What would you do to improve Thailand?

[SiamBeast]

Just an hypothetical question here - a lot of members here seem to complain about the country's policies and how it is run. We're seeing a lot of backseat drivers everywhere, but let's suppose that you get the chance to take the power and become the head of state where you can make any decision without anyone having a veto right. What would you do to improve Thailand?

 

For me:

 

- Traffic & enforcement -

- Increasing the minimum fine to 2,000 baht for parking in a way that blocks traffic

- Introduce a system allowing citizens to plead guilty or non-guilty when receiving a fine, like most Western countries

- Allowing citizens by pay fines online by credit card, bank transfer, or Bitcoin

- Forcing every establishment with a parking lot of at least 10 places to install at least one hybrid vehicle charging station

- Temporarly increasing the tax on fuel until more roads are built to accomodate the number of vehicles

- Increasing the taxi fares by 30% but strictly enforcing the no-refusal rule with 1,500 baht fines for every violation

 

Goal: Clearing traffic jams on Bangkok roads and offer a more convenient way to settle fines. Promoting clean energy and dimnishing the number of vehicles on the roads until there is sufficient place for them.

 

- Immigration & visas -

- Creating a new "online freelancer" visa type that allows the holder to stay indefinitely provided that a minimum income of THB 60,000 / month is met and originates from abroad

- Offering a permament residence by investment program that allows foreigners investing at least 40M baht (and holding the investment for 5 years) to obtain lifetime PR status

- Allowing Thais to openly hold multiple passports

- Removing the 90-day reporting rule and changing it to 180 days and doable online

- Banning foreigners from re-entering the country for a year after 2 overstays in a 180-day period

- Forbidding two-tier pricing in private establishments, and enforcing a strict check for Thai national ID card in public establishments having two-tier pricing

 

Goal: Keeping sexpats out while allowing visitors who bring something to the country to stay. Welcoming foreign investors to help economic development of the country, while keeping a welcoming environment for tourists who visit the country and leave.

 

- Marriage & family -

- Removing every single benefit to children born outside marriage: child support, federal income supplement, etc.

- Adding a tax penalty of 5% for people over 35 years old without children, exceptions for disabled or handicapped people

- Adding a tax reduction of 1% per child (for both parents), up to 5 children, forfeited in case of divorce

- Disallowing no-fault divorce and forcing a 10-hour counseling session before a spouse can file for divorce

- Forcing 50/50 custody of children (no child support) when divorcing, except in exceptional cirucmstances where a parent is unable to perform his duties (ex: drug addiction)

- Forbidding sex change surgery advertisement, and forbidding gender / title change (but allow them to do what they want with their bodies)

 

Goal: Having united and complete families with a married mother, father, and children, and making citizens understand that breaking your family has consequences for everyone including your children. Promoting traditional family life and increasing birth rates, which in return will create more working class citizens paying taxes. Remvoing incentives to divorce for both spouses.

 

- Laws & crime -

- Legalization of medicinal marijuana, and creation of therapy centers that offer free counseling, decriminalization of recreational marijuana

- Tougher jail penalties for dealers who make drugs (including marijuana) available to children under 20

- Mandatory rehab and no prison for first-time drug offenders (personal quantities only)

- Legalizing electronic cigarettes (20 and over) and increasing the tax by 50% on real tobacco products

- Forbidding smoking on restaurant terraces, but allowing it on bar terraces after 20:00

- Forbidding smoking in vehicles where a person under 16 of age is present

- Allowing every defendent facing a sentence of 2+ years to be tried by a jury

 

Goal: Freeing prisoners who are serving ridiculously long sentences for minor victimless offences such as smoking marijuana. Hitting the tobacco industry hard in order to have a healthier population. Making people realize the benefits of medical marijuana and CBD derivates. Stop breaking families by throwing drug addicts in jail for years, and protect children from drug harm.

 

- Food & hygiene -

- Forbidding adding sugar or HFCS in restaurant drinks without an explicit mention on the menu

- Hiring inspectors to monitor the salubrity of street food stalls

- Introducing a tax of 1 baht per gram of sugar on every drink sold nationwide and using the profits to build obesity treatment clinics

- Forbidding the sale of sugary drinks in elementary and high schools

 

Goal: Cutting the obesity epidemic and disinterest children from buying sugary drinks by increasing the price. Preventing food poisonings by ensuring that food meets hygiene standards.

 

- Finances & banks -

- Forbidding credit card with limits over 50,000 baht for people under 24 years of age, to prevent debt

- Disallowing financing of cars which would result in payments over 20% your income

- Allowing student loans up to a maximum of 100,000 baht for non-STEM majors

- Total transparency in public spending

 

Goal: Making Thais realize that credit is not cash and that financing fancy cars to impress people is not a smart move. Keeping the public finances in order and let the population access all the data regarding where the government is spending. Encouraging Thais to avoid debt for majors that are likely to give then a minimum wage job.

 

[melvinmelvin]

With me as Head of State I think the best I could do to "improve" Thailand would be to abdicate/resign ASAP and leave the running of a fairly large country with 70 mill inhabitants to people who know more about it than I do.

