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More than 800.000 Thais fell below the poverty line last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a study by the Thailand Development Research Institute commissioned by Thailand Science Research and Innovation (TSRI).
The researchers also come up with proposals to combat poverty caused by the crisis and recommend emergency measures for those hardest hit by the pandemic. The findings were discussed at a forum attended by researchers and experts.
Somchai Jitsuchon from the Thailand Development Research Institute said the research focuses on vulnerable groups such as women, children, the elderly, the disabled, the homeless and migrants who are particularly affected by the current crisis.
The drop in income, partly due to unemployment, has increased poverty. The World Bank said earlier that the number of Thais living in poverty increased by 780.000 last year. The third wave of Covid-19 in early April seems to have further exacerbated the poverty situation.
Hardest hit are low-skilled workers aged 40 and over who are also technically illiterate. They are the least able to adapt to demands and changing working conditions, as the crisis has changed the way companies operate. For example, workers, unlike office workers, cannot work from home.
At the same time, low- and middle-income households are more indebted and the pandemic has totally wiped out what little financial security they had, the researchers said. Somchai says the government should look at the social impact of the crisis on vulnerable groups and help them with flexible measures that suit the circumstances of this group.
In addition, Somchai advocates rapid availability of the vaccine for these groups.
Source: Bangkok Post
That's last year's (probably) estimated number, the real number will probably be double, plus this year's number added, how many will it be now, and the end is nowhere in sight.
These are typical Somchai comments and Sombat could not have phrased it any other way with blah blah and the target group should be vaccinated.
According to the same newspaper, we should learn to live with Covid in Thailand and I hope they show that by reopening most shops next week. Vaccinated or not, but everyone will become infected once and then it remains to be seen what the complaints are and how serious they are. It can be annoying for those who get sick, but at least the group being talked about and millions of others will get a chance to collect baht themselves. Collateral damage to save the economy from collapse is getting closer and closer.
What income is considered the poverty line for Thailand?
The poverty line in Thailand is 3.000 baht per month.
The percentage of Thais below the poverty line already increased from 2015 to 0% from 2018 to 7.2.
See: https://www.thailandblog.nl/achtergrond/armoede-neemt-toe-in-thailand-lagere-inkomens-dalen/
Wouldn't that percentage be much higher? All those small self-employed people who have not accrued a pension, such as my father-in-law. Worked as a self-employed construction worker and now receives a government pension of 600 baht per month.
Now 10 percent of the Thai population is 65 years or older. In 2040 that will be 25 percent. 30-40 percent of the elderly have some form of pension, apart from that 600-1200 Bath monthly.
Then it is clear to me why the children now tell their parents that 2000 pp a month is enough. Everything they had (100 rai of their own property) was gambled away. If you can be as selfish as parents, you deserve a somewhat sober old age. Say who is not doing well.
Hear say Johnny???
I also know of a few drinking organs and a few gambling addicted ladies who have fallen into disrepair as a result. But those are the exceptions that prove the rule, at least in the village I know well.
Most Thai people in our village work long hours in the humid and hot climate. They often combine several jobs to make ends meet. When they have to rent land, they often tear their pants because the benefits are below the costs after the harvest.
When a house is being built, they queue up to be allowed to dig foundation pits for the “elephant feet”. The rate for digging a pit of one and a half meters deep and 1,20 meters by 1,20 meters is between 300 and 500 thb. Usually they dig at night because it is cooler then.
Just go for it yourself.
I have not heard say. Seen with my own eyes.
It is my in-laws who gambled away 100 rai of land so the choice they had was their choice. They have themselves to thank for the fact that they then fall back to a minimum and you shouldn't be sorry about that. Every adult person must take responsibility and you cannot and must not hold your children to account if things have gone wrong due to their own failures.
Yes, this is a true Western way of thinking that does not apply to Thailand.
Taking responsibility for your own behavior: difficult because that means admitting that you make mistakes (and don't learn from them, or are even addicted)
Taking children to account: children feel responsible for family (parents and children, but also brothers and sisters). If a family member has an accident due to drunk driving, there is always the family safety net. Good thing, too. My impression is that you have to make a lot of fur before the family completely and definitively takes their hands off you. That does not mean that people are happy with irresponsible behavior.
The gap between rich and poor is widening
But when I see how many houses are being built here in nongbualamphu and how many shops have been added, I sometimes wonder where they get that money from.
The middle class and slightly less is not bad at all.
There are people abroad who throw sand in their eyes to make it all look dramatic, but there are many who live in Bangkok in a pen of barely 2500 baht but build a house in their home. It may take 10 years or 20 years, but when it is finished they will enjoy a free house and an old age. They grow something and the well-behaved children contribute 6000 baht a month for expenses. The discipline my parents had after the war is also there for their own children with many Thais. Don't look at the outside I would say.
Just borrow from the bank just like everyone else.
Who then lives, then cares.
Jan Beute.