The only way to get the poor standards up is though education but the Thai rulling class like to keep the sable boy in the stable.
LiveSteam
0
Real Inequality In The Thai Society
Started by webfact, 2010-07-28 21:06
#53
zakk9
Senior Member Posted 2010-07-29 12:38:09
There are laws against equality in Thailand. You can't become a member of parliament without a university degree, you can't become a judge without a degree from abroad, and so on. Then you have corruption, the rich feed the rich. And the low standard of education for anybody without money. Why would the Bangkok elite want to change this? It gives them unlimited access to drivers, maids, factory workers, mistresses etc.
On top of this, there's no distribution of wealth. Look at Pattaya, which should be flowing over with money. Still, most of the city looks like a junkyard. Ever been to Banglamung hospital? It's worse than some Isaan hospitals I've seen. The rich don't pay tax, the poor don't pay tax and the middle class is almost non-existent. This won't change overnight, and if it gets much worse, it may become so politically incorrect to establish industry here that the multinationals move to the neighbouring countries, particularly Malaysia and Vietnam. But the rich won't care, because they will still have money, and the poor will still be poor and Thailand will still be Thailand. #54
julemanden
Senior Member Posted 2010-07-29 12:40:34
[quote name='chantorn' timestamp='1280334698' post='3780104']
Inequality? No way. The rich and poor in Thailand both have equal rights. Both have only 1 vote. Yeah + all the votes they afford to pay for  #55
Deeral
Super Member Posted 2010-07-29 12:44:27
" You can't become a member of parliament without a university degree" - I don't think this is true - although the idea was certainly recently mooted and the sheer fact that it was given consideration just goes to show how incredibly inegalitarian a society /Thailand is.
#56
seri thai
Senior Member Posted 2010-07-29 12:53:17
Inequality? No way. The rich and poor in Thailand both have equal rights. Both have only 1 vote.   Good to see political awareness developing in SE Asia. Just make sure you vote for the "approved" party... p.s. Glad I'm not entitled to a vote here! #57
Piengrudee
Senior Member Posted 2010-07-29 12:56:20
<br />"<font color="#1C2837"><font size="2"> You can't become a member of parliament without a university degree" - I don't think this is true - although the idea was certainly recently mooted and the sheer fact that it was given consideration just goes to show how incredibly inegalitarian a society /Thailand is.</font></font><br /> Banharn is alleged to only finish Por 4 (grade 4). #58
somo
Senior Member Posted 2010-07-29 13:06:08
Redistribution of wealth will come gradually if first equality of opportunity is granted.
Primarily this should be through education and investment in poorer areas. This is the responsibility of goverment. Having said that nearly all western developed economies show a worsening in wealth distribution as politicians are largely scared to upset the wealthy even though the supposed trickle down of wealth has been shown to be insufficient. The trouble here is that as soon as they got a goverment prepared to do something along these lines the wealthy saw it as a threat and stamped on it firmly by getting the army to overthrow it. Sure Taksin was no saint but saints don't achieve anything in politics. The one thing he did do though is stir things up and the debate is at least happening as to how to include neglected sections of society. The wealthy around the world naturally resist any threat to their position and use their wealth to buy influence and politicians. The difference here is that they can also call on the army to help them out which trumps any hope of democratic change. #59
philw
Super Member Posted 2010-07-29 13:08:22
" You can't become a member of parliament without a university degree" - I don't think this is true - although the idea was certainly recently mooted and the sheer fact that it was given consideration just goes to show how incredibly inegalitarian a society /Thailand is. I think it's written into the last constitution as a parliamentary requirement. #60
ryladie99
Senior Member Posted 2010-07-29 13:22:34
Many countries have even wider gaps between rich and poor, USA is a good example. You really don't want a totally flat country, that is impossible and will only result in misery. Remember anyone who is abused others will pay the price by the end.....everything is matter and time will tell. History always repeats itself. People who have no conscious will never be able to prosper and be happy...( living and walking in hel_l ) Cheat, lie and taking advantage from others without feeling guilty.. and these people are parasites in our society...they should not be born..... These are mentality of the nasty Rich who are evils.....wait until the Poor raise up and call for an Equality...money talk means nothing....Do not think by throwing the legitimate votes in the trash cans will be forever. People knows and they will talk when the time is right. The world will turn and no more nasty rich except the people class and everyone has same thing....and live in Compounds.. 21 TH century is around the corner and anything is possible in my opinion. For the Good Rich who do good deed no offense because you are good to society....people know what you do??? My take. #61
christiaan
Senior Member Posted 2010-07-29 13:23:48
The real unequality is not in the money.
