pisico

Thai at Heart, on 2012-05-08 12:03:47, said:

Whoa there Nelly. Hold on a minute. I will refrain from going ad hominem on you, but I would like to give you a little reality check.

I think most will agree that we enjoy the freedoms of living in a free-market economy and a free society, and do not desire to live in a communist or socialist system. The basic tenet of free-markets, be it in goods or labor is that the market's invisible-hand will determine real market prices. Economics 101: increases in price reduce demand and the correlate is visa-versa. This works for labor as well. Increase the price of labor and the demand for labor will decrease. This is exactly the blow-back that I have been writing about since the inception of this silly policy on minimum wage. That companies are attempting to increase their numbers of immigrant workers and decreasing the numbers of Thai workers is just one micro-level mechanism by which the employers adapt to legally enforced minimum wage policy.

Please observe: for employers that are already paying above minimum wage, the minimum wage policy has zero effect. The point being that those jobs and those workers have equilibrated at a price above the legal minimum wage due to the productivity of the worker still allows a reasonable profit at that wage.

If you want to improve the lot of the poor Thai worker the one and only one non-inflationary solution is to improve the productivity of the worker (read that as EDUCATION).

The rhetoric that minimum wage helps exploited workers get their fair lot has been disproven in balanced and well executed studies (check my previous posts for references if you are interested).

If the Thai worker decided to obtain a skill where he can demand a price for his labor above the minimum wage, then he adds a net positive to the economic equation. As to your comment that companies which wish to use Myanmar workers should locate their operations in Myanmar, you fail to recognize the positive effects of a company which pays Thai taxes, buys raw materials, and other inputs in Thailand add a net positive to the Thai economy.

In my industry (shrimp farming), if we were to follow your brilliant advice, Thailand would be out of a multi-billion dollar export industry as nearly all laborers in shrimp processing/farms are non-Thais. At our farm, we have tried to pay higher than 300B in an attempt to attract a more loyal and better work ethic Thai worker, but this failed miserably (I believe has much to do with the current education's focus on testing and lack of standard discipline and manners education in the home).

Finally, living in an expat dominated resort town, where the typical Thai worker is simply incapable of saying "Kawb Khun" or "Khor Toht" (thank you and sorry), and look like they want to die when they are working, the import of smiling, hard working burmese is a welcome site. Let the market decide what is a fair price for labor and if you want a path out of poverty, minimum wage legislation is not a substitute for the necessary, but difficult improvement in education.

what about kids obviously not old enough riding motorbikes past policemen on the way to school?

how about just police crack down on rule breakers and enforce the true rule of law...

ayayay, on 2012-04-16 11:27:57, said:

Ignore it. He obviously doesn't respect his elders neither, be it here or be it from under the stone he once crawled!

-mel.

soi41, on 2012-04-16 13:32:34, said:

+2

scotbeve, on 2012-04-16 13:05:54, said:

Very well put! I posted in another thread this morning:

Songkran is theoretically a thanks-giving for water, a celebration of its availability, and originally was intended as a small bowl to sprinkle each other and respect and thank Buddha for his ways and opinions about water. It has deemed itself of late in to brutally throwing frozen iced water at cars and bikes at speed, and only last year did a huge ice-block shatter my Bro-In-Law's wing mirror. If that had hit a bike rider at speed it could have killed instantaneously. It is demonstrably way out of hand now, and as Thais become more wanting, selfish and greedy they are forgetting to uphold their Buddhist beliefs in their true sense.
As we have seen in the news there were 3 murders, all about brawling during the festivities, or objecting to getting soaked (for the poor guy who bit the bullet on his way to a funeral - bless him and RIP). It is flagrantly about pissing people off now with water, talcum filled water, and the throwing of ice, itself lethal.

