Pheu Thai Brands Govt A 'Total Failure'

[brahmburgers]

my favorite quote by Thaksin (which he repeated on various occasions in the 2000's): Variations on a theme......

"That's it, I'm done with politics."

"No more politics for me."

"I'm done with politics."

Probably the greatest quote by Thaksin supporters (When the Big T was running for office);

"He's already rich, so he won't be tempted to become corrupt."

[pattayaorganic]

Economics 101 and the minimum wage.

One of the first things I learned in economics class in University is that labor is also a commodity that follows supply and demand curves related to pricing. Lower cost for the "buyer" of labor (employer) and employment increases. Increase the price of employment (minimum wage) and the number of jobs will drop. There are innumerable case studies that show that minimum wage is a net loss for society, i.e. far fewer higher paying jobs.

Some law passed in parliament will not and cannot change the market forces that decide the value of human labor.

15,000B minimum wage for new graduates? Give me a break.

A new Thai university graduate can barely tie their own shoes, let alone do something valuable for the company. I have hired Thai MBAs that still needed their hand held for seemingly routine tasks. (note this is not to say that very high integrity and high quality Thai staff don't exist in Thailand, just that the Thai EDUCATION SYSTEM does not churn out workers immediately capable of adding value to an organization without extensive additional training).

Of course the minimum wage exists politically because of its populous appeal and the fact that most potential "beneficiaries" of a minimum wage have not studied economics 101! Needless to say it is a copout by policy leaders. Minimum wage laws must accompany pro-growth economic policy to have even the slightest hope of benefiting the people it is meant to benefit.

I run a company that follows the Thai labor laws to the letter and my employees, foreign (not farang), and Thai are happy and productive. I also run an operation near Udon Thani and have found that while a large majority of Thais from this area have troubles with alcoholism and gambling addiction (symptoms of a broad sense of hopelessness) , there are also responsible and hard working people in this area as well.

There is also a large indolent population that will do anything to avoid any kind of exertion or do anything productive. These people need real community outreach programs to deal with their hopelessness and this must be combined with improvements in primary production-- the mainstay of the rural economy in Thailand.

If any policy writer truly wants to assist the rural population, creation of an agricultural service, perhaps based on the US "University Extension Service" model coupled with microfinance structures would go miles to improve the toils of the rural Thai.

Even with my rural development background, I have to beware of a tendency to write off the rural Thais as bunch of irresponsible gamblers and drunks. Anyone who has spent time in rural Isaan sees these social problems run deep and broad in rural Thailand. What the rural Thais need is hope and change and for the moment, I don't see either political party going the needed direction to break the vicious cycle of hopelessness, alcoholism, gambling addiction and economic despair.

Someday the Thais have to wake up and see that modernizing its farming sector is the only way out of social unrest that will plague the country until somebody figures out this blatantly obvious issue.

Until then, irresponsible, damaging populist policy, becomes a pissing match between which party can do the most for this needy sector of society while the real needs of these people go by the wayside.

[hyperdimension]

I don't see either political party going the needed direction to break the vicious cycle of hopelessness, alcoholism, gambling addiction and economic despair.

Would you prefer that people not vote at all, as an act of defiance or fatalism?

People should at least vote for the party that they believe has the most potential and likelihood of helping them. To most Thai people, Pheu Thai does not show any potential and likelihood of helping them, except for those people and businesses who are aligned with Thaksin and his businesses, as a Pheu Thai government would result in a boost in profits.

Edited January 10, 2011 by hyperdimension

[pattayaorganic]

I don't see either political party going the needed direction to break the vicious cycle of hopelessness, alcoholism, gambling addiction and economic despair.

Would you prefer that people not vote at all, as an act of defiance or fatalism?

People should at least vote for the party that they believe has the most potential and likelihood of helping them. To most Thai people, Pheu Thai does not show any potential and likelihood of helping them, except for those people and businesses who are aligned with Thaksin and his businesses, as a Pheu Thai government would result in a boost in profits.

No I wouldn't prefer that the people not vote. That is a silly extension of my argument. What I am trying to say is for the moment, no political party is doing much more than window dressing, specifically with respect of the needs of the rural poor (read farmers).

If you accept that the real problem of rural thailand is agriculture (duh), then whatever government wants to win the hearts of rural Thai voters needs to drastically and dramatically improve the toils of the farmer through multiple areas of investment, (extension, micro-finance, new crop development, etc.) to improve farm productivity and profitability. I have been directly involved in development of organic technology and the Thai government efforts in this regard lack coordination and true promotion, marketing that would really improve the value for the farmers.

Many ask, "What's wrong with populism?" My answer is that is superficial. I am not promoting PTP policies over democrat, but trying to start a grass roots movement for government to recognize the real problem so that whomever is in charge can make real steps towards improving the lives of the rural poor and hence truly start to solve the social problems that Thailand faces.

[hyperdimension]

Many ask, "What's wrong with populism?" My answer is that is superficial. I am not promoting PTP policies over democrat, but trying to start a grass roots movement for government to recognize the real problem so that whomever is in charge can make real steps towards improving the lives of the rural poor and hence truly start to solve the social problems that Thailand faces.

Would you say that the current government would be more likely to listen to you and recognize the problem compared to a government that would be led by Pheu Thai, based on your observation of the individual politicians in each party?