Becoming rich is a side effect of being in a better position as other people and have the quality to take advantage of this. The real unequality is in the valuation of people. When all Thai would have the same right on education, the same right on healthcare, would be treated the same in law, at the end many of the problems would change. The valuation of people is a moral quality. It is a strong observation that in Thailand many people, realy many people, have a low moral code with regard to this. I think one of the reasons for this is the education, It is not only school edcation but also education at home. When this will not change not much will change in Thailand. And who would change this? Then there is the world economic situation. The world we live in is a material world and the God of this world is money. The most worshipped God in the world today is Money. Educated cultures handle this 'religion' in a more or less intelligent way, an aware way, becos of the system of education in their cultures. They have more awareness. But let us not forget the world crises in economy now is to blame on bankers and shareholders and other moneypower people in the west. In general we have to realise The Thai 'personality' does not have the working intelligence or the present awareness to handle the material problem, the money problem. This does not mean the Thai are destinated to to stay in this situation. I strongly believe also Thailand has the potency to become a prosperious modern country. If they just would choose that road. #62
Deeral
Super Member Posted 2010-07-29 13:24:08
and I think not.
i think you'll find lots of MPs with dubious quals...To be honest, I don't think it is worth checking as true or not, it shows how ridiculous some parliamentary concepts can be taken quite seriously if it keeps the hoi-poloi out of govt #63
Deeral
Super Member Posted 2010-07-29 13:30:12
"Many countries have even wider gaps between rich and poor, USA is a good example. You really don't want a totally flat country, that is impossible and will only result in misery."
just to reiterate - the first part is patently untrue and no-one is advocating "a totally flat country". #64
Deeral
Super Member Posted 2010-07-29 13:31:16
"The real unequality is not in the money." - nobody said it was!
"In general we have to realise The Thai 'personality' does not have the working intelligence or the present awareness to handle the material problem" - and this is simply nonsense. Edited by Deeral, 2010-07-29 13:33:05. #65
jayjay0
Platinum Member Posted 2010-07-29 13:42:08
The real unequality is not in the money. Becoming rich is a side effect of being in a better position as other people and have the quality to take advantage of this. The real unequality is in the valuation of people. When all Thai would have the same right on education, the same right on healthcare, would be treated the same in law, at the end many of the problems would change. The valuation of people is a moral quality. It is a strong observation that in Thailand many people, realy many people, have a low moral code with regard to this. I think one of the reasons for this is the education, It is not only school edcation but also education at home. When this will not change not much will change in Thailand. And who would change this? Then there is the world economic situation. The world we live in is a material world and the God of this world is money. The most worshipped God in the world today is Money. Educated cultures handle this 'religion' in a more or less intelligent way, an aware way, becos of the system of education in their cultures. They have more awareness. But let us not forget the world crises in economy now is to blame on bankers and shareholders and other moneypower people in the west. In general we have to realise The Thai 'personality' does not have the working intelligence or the present awareness to handle the material problem, the money problem. This does not mean the Thai are destinated to to stay in this situation. I strongly believe also Thailand has the potency to become a prosperious modern country. If they just would choose that road. I cherry picked the following from your post. When all Thai would have the same right on education, the same right on healthcare, would be treated the same in law, at the end many of the problems would change. The valuation of people is a moral quality. I know It runs against the commonly held belief that the rich should give all there money away so that the have nots will have. But I believe you have hit the nail on the head with that statement. I am sure that the bars are full of people saying they should have the money the rich people have. #66
RedNIvar
Senior Member Posted 2010-07-29 13:42:49
"Many countries have even wider gaps between rich and poor, USA is a good example. You really don't want a totally flat country, that is impossible and will only result in misery." just to reiterate - the first part is patently untrue and no-one is advocating "a totally flat country". Ideally 2/3 of the population has to fit in the middle class bucket. The rest make up the other two extremes. The problem with Thailand is that the middle class bucket is a little too light. #67
peacefulwarrior
Advanced Member Posted 2010-07-29 14:24:56
Politicians: The minion class of the ones who really are in power. Usually in the west, the really rich elite tries to stay out of parliament and the newspapers. Some learned from the French revolution obviously. But in some countries the fraud is so darn obvious it hurts. Look at Singapore for example, being ruled by a family clan in the third generation, a truly open exploitation. Then look at the Philippines etc. - suns and daughters of corrupt politicians beloved by the masses get into power all the time. These guys study connology, I don't know...
But one thing in Thailand is for sure, the division of the ruling class, which in my sense is not Thai by ethnicity and has understood the world as their play-field does not care about anyone, not if they are Thai, Bangladeshi, Indian, Burmese or whatever. They see how much is produced, in which time, at what cost and at what profit. How about US, the consumer starting to change the flow of that revenue. Buy locally, try to avoid the mega-stores and cut the crappy western fast-food that is there to poison us all anyways. We are on a global scale being sleep-walked into communitarian-ism, a controlled society (via food and vaccines). Now we also have the war of terror in Thailand and more and more bothersome legislation is passed, fines for this and fines for that. You want a police state with some puppets showing you a red vs. yellow stage play or you want to wake up in a free and independent society. It's the little choices everyday. Street kitchen or McDonalds. Coke or fresh juices. Crap horror movie or documentary. You have choices, make them and you will see the old power structure crumble, piece by piece. 
