News Forum - Proverty rising during pandemic, 15 million expected to be on welfare by 2022

[Thaiger]

Thailand’s poverty rate has been increasing during the pandemic. According to the deputy Finance Minister, the number of Thais receiving state welfare is expected to increase by over 1 million, totaling around 15 million people. Based on Worldometer statistics, this means that next year over 21% of the population will be on welfare, or around 1 in 5 people in the country. At this time there are 13.65 million state welfare recipients in Thailand. Minister Santi Promphat said that the ministry will be revising the requirements for who are eligible. The current criteria for qualifying are that the recipient has to […]

The story Proverty rising during pandemic, 15 million expected to be on welfare by 2022 as seen on Thaiger News.

Read the full story

[Stardust]

Do somebody expect something else from a junta government? They always destroy the economy, the country and people. Destruction, poverty and crime is always what left as such ruling governments. Just check the history , justvlook at Myanmar, they ended up always as liw level 3rd world countries and peole living in poverty, violence, crime , undeveloped, no rule of law, without human rights and freedom of speech. Managed by criminals and incompetent clowns. It is not any surprised that also in these countries drug trafficking, corruption, human trafficking, slaveworkers are rising.

[NCC1701A]

i'm doing my part but i am just one man. 

[billywillyjones]

Welfare what welfare???? Where's the beef?

[ThaiEyes]

1 hour ago, NCC1701A said:

i'm doing my part but i am just one man. 

I think most expats are doing their part too, unfortunately unrecognized by the government.

[kmc]

Tourism accounts for ~15% of total GDP.  It could reasonably be inferred that this 15% provides income to at least 15% of Thai's and trickles to another 15% of Thais.  So 30% total!  Hmm...I wonder why more people on welfare.

[Shade_Wilder]

"The current criteria for qualifying are that the recipient has to be an adult citizen of Thailand that has an income of 100,000 baht per year (around $3,000 USD), or less. It also takes into account land ownership. The new criteria may start to consider the ownership of other assets, such as cars, to assess an individual’s qualification for state welfare."

 

The quote above seems to be a pretty clear indicator that the current government intends to cut benefits soon; it is a classic move by a government that doesn't want to admit that benefits are going to be slashed. "No, we aren't cutting help to the poor, we just re-defined poverty. But, we aren't cutting help to the poor. Uh-huh. Not us. No way. We wouldn't do that."

It is hardly surprising that poverty rates would rise when a significant proportion of the economy (my best guess is 20%) has been shuttered for such a long time. It is also interesting to see which people are falling into poverty; clearly it is low-level tourism-related positions such as Beach Masseuses and Sellers, Hotel Staff such as Cleaners, etc., tourism-related Drivers, Tourism Shop Assistants, Tour Guides, assorted Security personnel at tourism-related sites, etc. etc.

The current government's stated policy is to seek "High-Quality" (i.e. rich) tourists and try to get away from mass-tourism. 

This begs a question; if government policy is to end mass tourism, and their actions regarding entrance to the country seems to suggest that they are trying to do so, then what are they going to do with displaced workers to assist them out of poverty and off government rolls? If it was the Free-Market causing distress, then you could argue that no action was really needed. However, if there is wide-spread poverty due to a shift in government policy, then you have to ask what the government is going to do about it. These people aren't suddenly going to get jobs as middle-managers for international companies, are they?

So, Government, how specifically are you going to help those that you are hurting?

It seems a reasonable question to ask...

 

 

[palooka]

4 hours ago, Shade_Wilder said:

So, Government, how specifically are you going to help those that you are hurting?

Simple, 20%+ Thai unemployed will take the jobs of the migrant workers (who will deported) and if they don't like working for long hours and poor wages too bad, as unemployment benefits will probably cease at the same time. 

Those "poor people", well most probably come from a rural environment and they are not a supporter base for the Govt that is heading to elections so.........

The interest on those trillions in loans will soon be due. Possible default in the wind??? Who knows.

[Jason]

This is what you get when a junta is in charge. But do the people have the political will to make change happen? 

[Cathat]

Typical politicians,it's quite obvious to everybody that heaps of folks are in dire situations and they are debating what defines poverty.

[vlad]

East solution to try, deport all illegals as they shouldn't be there anyway and give them there job's. Get some buses to a pick up point for the farm laborer's, hotel staff, and bus them where there needed if they refuse stop there welfare cheques. 

[JohninDublin]

17 hours ago, Jason said:

This is what you get when a junta is in charge. But do the people have the political will to make change happen? 

The problem about the need for a political will to make a change, is that this is a military junta, and now they are standing for election too. I think we have all seen what happens when the military becomes also a political party in next-door Myanmar. There they have rigged the parliamentary process so that even though they only hold 25% of the seats, nothing gets done without their agreement. And if all else fails, they can rely on the wisdom of Chairman Mao: "Power comes out of the barrel of a gun".

It works well for the military in Myanmar, and now that the TH military have also become a political party, I think the writing is on the wall.

[Lawyers_Guns_and_Money]

Proverty? I know that truth in journalism doesn't matter anymore. But spelling should still count.

[Soidog]

On 11/16/2021 at 5:44 AM, billywillyjones said:

Welfare what welfare???? Where's the beef?

My thoughts exactly. I had to Google it to find the amount paid and it seems it’s a around a whopping 1,800 baht a month! That equates to 60 baht a day. You could probably find more down the back of the sofa. How can they call that welfare?? I guess the main thing is that they can announce to the UN and the international community that they have a welfare scheme and tick the box.  

[KaptainRob]

4 hours ago, Soidog said:

My thoughts exactly. I had to Google it to find the amount paid and it seems it’s a around a whopping 1,800 baht a month! That equates to 60 baht a day. You could probably find more down the back of the sofa. How can they call that welfare?? I guess the main thing is that they can announce to the UN and the international community that they have a welfare scheme and tick the box.  

Actually it is almost enough for many to live off.  Considering those recipients likely live with family the combined payments can pay for gas and electricity plus basic foodstuff.  Most villagers grow some kind of crop or gather wild greens to supplement their diet and other family members usually provide minor support.

[palooka]

23 hours ago, Jason said:

This is what you get when a junta is in charge. But do the people have the political will to make change happen? 

The people have the will in Thailand but they see what that got the people in Myanmar, so caution needed.

[palooka]

4 hours ago, Soidog said:

My thoughts exactly. I had to Google it to find the amount paid and it seems it’s a around a whopping 1,800 baht a month! That equates to 60 baht a day. You could probably find more down the back of the sofa. How can they call that welfare?? I guess the main thing is that they can announce to the UN and the international community that they have a welfare scheme and tick the box.  

I don't think the Thai Govt can sustain that payment for very long though, particularly if claimants stay around 20 million people.  Roughly 400 billion baht per year is a big figure the Thais don't have.