Richest 1 percent of Thais own 58 percent of country’s wealth

[Jimbo2014]

2 hours ago, digibum said:

 

I feel so foolish.  Call it the foolishness of youth but I got my start on the internet before websites even existed.  We, those geeks trolling usenet groups and gopher sites at 2am from our dialup accounts, thought that the internet would lead to a cultural revolution, a new Renaissance period if you will.  

 

We thought giving everyone a voice was a good thing.  But it never dawned on us back then that there were so many idiots out there.  We really thought something like Twitter would lead to people collaborating and making monumental advancements.  Instead people use it to troll celebrities and bully fat kids.  

 

Of course democracy would suffer and autocratic behavior would arise.  That's what happens when the powers that be feel threatened.  Even the supposed bastions of freedom like the US increasingly want to monitor, censor, and control information.  As quickly as the internet caused a threat to powerful institutions, those institutions began becoming a threat to the internet.    

 

However, all that being said, look what part the internet played in the Arab Spring.  See the eyes of Thais being opened, even a little bit, to points of view that have not been spoon fed to them by the government.  Look at the rise of Trump and the UK vote on Brexit.  

 

Mind you, you don't have to agree with someone like Trump (I certainly don't).  But he is a byproduct of people feeling ignored and overlooked by their government.  

 

So, is there yet hope that a lone voice can be heard by many others who share the same frustrations?  

 

Technology and the internet by themselves cannot solve people's problems.  But it can give people a voice.  And that voice can reach millions of people.  And eventually, there will be a voice that resonates with enough people that change becomes inevitable.  

 

 

 

 

 

Good points and your right of course.  it takes the place of town criers and small political bandstand and can give a global audience.  it can also, as you intimated, create islands of reinforced bigotry.

 

Also gave voice to cats and their antics ???

[George Graham]

14 hours ago, digibum said:

 

Should be pointed out that most tax systems doesn't work exactly as some assume.  If you have a top tax rate of 80%, it's not 80% of everything you make.  It looks more like something like this:

 

First off, gazillionaire or regular shmoe, there's a certain amount of income that is your personal exemption so you don't get taxed on that at all.  Then the first $20,000 might be taxed at rate A.  Then the money you earn between $20,001 and $50,000 is taxed at rate B.  And the money you earn from $50,001 to $75,000 is taxed at rate C.  And so on and so on.  

 

The only money being taxed at 80% is money earned beyond a certain threshold.  All the earnings below that threshold are taxed at various other rates.  

 

That's why there's always talk about the effective tax rate which is the tax rate that results from paying all of the various tax rates you paid to get to the highest tax rate.  

 

I really disagree about the tech barrons though. First off, I think the way you presented the information is misleading.  I am on a Mac right now.  I use a Mac at work.  I use a Mac at home.  I can run MS Office.  There is very little that I can't do on a Mac that I can do on a Win PC.  Due to so many companies moving to the cloud or SaaS (software as a service) the compatibility issue is solved in the web browser.  

 

Somewhat similarly, Facebook is the 800 lb gorilla but if you remember your tech history they were not the first social media company.  Back then it was MySpace.  And on the search side, Yahoo was the unbeatable dominant force in search way back in the day too.  Until Google came along.  

 

The switching costs in the world of social media are emotional, not financial so, in theory, someone could come along tomorrow with something better than Facebook and Facebook could become the next MySpace.  

 

Far more likely though, people will simply change their online usage behaviors.  I was an early adopter of Facebook but I rarely use it anymore.  A surprising percentage of Millennials I know don't even have a FB account.  They don't want to share personal info the way FB wants people to.  

 

For instance, one of the women who works for me has never had a Facebook account.  She says she has no desire to get involved in her family's various dramas.  She's on Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and pretty much everything else that the bulk of her family doesn't use.  

 

I use it less and less because I've grown tired of the heartbreak of learning that people you once respected are actually racists, bigots, emotionally unstable, homophobic, conspiracy theorists, sexist, etc, etc.  

 

Facebook does not provide anything that is necessary for living one's life.  I see my decision to part with FB the same way that I felt the first time I moved into a new place and didn't bother ordering landline service.  You just were so used to it before that it feels weird not having it but not because it provides any actual real utility.  

 

Maybe I'm ahead of the curve again being as I signed up on Facebook shortly after it was opened to people outside of college campuses but I think ultimately usage will taper off.  Right now, the daily logins and other key stats are off for US users as people use it less.  But they're blowing up in Thailand so it gives the illusion that Facebook is growing and growing and growing.  It's expanding in some markets but it's also maturing and slowing down in others.  Eventually they will reach a point when there is nowhere else to expand to and their growth numbers will start to decline.  

