Farmers close Bangkok-South road to demand payment for rice

[dude123]

You simply cannot run a country and allow your highways to be blocked. Few countries would tolerate this. So, why is this allowed to happen here? I would suggest a 10 year prison term for anyone caught blocking a road, permanent forfeiture of any vehicles used for this purpose, and absolutely massive fines in the hundreds of thousands of baht per individual. This might stop them. There is no deterrent now. Do as you please. No price to be paid for disrupting society. Arrest the culprits. Jail them. Fine them. End of game.

Yes, but if you are a rice farmer that has not been paid for all the hard work, risk losing your farm, your livelyhood and your support for you family, would you maybe block a few roads to get attention? What you say is easy, but walk in their shoes maybe and then things are not as black and white all of a sudden.

Well put Dude123, but probably wasted on the poster you replied to.

Thanks! After reading his post, I kind of thought he may be a slight tad radical in his views!

[mikemac]

I am fairly confident that the rice payment scheme, regardless of how it is painted in the news, is a carefully planned scheme to gain the necessary vote for the opposition party. The banks do not answer to government, they answer to the wealthy backers. The BOT is a privately owned central bank that inflates and deflates as it needs to. This was all designed to discredit the current government whether I like the current government or not.

..............................."I am fairly confident that the rice payment scheme, regardless of how it is painted in the news, is a carefully planned scheme to gain the necessary vote for the opposition party."....................

Sorry, but do you mind explaining that statement, because it makes little sense to me.

Edited February 4, 2014 by mikemac

[mikemac]

Do you people really understand the problem... If they have 500 Billion Baht of rice in the warehouse, just sell some and pay the farmers. The government does not need any authorization from anyone to do this.

The problem is it will then expose their excessive losses in this failed scheme. A lot of the rice is not there, a lot of it is damaged or rotting and all of it is overvalued.

Go have a look yourself, I have and a lot of it is just rotting away and covered over by newer rice to hide the problem.

If the P/T government succeed in getting the additional 130 billion Baht, the taxpayers will then owe 700 Billion to the banks for rice loans. The rice is probably worth less than half of this amount and the tax payers and their children will end up paying this bill. The protestors have a right to expose the corruption and theft that is going on, which effects the farmers and the taxpayers.

Good post, and no they don't really understand the problem otherwise they would post so much rubbish as they do. I suppose it gives us a laugh to read such red-tinted comedy.

You made a very good point, regarding the protesters having the right to expose the corruption and theft that affects the farmers and taxpayers.

Some people believe this is not so, that the only right they have is to vote.

Seems like the redshirts had every right to blockade BKK for months back in 2010, and set fire to it as they slithered away.

[cloudhopper]

So is the road still closed at this time?

[SamMunich]

Based on your moniker, I presume that English is not your first language. I will therefore excuse your miscomprehension of "in part".

Next time, before calling someone a liar, make sure that you have the facts that you need to make even a prima facie case.

Don't worry, my level of English has been good enough for well over half of my life to do it my way.

My understanding is, that "in part" is basically "not completely", can we agree on that in general terms?

Now even if there would not have been protests in Bangkok, the funds for paying the farmers were depleted nevertheless. My guess (not a factual statement, as you will know!) is, that some of the 2.2 trillion Baht infrastructure projects' money would have been used to pay the farmers, like in a Ponzi scheme...

And about the <deleted> mail, a simple three words would have been enough to answer,- as Bluespunk did...

Have a nice day and don't hold your breath for Taksin to come back any time soon.

[spidermike007]

You simply cannot run a country and allow your highways to be blocked. Few countries would tolerate this. So, why is this allowed to happen here? I would suggest a 10 year prison term for anyone caught blocking a road, permanent forfeiture of any vehicles used for this purpose, and absolutely massive fines in the hundreds of thousands of baht per individual. This might stop them. There is no deterrent now. Do as you please. No price to be paid for disrupting society. Arrest the culprits. Jail them. Fine them. End of game.

Yes, but if you are a rice farmer that has not been paid for all the hard work, risk losing your farm, your livelyhood and your support for you family, would you maybe block a few roads to get attention? What you say is easy, but walk in their shoes maybe and then things are not as black and white all of a sudden.

Are you saying if I was a rice farmer who had been promised a sales price about 35% higher than the world market for my commodity, by a government that does not have the cash to pay me? I think I would have opted to either sell to the free market, and take my lumps, or grow another more profitable crop. Rice is a horrific crop to grow, which usually leads to a life of poverty.

[spidermike007]

You simply cannot run a country and allow your highways to be blocked. Few countries would tolerate this. So, why is this allowed to happen here? I would suggest a 10 year prison term for anyone caught blocking a road, permanent forfeiture of any vehicles used for this purpose, and absolutely massive fines in the hundreds of thousands of baht per individual. This might stop them. There is no deterrent now. Do as you please. No price to be paid for disrupting society. Arrest the culprits. Jail them. Fine them. End of game.

Yes, but if you are a rice farmer that has not been paid for all the hard work, risk losing your farm, your livelyhood and your support for you family, would you maybe block a few roads to get attention? What you say is easy, but walk in their shoes maybe and then things are not as black and white all of a sudden.