 

[11223344]

SiamBeast: you think too much

[Fulwell53]

Epitome of putting the inmates in charge of the asylum.

Problem is too many on here want or expect the equivalent of switzerland in terms of hygiene, organisation and efficiency but believe it can or should be done with swaziland revenue.

They get all doe eyed about where they moved from when the reality is that where they come from doesnt want or need them and has little to celebrate in any case.

[Emster23]

Some have remarked that if I left this pearl of a paradise, there would be an immediate palpable improvement, but I'm not willing to go that far.

[williamgeorgeallen]

some good points but stopping sexpats? where will we all go and who will support all the single mums?

[dotpoom]

Strictly enforce the road traffic laws.....might be a good start.

[Wiggy]

The OP has some very thought inspiring ideas, many of which would make Thailand more 'user-friendly' so to speak. However with rampant corruption even the best ideas will probably fail, as payments to ignore rules happen at a very low level in Thailand. Not all the time, but often. For example the inspector at the food stall will almost certainly take a bribe to turn a blind eye to a problem. I've actually seen it happen with a street vendor who wasn't wearing plastic gloves. She handed him 100 baht and he went on his merry way to the next cart, and so on. Now, I don't know if it's the law to wear such gloves, but who knows? And that's the other problem here; everyone has a different interpretation of the law, or not be aware of the law at all. But why should one be aware of the law when one can just pay for the law to go away, so to speak. Again, I emphasize, that this doesn't happen everywhere and at all times, but it's all too common. A good example is crash helmets; 50/100/150/200 baht and your on your way, without your helmet on! Lol. I also think that the police do not actually want people to abide by the law. If everybody did then there would be no kickbacks and their income would drop substantially. 

 

Anyway, thanks for posting your thoughts. I enjoyed reading them very much.

[steven100]

nothing   .....      oh, kick out the naysayers. 

[Ahab]

Nothing it is perfect as it is!

[Ahab]

Just now, Ahab said:

Nothing it is perfect as it is!

Oh, there is one thing. Get rid of all mosquitoes and other flying bugs.

[theguyfromanotherforum]

Tax penalty for people without children?

 

I have never seen anything more idiotic.

 

Besides being totally discriminatory in every possible way, how can you tax 5% on nothing 

 

 

[Ulysses G.]

Air condition the whole place. It is perfect besides that.

[LannaGuy]

I would censored but I'm not allowed to say that

[nikmar]

Be open to criticism and remove the Lese Majeste law.

[badlad]

enforce all existing thai laws every day with the same fines or sentences in every province

[soalbundy]

pull the plug out

[weegee]

Put in the Drains, and make sure the money for such is totally accounted for....every cent!!

[akirasan]

Limit sound systems to 100w max and ban karaoke

[PatOngo]

Control the amount of pla la that goes into the somtam.

[VocalNeal]

Send all the whinging foreigners home? We are foreigners in a foreign country. We either adapt, ignore or go somewhere else.

[Moonlover]

Rip up the sidewalks and start again. Make the towns and cities safe and pleasant places to walk.

 

Make investment in public transport a high priority in every town and city.

 

 

Edited May 18, 2017 by Moonlover

[55Jay]

Addressing individual issues is a useless exercise. 

 

You have to start with basic fundamentals. Parenting skills.  Civic responsibility.  Leadership.  Proper management techniques.  Religion would have to play a role here, but even that is so corrupt and rudderless, it requires a complete reset as well.

 

[steven100]

3 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

Send all the whinging foreigners home? We are foreigners in a foreign country. We either adapt, ignore or go somewhere else.

agree 100%  ....   send the whinges home ,   they sit on their keyboards moaning and groaning but hey ... they chose to live here.

so guess what moaners .... get use to it.         or leave.

[Sooo Upto Me]

How long have you got?  ???

[Suradit69]

Quote

What would you do to improve Thailand?

Start a thread on Thai Visa that will get all the whiners & moaners excited because giving TV members an excuse to complain is an opportunity not to be lost. So many of them can barely manage their own lives so they must possess the expertise to run a country.

[prakhonchai nick]

56 minutes ago, badlad said:

enforce all existing thai laws every day with the same fines or sentences in every province

Agree entirely BUT raise fines to realisitc amounts that might act as a deterrant.

[tigermoth]

I thought many of the proposals by SiamBeast were quite interesting and positive. An additional comments is that Thai Visa stop publishing the inane answers of many of the replys, (most). Many friends of mine have given up on Thai Visa because of the stupid comments published. Has the editor's education ever gone beyond kindergarten??

[Foozool]

It won't happen. Why should we even think about it !!!!!!

[ThaiWai]

1 hour ago, Ahab said:

Oh, there is one thing. Get rid of all mosquitoes and other flying bugs.

I'm with you!  I can take the road rage, the corruption, the litter, the dangerous women, the violence, immigration all of it.  If I could just step outside and wash my truck or sit by the pool or go for a walk without flies swarming my ankles I would be happy.  I am seriously considering amputating my legs below the knees.  I need Bug A Salt rifle ASAP!!