 

And what's going on in China is a great example of how none of these companies should be getting too comfortable at the top of the pyramid.  We all think Amazon is the biggest online retailer but China's online retailer or choice Alibaba makes Amazon look like a fledgling player in the space.  Alibaba generated $9.3 billion in sales in a single day, while Amazon's biggest day of the year is usually more around $2.5 billion.  

 

What happens when China unleashes some of their online retail, social media, etc on the rest of the world?  Will Facebook still remain the cat's meow?  

 

I do however, wholeheartedly agree with your last paragraph.  Thailand has several hundred years worth of patronage and subservient culture to get over.  This past is ingrained into the language and is one of the only topics Thais must actually pay attention to in schools.  It will not end anytime soon.  

 

But there is hope.  As I've said many times, the internet will be Thailand's downfall.  Once people have access to information things can snowball pretty quickly.  

 

Thailand has no real rolemodels for social, political, or economic reformation.  But now they can go online and read about others who fought for fairness and freedom.  It gives them the ability to choose new role models to learn from.  

 

But more importantly, IMHO, is access to unfiltered news.  I can't begin to tell you how many times I found myself stunned by my wife coming to realizations about Thailand when she began to be exposed to news sources other than Thai news sources.  Things we take for granted, that we think are obvious, being discovered for the first time.

 

When we lived together in Thailand we never discussed the news.  She had little interest in current affairs in Thailand or elsewhere in the world.  She might mention a school bus going off the road or might ask me about an earthquake in some far off place like Turkey that made it into the Thai news but that was about the extent of her interest in news.  

 

But now, almost daily, she asks me about Thai news, world news, US political news.  I've seen her views about Thai people and the Thai government grow increasingly sophisticated.  Now that she has access to information and can compare the Thai government with other governments, it gives her more clarity and understanding as to why things are the way they are in Thailand.  

 

True, she has the benefit of living in the US and being exposed to it daily but even our Thai friends back in Thailand can't escape being exposed to news and information that they never would have seen before the age of Facebook and social media.  And more and more you see the attitude shifting from "If you can't say only beautiful things about Thailand, shut up!!!!" to "That's messed up.  Somebody should do something about that."  

 

So, I do believe that there is hope for change.  Unfortunately, I also believe those who currently have power will not be passive about giving it up and this will not be a clean transformation.  

 

 

I wish I could write a long post like that.

[CharlieK]

That seems a very low percentage. The person who owns the 7/11 franchise has many other brands within his group of companies some might say he has a monopoly within the retail sector! I wonder how much of that 58% is his? 

[JLCrab]

1 hour ago, George Graham said:

I wish I could write a long post like that.

No problem -- just use the same book he (maybe) does.

[seancbk]

6 hours ago, Johnniey said:

Or be a Thai, born with a silver spoon in your mouth, get sent abroad to be educated and work in the family business. Don't try and fool us that you worked for your money.

 

 

I'm not Thai but that is almost exactly how my life was.

I remember my mother at a dinner party, telling a story about how when I was born they couldn't always get baby food (we lived in Libya at the time), but she could always get large tins of Iranian caviar, so instead of baby food she fed me caviar.  

Not sure if it was from a silver spoon.



 

[seancbk]

3 hours ago, CharlieK said:

That seems a very low percentage. The person who owns the 7/11 franchise has many other brands within his group of companies some might say he has a monopoly within the retail sector! I wonder how much of that 58% is his? 

 

 

Dhanin Chearavanont (born 1939) is a Thai businessman and investor based in Bangkok. As of Forbes 2013 List of World Billionaires, Chearavanont is placed 58th with a net worth of $14.3 billion, making him the richest person in Thailand and in Southeast Asia.

Dhanin, his three brothers (Jaran, Montri and Sumet) and their families collectively own the Charoen Pokhphand Group (C.P. Group). C.P. Group's holdings generated cumulative revenues of approximately $46.5 billion and holds about $50.1 billion in assets. 

 

The Charoen Pokphand Group is a Thai conglomerate company located in Bangkok. It is Thailand's largest private company and is one of world's largest conglomerates. It consists of three core businesses that operate in agribusiness and food, retail and distribution, and the telecommunications industries with investments in over 20 countries. Founded in 1921, the CP Group currently employs, through its subsidiaries, over 500,000 people with offices and factories worldwide.


Now you know who 'the person who owns the 7/11 franchise' is.

[Heng]

On Saturday, December 03, 2016 at 0:00 PM, Johnniey said:

Or be a Thai, born with a silver spoon in your mouth, get sent abroad to be educated and work in the family business. Don't try and fool us that you worked for your money.

 

It's funny how people try to spin generational accumulation of wealth as a bad thing.   It's that kind of thinking that keeps the masses down.

 

"Yeah, I come from an unbroken line of people who have managed to zero out their wealth by the end of their lives and that's something to be proud of!"