Well put Dude123, but probably wasted on the poster you replied to.

You simply cannot run a country and allow your highways to be blocked

You simply cannot run a country when the leader of the government is a criminal hiding out in the Middle East. Full stop.

And your plan to hit protesters who dare to voice their opinion with "absolutely massive fines" is interesting, perhaps the monies raised by these fines could be used to pay the farmers who have been ripped off by the Shinawatra family !

But wait, the farmers will not be able to pay the fines because the government has withheld the money owed to them.

................................"I would suggest a 10 year prison term for anyone caught blocking a road, permanent forfeiture of any vehicles used for this purpose, and absolutely massive fines in the hundreds of thousands of baht per individual."................................

Does this also apply to the redshirts who did just that in Bangkok in 2010. If so, they will not be too happy with your point of view.

They believe they are above the law.

Well, my suggestion is to establish some sort of law whereby shutting down a government and highways is not tolerated. Suthep is so devoid of wisdom that he feels to impose more hardship on the Thai people by shutting down highways, and ministries is somehow a solution. Oh, and did anyone mention the "peoples council"? I am not taking sides. Merely pointing out that law and order is sometimes a good thing?

[Khonper]

Now the fun begins.......... ........

Guess u published under wrong section or have some weird opinion on fun

[SamMunich]

You simply cannot run a country and allow your highways to be blocked. Few countries would tolerate this. So, why is this allowed to happen here? I would suggest a 10 year prison term for anyone caught blocking a road, permanent forfeiture of any vehicles used for this purpose, and absolutely massive fines in the hundreds of thousands of baht per individual. This might stop them. There is no deterrent now. Do as you please. No price to be paid for disrupting society. Arrest the culprits. Jail them. Fine them. End of game.

Yes, but if you are a rice farmer that has not been paid for all the hard work, risk losing your farm, your livelyhood and your support for you family, would you maybe block a few roads to get attention? What you say is easy, but walk in their shoes maybe and then things are not as black and white all of a sudden.

Are you saying if I was a rice farmer who had been promised a sales price about 35% higher than the world market for my commodity, by a government that does not have the cash to pay me? I think I would have opted to either sell to the free market, and take my lumps, or grow another more profitable crop. Rice is a horrific crop to grow, which usually leads to a life of poverty.

Spidermike, you are not a Thai farmer and you don't think the same way as they do. Else we would not have gotten into this mess in the first place.

Be aware that most Thais are convinced, that advertising is always telling the truth. And so does a corrupt government...

Ever wondered, why so many poor (relatively!) people play lottery? Same reason, why they participated in the rice-pledging scheme: Wanting to get rich without the amount of work, that is normally involved with making money.

IMHO to call farmers stupid is wrong, but to call them poorly educated is correct. Why? Because all past governments (and of all parties!) have refrained from raising the level of education for the normal people. Poor Education is meant to keep those educated poor...

Which reminds me, taht at one point, Taksin was also Minister of Education...

[spidermike007]

You simply cannot run a country and allow your highways to be blocked. Few countries would tolerate this. So, why is this allowed to happen here? I would suggest a 10 year prison term for anyone caught blocking a road, permanent forfeiture of any vehicles used for this purpose, and absolutely massive fines in the hundreds of thousands of baht per individual. This might stop them. There is no deterrent now. Do as you please. No price to be paid for disrupting society. Arrest the culprits. Jail them. Fine them. End of game.

Yes, but if you are a rice farmer that has not been paid for all the hard work, risk losing your farm, your livelyhood and your support for you family, would you maybe block a few roads to get attention? What you say is easy, but walk in their shoes maybe and then things are not as black and white all of a sudden.

Are you saying if I was a rice farmer who had been promised a sales price about 35% higher than the world market for my commodity, by a government that does not have the cash to pay me? I think I would have opted to either sell to the free market, and take my lumps, or grow another more profitable crop. Rice is a horrific crop to grow, which usually leads to a life of poverty.

Spidermike, you are not a Thai farmer and you don't think the same way as they do. Else we would not have gotten into this mess in the first place.

Be aware that most Thais are convinced, that advertising is always telling the truth. And so does a corrupt government...

Ever wondered, why so many poor (relatively!) people play lottery? Same reason, why they participated in the rice-pledging scheme: Wanting to get rich without the amount of work, that is normally involved with making money.

IMHO to call farmers stupid is wrong, but to call them poorly educated is correct. Why? Because all past governments (and of all parties!) have refrained from raising the level of education for the normal people. Poor Education is meant to keep those educated poor...

Which reminds me, taht at one point, Taksin was also Minister of Education...

You make some very good points. Yes, I am definitely not a Thai farmer. If I were, I would grow fruit, herbs, or hydroponic vegetables. Rice would be the last crop in the world I would grow. One of the least profitable, and one that ensures a poor lifestyle. Maybe an exotic rice, like a brown jasmine rice, that commands far more money per kilo. Maybe, but probably not. Yes, the ability to discriminate between truth and fiction is always helpful. But, I voted for Obama the first time, so even I was fooled, by the redeemer wolf, in sheeps clothing. LOL.