the distribution curve.

In the US there's a middle class, here there's a "hole" in the middle of the curve.

This gap is a big hinderance for any "poor" person to move upwards. No "American Dream" here, really..

To compare Thailand with the US and conclude that US is poorer is not only absurd, but downright stupid IMHO.

Edited July 28, 2010 by JohanV

[jayjay0]

Well here is my two Baht say. OP's like this are a part of the problem. I have had a lot of time on my hands latley and read lots of posts. They all have one thing in common.

They all maintain the problem is money. Not one single post has referred to are they happy. Every one is telling them they are poor and Joe Blow over there has a lot of money. So what are they willing to do the work to get it? A lot of those super rich people put in more hours in a week than 95% of these poor Thais do. Not all of them but still a lot.

It has been mentioned here that giving them money is not the answer. I whole heartedly agree. I have a cousin who works for Microsoft. He is very well paid. He has his own charitable foundation. We were talking one day and he mentioned that the best thing he can do for a lot of villages is drill wells for them. Not hand out money to them. I saw a documentary on parts of China. They have no electricity or gas and the women spends up to three hours a day gathering fire wood. The government has come in and helped them to develop there own source of energy. Now they can cook with electricity and develop there lives in other ways.

Bottom line if they are happy quite dwelling on all the money Joe Blow has and ask them would there be something I could do to help.

One last point that article is like a fortune teller they tell you some thing that fits most every one. Same with the article It fits all countries. some of you people really should get out more.

[MAJIC]

So what else is new? This article could have related to any Country in World.

There always has been the "haves" and the "have nots"and probably always will be.

[Jingthing]

Many countries have even wider gaps between rich and poor, USA is a good example. You really don't want a totally flat country, that is impossible and will only result in misery.

Well, I don't think the actual gap size is a good measurement, rather the distribution curve.

In the US there's a middle class, here there's a "hole" in the middle of the curve.

This gap is a big hinderance for any "poor" person to move upwards. No "American Dream" here, really..

To compare Thailand with the US and conclude that US is poorer is not only absurd, but downright stupid IMHO.

Well, there is indeed SEVERE inequality in American society. The middle class has shrunk, not expanded, and over the last decades the real spending power of the middle class has been trashed. Remember when a family only needed one earner? Also, mobility. Western Europeans now have superior chances of moving up in classes than Americans. Also, the gap between rich and poor in the US is the most extreme in the world. Also, the poor in the US are demonized and shamed. They are told something is wrong with them. It is in many ways a crime to be poor in America. At least if you are poor in a place like rural Thailand, you are just a poor Thai, not a violation of national propaganda that everyone can be rich if they work hard enough. Most Americans are as propagandized about their real condition as North Koreans. Maybe the US needs a red shirt movement?

Edited July 28, 2010 by Jingthing

[marquess]

In this country the law is for the rich and against the poor!

[dom samui]

Inequality? No way.

The rich and poor in Thailand both have equal rights. Both have only 1 vote.

Absolutely ! and two legs !

[Deeral]

Off topic but....

"Just think of the fact that basically everything we surround us with today in the modern society was invented and developed by stubborn individuals,many times seen as lunatics, fools and odd outsiders before it came to public use.

For example; the light tube, air condition, batteries, telephone, aircraft, cars, radio, penicillin and much much more.." this is demonstrably wrong!

THe problem is as in Thailand a general acceptance of myth over a genuine study of history culture and society.

however I think that in general we are in agreement on this.

Edited July 29, 2010 by Deeral

[toybits]

There are rich and there are poor everywhere in the world. It is a fact and there is little we can do about it. However, there is something where people should be more equal. Ideally, the law should be applied equally to everyone. However, even the law isn't applied equally to everyone. Favors are given, deals are made, or people are bribed to look the other way. The poor people often get the shorter straw. tsk tsk.

[Deeral]

Many countries have even wider gaps between rich and poor, USA is a good example. You really don't want a totally flat country, that is impossible and will only result in misery.

THis is also demonstrably true - whereas there are painful examples of poverty in US - the distribution of the nations wealth is FAR less imbalanced than Thailand.i'm not going to give you the figures but they are available if you want to take the trouble to look.

