Watana calls Prayut’s 12.75 billion baht assistance scheme “helicopter money”

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Watana calls Prayut’s 12.75 billion baht assistance scheme “helicopter money”

 

 

BANGKOK: -- Outspoken member of the Pheu Thai party and former commerce minister Watana Muangsook strongly criticised the 12.75 billion baht financial assistance to 5.4 million low income earners saying it is a "helicopter money" which he said is a thoughtless and least effective measure.

 

Watana wrote on his Facebook today saying that the launch of the subsidy scheme indicated that the government has admitted that low income earners are grassroots who have significant role to the country’s economy which is in critical stage due to faulty policies.

 

The implementation of the faulty economic policies prompted the government to this “helicopter money” measure which he said is a thoughtless and least effective measure because it was a one time spending and finished.

 

He recalled that this government has branded the Yingluck government’s rice-pledging scheme a populist policy for buying rice from farmers higher than market prices.

 

But he said the accused populist policy had been successful in shoring up farm prices and never breached the fiscal and monetary discipline.

 

Full story: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/watana-calls-prayuts-12-75-million-baht-assistance-scheme-helicopter-money/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2016-11-23

[sweatalot]

Of course PTP (the masters of selling their get rich themselves schemes as help for the people) does not want another government doing good for the people

Edited November 23, 2016 by sweatalot

[JoePai]

Maybe it's just the PTP showing how hypocritical the present bunch are     

[DavidVincent]

Whatever the PTP did in the past, Prayut seems to want to copy them now

[anon467848]

PTP the Populist Party... Thaksin and his cronies were the masters of populist policies... The 100K rebate on cars, rice subsidies to name a few. Is it just a coincidence that household debt is at record highs following PTP's time at the helm?

Edited November 23, 2016 by merlin2002

[ratcatcher]

56 minutes ago, DavidVincent said:

Whatever the PTP did in the past, Prayut seems to want to copy them now

[DavidVincent]

51 minutes ago, merlin2002 said:

PTP the Populist Party... Thaksin and his cronies were the masters of populist policies... The 100K rebate on cars, rice subsidies to name a few. Is it just a coincidence that household debt is at record highs following PTP's time at the helm?

While the last propositions of the PM  are everything except populism?!

 

[Eric Loh]

21 minutes ago, DavidVincent said:

While the last propositions of the PM  are everything except populism?!

 

 

Giving free money away without even working for it must surely qualify as the mother of all populism. 

[sweatalot]

9 minutes ago, Eric Loh said:

 

Giving free money away without even working for it must surely qualify as the mother of all populism. 

so every government that has a welfare program is populistic?

 

but if Prayuth starts some  kind of welfare - it must be populistic ?

[Bannoi]

Shouldn't that headline read 12.75 Billion not Million baht

[williamgeorgeallen]

handing chronically poor people cash does not help them. i know many bar girls who ended up with houses who then borrowed money against them and lost them shortly after blowing the cash they borrowed. these people need better education and opportunities. even giving them food stamps would be better although you would probably end up with part of your population relying on the government to feed them like america.

Edited November 23, 2016 by williamgeorgeallen

[StefanBBK]

Give them a fish and they are not hungry today! Give them a fishing rod and they will never be hungry again. 

 

Ok, this is much too simplified but in essence what needs to be done. Establish programs that help the affected (farmers) to become again self sufficient, without constant support. 

[Eric Loh]

37 minutes ago, sweatalot said:

so every government that has a welfare program is populistic?

 

but if Prayuth starts some  kind of welfare - it must be populistic ?

 

Welfare programs are state regulated programs that help those who fall below certain living criteria. Those are programs with proper planning, management aimed to achieve  desired results and budgeted. This is not a program but a one time hand-out.

[bobmac10]

Farmers in advanced economies all receive government subsidies

It's a fact that farming is a very poor way of life without some financial support

insted of a one off payment it would be better for the government to provide price support for farmers within what the country can afford

This way, those who want to continue farming could at least have a minimum income

Farmers are at the mercy of the middlemen here, especially the rice farmers

[kamahele]

Lots of negative stereotyping of the local population from guys I assume only meet Thai people in hooker bars. While there are the chronic losers like you find anywhere, the Thai people I meet in the country are mostly hard working people who are not blowing their money through lavish spending. Lots of hard working farmers and factory workers just trying to make enough to support their families by putting a roof over their head and making sure they have enough to eat. As any small farmer can tell you, one bad harvest or small drop in price of the crop you are farming can ruin you.

