Abhisit Calls On Govt To Tackle Adverse Effects Of 300-Baht Wage Policy

[jayboy]

So you "on record as querying the economic benefits of the rice price support scheme" but saying the figures might have been better without its huge losses is ludicrous?

How could the current figures be " undermined by any of your unnamed "white elephants" when the borrowing is only proposed?

Do try to answer questions without throwing in rambling strawman side issues.

Yes ludicrous because in the context of the economy's size and the factors driving its success it's not particularly critical.

You mention other "white elephants" but refuse to name them.

If you want to criticise the government's populist policies by all means do so but don't try and suggest they theaten Thailand's remarkable economic performance

[indyuk]

What does opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva have to say about 6.4% GDP growth last year with most predicting a further improvement this year, along with impressive export growth?

One has to wonder how good the figures might be if they hadn't decided to stop selling rice.

Tough isn't it? - for those who dislike the current government intensely but have to take into account that Thailand's economy is performing very strongly.The more intelligent keep their counsel but inevitably there are one or two who make a ludicrous observation - partly because they are blinded by prejudice and in this instance apparently ignorant of the factors that have contributed to Thailand's enviably strong position (not all of which are connected to which set of politicians are in charge)

So you think the rice scam has been a bonus for productivity and export figures. What a strange phenomenon. I think it has been detrimental to otherwise good numbers, and that detriment is directly attributable to the current administration. The question is how long will the figures remain good as they borrow heavily to continue this corrupt idiocy and to finance other uneconomic white elephants?

Is your advocacy so one-sided that you can't see there are negatives as well as positives?

However your comment sums up the common outcome of inititives that are instigated as part of a wider program of social engneering policies.

[Thaddeus]

As opposed to red shirt rocket scientists and brain surgeons?

Nah, election winners...........

Voted in because of the overwhelming number of rocket scientists and brain surgeons in Thailand.

[Potosi]

Is your name Obama?

Like you I watch the business news, not much else on TV for the last 30 years. What's good for business must be hammered home, and that there is no life other than the economy. So, when you watch in the news that a big corporation increased the profit by $10 billion, and sacked 50,000 workers, that's good for you personally, because?

You believe corporations will relocate to Africa (there is no place in Eastern Europe cheaper than SEA) if labour becomes so expensive that it actually starts to make a dent in the profits. Unlikely, Africa is not safe. When it becomes that, they will enforce minimum wages as well. Leave the capital no place to run to. Stakeholders first.

[Chua]

This discussion is getting side-tracked. The important issue is not about Abhisit; its about the negative effects of the minimum wage increase. The increase was much too high; more than 50% in less than 3 years has a major impact on businesses who cannot afford to pay such high wages as well as the increasing rate of Social Insurance taxes, so companies have no choice but to lay off workers. Already there are already more than 50,000 Thai who are out of work because of this short-sighted policy.

Any business which does retain its workers will be forced to increase prices for their products and services, thereby increasing inflation and making everything more costly, such that the price of basic necessities like food, shelter, utilities will rise, so that even those who are still working will have to pay more, effectively negating the effect of their pay increase. Meanwhile, all the rest of the workers who were making more than the minimum wage now also have to pay more for everything, thus reducing the amount they previously had for disposable income. The net effect will be a nationwide reduction in retail spending, causing a reduction in profits, a reduction in GDP, and a reduction in government revenues. All around, this minimum wage increase is not at all healthy for Thailand; it ought to be carefully re-examined and if not repealed, then tax breaks put in place to compensate for the extra expenses incurred.

Actually, it's very good for Thailand. State intervention, income driven growth, spreading wealth are the ways to go if they ever plan to arrive amongst the wealthy nations. Businesses going out of business that wasn't sustainable but by slave labour is a good thing as well. Ingenuity and constant improvement are better ways to sustain a business. What Thailand needs now is a comprehensive welfare program for the unemployed, best financed by tax hikes on the rich.

Well, too bad that the very first thing the PTP government did was to slash corporate taxes by a third and since then enacted other schemes to favour the more affluent segments of the population.

Yay for wealth redistribution...

Yes, but for many companies such as a lot of the numerous small businesses in Thailand who make only a small profit or have a loss, a reduction of the tax rate is irrelevant because with expenses being greater than revenues, their taxable income is zero, thus they already pay no tax. But these companies are still subject to paying the higher minimum wages and higher social insurance tax.

[metisdead]

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