#68
Gonsalviz
Super Member Posted 2010-07-29 14:31:06
Something like what is being done in the west at this time could be suggested , billionairs have been asked to give half of thier wealth to agencies for the poor , billions of dollars have poured forth to aid the poor since the requests started and it seems more is to follow . Who needs that much money any way ? One problem with that is, if you give something to someone, they tend to not respect it and squander it because it was free and there will be more. If the 'agencies' would set up programs to assist it would be better. Raising price barriers on the farm products so the poor farmer can get a better profit, would be one thing. It would be that he actually earned the money, not just given a handout. Everything must be gradual or it will upset the economy. My wife and I can eat for around ฿100. This is too cheap. #69
Gonsalviz
Super Member Posted 2010-07-29 14:45:18
Inequality isn't just measured in land owned or wealth . One of the worst examples I see in Thailand is how a person's contribution to society is valued. For instance someone who builds a house for others rarely seems to earn enough for a house of the same quality for themselves. Similarly those who produce the food or catch the fish often live in terrible conditions with little hope of ever seeing any improvement to those conditions. Most of the people at the bottom I am sure don't want a hand out just a fair return for what they do and the respect that their skills deserve. There is also the aspect that no matter how much some people get they will never be able to do anything but squander it. A great example is the Mrs's sisters husband who has a good job but spends all his money on gambling and drinking, very rarely takes any of his money home, is around 300kB in debt has pawned his wifes gold and emptied the kids money boxes and today I hear that yesterday he pawned the family car for 100k and gave the money to a friend. The car isn't yet paid off (8000B per month) and now they haven't got the use of it, any money given to him and his ilk would be wasted immediately. Thailand has a 'caste' society. It cannot change a lot until that goes away. India is a prime example. #70
elcent
Platinum Member Posted 2010-07-29 14:45:51
REDBULL!! bigger than Singha..... Thailand was the syrup producer and Austrian was the marketer, people get this wrong all the time. That's wrong too. Red Bull in Austria and KhratDingDeng (means Red Bull) or so was a Thai entity originally was never used Red Bull as a brandname, both completly different. The merged together to avoid brandname lawsuits. The taste is also very different. It has proven that it was better to go this way than to have lengthy nerveracking law suits. #71
way2muchcoffee
Platinum Member Posted 2010-07-29 14:52:17
There are laws against equality in Thailand. You can't become a member of parliament without a university degree, you can't become a judge without a degree from abroad, and so on. Both statements are not true. You do not need a degree to be an MP. You do need one to be the PM or in the cabinet. You do not need a degree from abroad to be a judge. Where did you get your information? #72
Piengrudee
Senior Member Posted 2010-07-29 15:10:13
There is no Real Inequality In The Thai Society . If there is, Thai court will sort it out.
#73
otherstuff1957
Super Member Posted 2010-07-29 15:52:50
There are laws against equality in Thailand. You can't become a member of parliament without a university degree, you can't become a judge without a degree from abroad, and so on. Both statements are not true. You do not need a degree to be an MP. You do need one to be the PM or in the cabinet. You do not need a degree from abroad to be a judge. Where did you get your information? The Degree requirement for MP's was written into the '97 constitution, but was not included in the 'coup constitution'. If the Reds succeed in their goal of returning to the '97 constitution, some MPs will have to leave Parliament. There's been a lot of argument in this thread about how much inequality there is in Thailand. In terms of economic inequality, most people will refer to the 'Gini Coefficient'. Here is a map showing the Gini Coefficient of most of the world's countries:  As you can see, Thailand is less equal than most of Europe, Australia/NZ, Canada and central Asia. It's on par with Cambodia, the Philippines, Russia, Turkey and Iran, and has more equal income distribution than the US, most of South America, China, Malaysia and South Africa. While lack of equality is certainly a real concern, it is rather simplistic to think that it is the only problem that Thailand faces or that Thailand suffers from gross economic inequality compared with most of the rest of the world. #74
Piengrudee
Senior Member Posted 2010-07-29 16:14:36
Thanks for the colourful map.
#75
Pakboong
Super Member Posted 2010-07-29 16:22:05
This is kind of a bad expose' with little meaning - as the likelihood of any 'poor' individual gaining access to a parliamentary seat is nil. So stating the obvious does nothing. What it usually comes down to is education. Over 90% of the world's billionaires had little or only basic education. It is not something the Thai populace likes but as already stated 1 vote 1 person but voting is not compulsory. As an aside - I would think the country would be far better run is business people formed a board and had members of banks and business, and they were accountable by law and not able to obtain 'parliamentary privileges'. Make the Board accountable and held to book with monthly reports subject to audit on all transactions with the auditing firms changed annually. Printing of the decisions and the results should be mandatory in every six months and then let the population gauge the result by the numbers. Open and transparent accounting of all business affecting Thailand would slow (but not stop) the corruption to a greater extent than present. It would be a start! And whilst some will quip but Toxin was a businessman, yes, he was a corrupt one thus if a board was audited and unable to alter points of law to cover their corrupt activities, then these issues would be negated. LOL wishful thinking to be sure. What those billionaires probably have in common was they were right a very high percentage of the time. Something that I have to point out to the GF, as we argue a particular point, is that people who are right often are generally not poor. |
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