[MorristheRunt]

give them cake

[473geo]

Good of the government to acknowledge the poor exist and provide assistance.

[hansnl]

5 hours ago, JoePai said:

Maybe it's just the PTP showing how hypocritical the present bunch are     

Are you really serious?

The PTP showing something wrong in the present government?

The PTP?

 

[hansnl]

1 hour ago, bobmac10 said:

Farmers in advanced economies all receive government subsidies

It's a fact that farming is a very poor way of life without some financial support

insted of a one off payment it would be better for the government to provide price support for farmers within what the country can afford

This way, those who want to continue farming could at least have a minimum income

Farmers are at the mercy of the middlemen here, especially the rice farmers

Farmers anywhere in the world are at the mercy of middlemen, big companies, supermarkets, and so on.

[The Deerhunter]

51 minutes ago, 473geo said:

Good of the government to acknowledge the poor exist and provide assistance.

In a way that hopefully goes directly to them so they can spend it instead of being a rip-off scheme jacked up with your mates and yourself to get all the money for yourselves and set the rules so that the people at the bottom of the heap: (a) Are not entitled to participate,  and (b) Those who do participate find that there is no budget established to pay them with, even though the scheme was selling stuff at less than it bought it for, and was still claiming that it was self funding.

And the lady in charge of it never attended a meeting but then attacked the bringer of information that there was corruption in the scheme instead of attending (just one???) meeting and tabling this information. 

 

I know I shouldn't be saying these nasty things when it seems that about 20% of the TVF members have wet dreams about the said person, or appear to be paid to write responses that only view the world through Dubai/Hong Kong rouge coloured spectacles.

Edited November 23, 2016 by The Deerhunter

[chainarong]

Vote buying ..............................

[The Deerhunter]

4 hours ago, ratcatcher said:

Most unlike you Mr Rc.  Surely that is not what he is thinking in that (composite) picture

[elgordo38]

6 hours ago, sweatalot said:

Of course PTP (the masters of selling their get rich themselves schemes as help for the people) does not want another government doing good for the people

Bit of a copy cat move. Actually making YL look smart.  Temporary good yes long term not so much. Just a band aid solution so that the next government can carry the can. Kick the can down the road. Buck passing.

[candide]

Interesting to see all arguments of pro-junta posters collapsing one after the others: anti-nepotism, anti-cryonism, anti-corruption, anti-amnesty, anti-populist.....

:)

Only the "but, but Thaksin..." argument is left

[Thailand]

3 hours ago, StefanBBK said:

Give them a fish and they are not hungry today! Give them a fishing rod and they will never be hungry again. 

 

Ok, this is much too simplified but in essence what needs to be done. Establish programs that help the affected (farmers) to become again self sufficient, without constant support. 

KISS

[Moonmoon]

12750000000 divided by 5400000 = 2361.11111 per person. Not bad for a 1 time handout

 

I hope my calculations are correct. 

 

[ratcatcher]

30 minutes ago, Moonmoon said:

12750000000 divided by 5400000 = 2361.11111 per person. Not bad for a 1 time handout

 

I hope my calculations are correct. 

Should be enough for a few bottles of whisaky, lao khao and some grilled pork.

[Basil B]

As the PM says he will not be standing for election (whenever) he can hardly be accused of vote buying...

 

 Pheu Thai should remember not to piss into the wind if they want to smell nice. 

 

 

Edited November 23, 2016 by Basil B

[madusa]

On 22/11/2016 at 11:47 PM, StefanBBK said:

Give them a fish and they are not hungry today! Give them a fishing rod and they will never be hungry again. 

 

Ok, this is much too simplified but in essence what needs to be done. Establish programs that help the affected (farmers) to become again self sufficient, without constant support. 

In my country when you give them a fishing rod they sell the fishing rod for quick money. Not much good.

There are countries where the farmers are so resourceful that you only give them the tools they will do all the work and even form associations with neighbour villages so they could exchange things they needed.

Unfortunately Thailand is not one of those countries.

It all boils down to sincerity on the part of the government. Sometimes governments do things with ulterior motive and that gets in the way to achieve the results. Sincerity, goodwill and a desire to improve.

[madusa]

Do military men make good civil servants? Can they really solve problems for the country? Are they trained to do that?

I have seen Mamur Gadaffy of Libya(the man with the golden gun) in military uniform running the country or rather ruining the country.

I have seen Saddem Hossein also in military uniform did the same thing.  

I have seen lots of these military men especially in South America, they don't show results, do they?