[rabas]

1 hour ago, Heng said:

On 12/3/2016 at 0:00 PM, Johnniey said:

Or be a Thai, born with a silver spoon in your mouth, get sent abroad to be educated and work in the family business. Don't try and fool us that you worked for your money.

 

It's funny how people try to spin generational accumulation of wealth as a bad thing.   It's that kind of thinking that keeps the masses down.

 

"Yeah, I come from an unbroken line of people who have managed to zero out their wealth by the end of their lives and that's something to be proud of!"

 

Surely you know the famous Chinese saying Fuu  bu guo san dai. “Wealth does not pass three generations”

 

Accumulation is not bad, families should accumulate wealth, just like nations, companies, and even tree squirrels.

 

It's  people born into great wealth who grow up spoiled without the self esteem that comes from struggle and personal accomplishment.  On the other hand, some of the kindest and most generous people I ever met were self made billionaires (or lots of millions) who made there fortunes by honest hard work. If they loose it all, they  smile and start again, they fear nothing and no one.

 

Of course, unearned wealth does not always spoil, depends a lot on parents. Thus the Chinese say 3 generations.

 

Edited December 5, 2016 by rabas

[Heng]

Yeah, it's something like...  1st gen laborer, 2nd gen big boss, 3rd gen laborer.    IMO it's part reminder for the next generation and part consolation for the whingers outside the gates.   

[cardinalblue]

Yeah, blame it on steve Jobs...damn computers and software...would have been better had he been just a drug king pin so he would have had more of a direct impact on their lives...

 

and I wonder how many TV members who personally knows a billionaire?

Edited December 5, 2016 by cardinalblue

[JLCrab]

On 12/3/2016 at 6:28 PM, seancbk said:

 

 

I'm not Thai but that is almost exactly how my life was.

I remember my mother at a dinner party, telling a story about how when I was born they couldn't always get baby food (we lived in Libya at the time), but she could always get large tins of Iranian caviar, so instead of baby food she fed me caviar.  

Not sure if it was from a silver spoon.

A silver spoon with caviar? How gauche. Mother of pearl or the like.

[madusa]

On 29/11/2016 at 4:25 PM, Prbkk said:

Let them eat cake ( so long as it's purchased from 7/11).

Maria Antonette of France never said, "Let them eat cake" when she was told the people were starving. This poor lady was accused of things she never did. No historical record she said that. And they chopped off her head. They should have put her to work on the farm, it would do everybody good. She would become healthy and all her imagine "maladies" would be cured. "Vous êtes malade madam, allez, allez, nous allons à la campagne pour travail."

[madusa]

On 29/11/2016 at 4:56 PM, yellowboat said:

That was the first thing that came to mind.  The next was do they own 50% of Thailand or was it just given to them ?  And how is the present government helping the over privileged maintain or increase their wealth ?

Of course the present government help them in every ways possible to make more money, it's like, shall I say "mutual mestorbation". Am I right?

You see their children are weak and pale because of too much wonking.(not working it's wonking) I can't be wrong. I have seen enough of them.

[madusa]

On 29/11/2016 at 7:39 PM, lgking said:

I'm a Darwinian.

So ?

[Loeilad]

On 11/30/2016 at 9:05 AM, ezzra said:

There's nothing wrong with being rich as long as it was obtained through hard work

perseverance and honesty... all the other means people got rich should be condemned....

I highly subjective and culturally loaded comment - but even if we for a moment accept your argument, do you seriously consider that the situation in Thailand is a result of only 1% of the population working hard?

[George Graham]

On 02/12/2016 at 0:47 AM, digibum said:

 

Wrong.  If it fly, floats, or <deleted>, always a wiser decision to rent rather than buy.  Maintenance and depreciation are killers to creating wealth.  

 

The only people who can reasonably buy planes or yachts are people who have such stupid amounts of money that they can't even spend the amount of money that their money is making them.  

 

Even if you are a fairly frequent traveller, private charters will still end up costing you less than owning.  

"If it flies floats or..." I knew a guy who used to say that. It's not you is it?

[Kinnock]

On ‎11‎/‎30‎/‎2016 at 8:43 AM, Krataiboy said:

So much for the trickle-down effect. Capitalism, as Marx concluded, is a self-defeating system - a fact which is becoming increasingly evident to millions of "ordinary people" in the developed world who can see where globalism is leading and don't want to go there.

 

 

The trickle down effect works well in Thailand - a small amount of wealth trickles down to the masses where it's spent in 7-11 - and then it's pumped back up to the top.  Recycling! 

[digibum]

29 minutes ago, George Graham said:

"If it flies floats or..." I knew a guy who used to say that. It's not you is it?

 

It's a pretty old and pretty common saying.  Not sure it's ever been accurately attributed to any single individual as an original source.