I know how our friendly PM could make the place much happier. Actually, I could think of quite a few actions or sacrifices he could make.

I'm not going to tick the like box but you can gather from this that I do

Wait until the property bubble bursts here. Currently more than 35% of residential property is vacant, yet prices keep going up and up and they keep building completely un-needed properties that people buy as investments, despite the fact that very few Thais could afford to actually buy these over-inflated homes to live in. The banks, meanwhile list the property loans at full loan value as assetts. In the USA, a housing crisis is generally defined as 6% of housing vacant for over 6 months. Here houses sometimes take years to sell. What happens when this inconvenient truth comes to light? Well, most of the banks fail and literally millions if Thais whose income it directly or indirectly tied to the construction industry are suddenly unemployed and unemployable. Nothing makes an economic climate go from fat dumb and happy to near violent panic like a huge swathe of the workforce suddenly becoming unemployed. If you don't think such a radical turnaround could happen in the land of smiles, just study-up a bit on our closest, both geographically and culturally, neighboring countries, Viet Nam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. This place is a powder keg!

watching the photo I ask myself: what kind of drugs he got in his glass?

From a social standpoint more happy then in the west

The West is still happy while under states of emergency...

Without wishing to spoil the party on Thai bashing on unemployment if you took the time to have a look around Rayong you would find

literally 1,000s of jobs available for unskilled workers who are prepared to work/ Just spend a day at Samuthsakorn immigration.

where 1,000s of Burmese are filling places in factories & are reporting there (& thats only the legally employed

It's quite obvious what is going on here, the Luk-Thep dolls are making everyone happy.

Actually, compared to most of the world the Thai people do seem to be quite content and happy.

Certainly seem happier than the teenagers/twentysomethings down the main street in my "home town" in the UK who seem more intent on finding a reason to kick each others heads in on a weekend!

If they only knew how deep in debt households really are....

They know, that's where they want them.

Wait until the property bubble bursts here. Currently more than 35% of residential property is vacant, yet prices keep going up and up and they keep building completely un-needed properties that people buy as investments, despite the fact that very few Thais could afford to actually buy these over-inflated homes to live in. The banks, meanwhile list the property loans at full loan value as assetts. In the USA, a housing crisis is generally defined as 6% of housing vacant for over 6 months. Here houses sometimes take years to sell. What happens when this inconvenient truth comes to light? Well, most of the banks fail and literally millions if Thais whose income it directly or indirectly tied to the construction industry are suddenly unemployed and unemployable. Nothing makes an economic climate go from fat dumb and happy to near violent panic like a huge swathe of the workforce suddenly becoming unemployed. If you don't think such a radical turnaround could happen in the land of smiles, just study-up a bit on our closest, both geographically and culturally, neighboring countries, Viet Nam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. This place is a powder keg!

Where's your link to support your 35% figure, personally I think it's miles off being accurate.

As for a property crash in Thailand, you're new here I can tell, prices here never crash, despite tanks on the streets, armed insurrection and a falling GDP, never.

Sorry Chiang mai but you are talking a lot of crock shit.

The only banks that have gone bust here are those that are are affiliated with US or Euro banks who overstretched themselves

as the do in the US.

The balance sheets of the big 6 Thai banks would rank in the top 5% of banks in the world

How many Thais would really drink with him on this economy index. Only the government worker and his appoint police and military appointment. Farmers and no other workers can see his happiest actions. A bad jesture for a man who no one believes in!

Sorry Chiang mai but you are talking a lot of crock shit.

The only banks that have gone bust here are those that are are affiliated with US or Euro banks who overstretched themselves

as the do in the US.

The balance sheets of the big 6 Thai banks would rank in the top 5% of banks in the world

I don't know what you think you've read that you think I wrote but I happen to think also that Thai banks are, for the most part, extremely safe.

So tell me, what's a load of crock s**t?

I remember some other country recently stating that 99% of their citizens were superhappy... damn, can't remember the name, Nostralia... Northcocooria, somethin'...

Sorry Chiang mai but you are talking a lot of crock shit.

The only banks that have gone bust here are those that are are affiliated with US or Euro banks who overstretched themselves

as the do in the US.

The balance sheets of the big 6 Thai banks would rank in the top 5% of banks in the world

I don't know what you think you've read that you think I wrote but I happen to think also that Thai banks are, for the most part, extremely safe.

So tell me, what's a load of crock s**t?

Bump NW, you've been called!

This has probably been mentioned already but it seems to me a lot of thai people genuinely live in the now, and thats what most professional "happiness gurus" say is the utlimate key.

How many Thais were surveyed for their opinion?

Just the normal 1,300 who consist of junta members and thier families

This has probably been mentioned already but it seems to me a lot of thai people genuinely live in the now, and thats what most professional "happiness gurus" say is the utlimate key.

I agree but I'd say, 'the here and now'; I don't imagine a lot of Thai people worry too much about stuff that's going on in other parts of the world.

Edited February 6, 201610 yr by piersbeckett

It wasn't based on survey data. Instead, it was calculated by adding a country's jobless rate and inflation.

I doubt that. More likely a small group from Bloomberg's visited Bangkok and were literally blown and then blown away again by all the happiness they encountered at the bars at Nana and Cowboy.

Judging from expat comments on Thaivisa, the most unhappy people in Thailand are the farangs.

Lol well said. Though you are all immigrants, not expats.

Edited February 6, 201610 yr by CoreanoOzzie

"The index was compiled by surveying economists"

Somehow I think my idea of happiness and an economist's might be somewhat different.

Probably the economists working at NIDA.

This falls in the same category with those surveys which tell us that the best place where to live in the whole world is Zurich.

Hi guys, have a problem. wife was accused of humane trafficane 8 years ago took two years to go to court our thai visa lawyer drilled a new hole into the " victims"story wife was let go but prosecutor wants money what do you say