So to tell Thais how to celebrate songkran? Nothing wrong with the odd beer, assuming no driving. But there is wrong to forget grass roots of respect and the real Buddhist message. As for the deterioration of festivities to now include blocks of ice being discharged.... it has to be a no-no! Thais have forgotten the bowl for sprinkling said others, with respect. That's advice I'd kindly infuse they remember, and not just out and out show disregard to all and sundry who pass.

So as many posters have incorrectly read me, I have not indicated any requirement to ban Songkran at all, contrary to your inability to comprehend.
I have simply said it needs to be brought back into control, and the true meaning of Songkran remembered for what it is, and not what it has become!

-mel.

scotbeve, on 2012-04-16 13:05:54, said:

Yesterday, my wife and 2 pickup loads of family drove 80 km from the village to a huge temple to do just that.

Showing respect to the monks and elders. Not a tourist in site.

SabaiBKK, on 2012-04-16 12:57:59, said:

And the more polite / classy way to say it is "khon dtang prathet"

HerbalEd, on 2012-04-16 12:53:21, said:

I'm sure there are some of you TV posters that have been here long enough to remember the days of CLEAN scented / flower-laced water GENTLY tossed from VERY SMALL "pahn" .... that was not only extremely enjoyable, it was cooling, and a show of respect to ANYONE older than the person sprinkling the water. Those of you that have "rote nahm " on elders palms whilst wishing them a great new year and health actually have an idea what Songkran means. Or being in your community temple on Songkran morning... etc., etc. So.... yes, I agree that the whole idea of arbitrarily tossing water has gotten WAAAAY out of hand and DANGEROUS. RIP folks that have passed on due to some of this madness....

hellodolly, on 2012-04-16 09:52:18, said:

When you have lived here as long as I have you don't refer to FARANGS as farong, falung or faleng  ... it's FARANG !!!!!!!!!!!!

sorry i could not resist !

hellodolly, on 2012-04-16 12:52:58, said:

Farang !  Farang !  Farang !   get it ?

SCARLETIBIS1, on 2012-04-16 11:53:57, said:

You must have been saving up for that one. " When God gave out brains he had to back order them for Thailand.  And  last I heard the government put a huge import tax on them so no one has any yet." That's a keeper.

w11guy, on 2012-04-16 09:08:36, said:

I haven't posted in quite a while as to do so only infuriates the locals (who cares?) but since this this fellow doesn't have a clue what he is talking about I am forced to add my 2 cents.  Yes, there are idiots everywhere at all  festivals in all countries.  The difference between the West though and here is that the 'idiots' here are the standard not the exception.

For example, I don't go out during Songkran as I do not want the fun of being drenched by moat water full of bacteria.  Bu this year I had run out of water so I took off after dark to the local 7-11.  Now in front of the 7-11 there was a setup of punks dousing people who were entering the store to shop.  And contrary to what one misinformed individual stated all these morone do not leave you alone if you wave them off.

In the West, this would not be allowed to happen. The 7-11 management would not allow it.  Here it seems to be encouraged.  I have said it before many times.  When God gave out brains he had to back order them for Thailand.  And  last I heard the government put a huge import tax on them so no one has any yet.

geriatrickid, on 2012-04-16 11:31:48, said:

+1

takatukaland, on 2012-04-12 18:02:03, said:

"Seems everyone wants to rewrite Thai history to please his own beliefs"  quote by my Thai Wife (sorry educated Thai Wife from Issan)

The above article quoting a coupist opportunist can be catagorized accordingly........ Both being the key beneficiary of the coup, and then being summarily dismissed by the anti-coupists at their first electoral opportunity, puts his comments into both context and perspective........ It is perfectly understandable that there is no love lost by Mr. Abhisit's for his political nemesis...... One engineered the political dismissal of his adversary coup-istically and therefore non-democratically, the other engineered the dismissal of a 'selected' political adversary electorally and democratically....... I can't recall a similar dump by Thaksin on Mr. Abhisit. But then Thaksin is probably thoroughly aware of his engineered political roots and hence not subject to similar vitriol.