Land, capital and control of natural resources are in the hands of a tiny minority in Thailand

[Deeral]

Inequality? No way.

The rich and poor in Thailand both have equal rights. Both have only 1 vote.

thank you for this insight - are you quoting the Mayor of Simpleton?

[Heng]

People aren't equal (speed, height, weight, intelligence...), how could society possibly be equal?

[Deeral]

"They all maintain the problem is money. Not one single post has referred to are they happy. Every one is telling them they are poor and Joe Blow over there has a lot of money. So what are they willing to do the work to get it? A lot of those super rich people put in more hours in a week than 95% of these poor Thais do. Not all of them but still a lot."

Again a failure to grasp the basics - it's not about MONEY per se - it's about CONTROL of money, finance control of resources etc so what we are talking about is POWER. Happy unfortunately is purely subjective and usually used by the rich and powerful to justify their subjection of the poor

[hoaker]

Athough Thais say they love each other and the nation they in reality don't give a fig. They only care about number one and everyone else can starve.

Isn't this the reality in every society and culture around our lovely globe?

Absolutely, but the magnitude is far more here than the rest of the world. Brazil has been seen to close this gap and so is China in the past couple of Years. Thailand has been like this for a very long time and the gap seems to widen and not improve.

[hoaker]

..Thai culture,history and values have been created by successive govts and rammed down the throats of the populous, smothering most free thinking.

That's exactly my point. In my opinion that has to change before there will be any true heirs to the future wealth of Thailand.

The potential for wealth amongst new groups in society is relative to their creative capacity, I would say..

Just think of the fact that basically everything we surround us with today in the modern society was invented and developed by stubborn individuals,

many times seen as lunatics, fools and odd outsiders before it came to public use.

For example; the light tube, air condition, batteries, telephone, aircraft, cars, radio, penicillin and much much more..

Until the day that Thailand will foster and accept strong, free thinking individuals - regardless of their family origins - there will be no real wealth generation

in Thailand. And, yes, I define "wealth" as true original value that increases the living standards for people - thus sellable in any situation - rather than short-term stock exchange gains or money made on serving rich CEO's at golf courses, as that - in my opinion - is highly volatile and doomed to be depending on those CEO's making their golf course money somewhere else first - thus eternally putting Thailand in dependancy of other's wealth.

Now, how many internatioally recognised companies producing anything does Thailand have ? Except for maybe Singha beer ??

Compare that to for example Germany with a similar population count..

And, of course,..

until the day that Thailand will foster and accept strong, free thinking individuals - regardless of their family origins - there will be no change in Thailand's political or economical structure either.

Anyway, I'm an optimist. My son is only seven years old now, but wait and see..

REDBULL!! bigger than Singha..... Thailand was the syrup producer and Austrian was the marketer, people get this wrong all the time.

[crazygreg44]

Inequality? No way.

The rich and poor in Thailand both have equal rights. Both have only 1 vote.

Absolutely ! and two legs !

... agreed. But they don t get equal opportunity for the same level of education . .

[Robby nz]

Inequality isn’t just measured in land owned or wealth .

One of the worst examples I see in Thailand is how a person’s contribution to society is valued.

For instance someone who builds a house for others rarely seems to earn enough for a house of the same quality for themselves.

Similarly those who produce the food or catch the fish often live in terrible conditions with little hope of ever seeing any improvement to those conditions.

Most of the people at the bottom I am sure don’t want a hand out just a fair return for what they do and the respect that their skills deserve.

There is also the aspect that no matter how much some people get they will never be able to do anything but squander it.

A great example is the Mrs’s sisters husband who has a good job but spends all his money on gambling and drinking, very rarely takes any of his money home, is around 300kB in debt has pawned his wifes gold and emptied the kids money boxes and today I hear that yesterday he pawned the family car for 100k and gave the money to a friend.

The car isn’t yet paid off (8000B per month) and now they haven’t got the use of it, any money given to him and his ilk would be wasted immediately.

[dadisbell]

When you sell your vote...you get what you pay for. Pretty simple really.