Tepperman (New York Times) misses the point
In an article on the opinion page of Bangkok Post former Treasury Secretary Korn Chatikavanij (Democrats) leaves little trace of an opinion piece by Jonathan Tepperman in New York Times.Tepperman sets Thailand as an example to Egypt. However, Korn notes a large number of errors, which makes him wonder whether he can still take Tepperman's opinions seriously.
I will highlight one aspect, which relates to the economy. Tepperman claims that Thailand 'has gone from a virtual wreck to a booming, stable success story in two years'. What are the facts?
- Thailand is in a technical recession after two months of negative economic growth.
- When the Yingluck administration took over from the Democrats, the national debt was 41 percent of gross domestic product. Now it is 45 percent and the debt continues to rise.
- Thailand had record foreign reserves and the stock market experienced strong growth.
- The average household debt amounted to 55 percent of gross domestic product, compared to 80 percent now.
- During the Abhisit administration, Thailand was one of the fastest recovering economies after the economic crisis of 2008-2009.
- After Yingluck came to power, GDP growth tumbled to 1 percent, which Korn attributes to the complete mismanagement of the floods.
Korn finds Tepperman's reference to Yingluck's "bold economic stimulus and reform campaign… giving all Thais a slice" almost comical.
The Yingluck government refuses to introduce a land and property tax; she is foregoing a pension fund for informal workers and she has postponed land reform proposals; three proposals made by the previous government.
What she has done is cut the corporate tax from 30 to 20 percent, a measure that only benefits the wealthy without any benefit to the economy and its electoral base, the rural poor.
One criticism of Korn's response. He completely ignores the increase in the minimum daily wage to 300 baht, but that does not detract from his account of the facts.
(Source: Tepperman should get facts straight before preaching, Bangkok Post, August 28, 2013)
Tepperman's piece is teeming with errors, I wholeheartedly agree. But Korn's criticism also contains a number of misconceptions.
I do endorse Tepperman's conclusion that Yingluck succeeds in neutralizing or balancing all conflicting interest groups. Big brother kept abroad, the yellow shirts left with their tails between their legs, the red shirts under control, flirting with the military and Prem, angry but powerless Democrats and an economic advantage for the rich and the poor. No one is really completely satisfied, but that is the mark of a compromise
I also read that piece by Tepperman and it's not often that I laugh out loud at a serious opinion piece. Putting together so much nonsense is indeed quite an achievement,
@Tino, the warring parties have not been neutralized by Yingluck in any way. The Yellow Shirts were already on the verge of death before Yingluck took office as Prime Minister and big brother has been kept abroad because even an airhead like Yingluck understands that things will break out here when the red carpet is laid out for Thaksin in Suvarnabhumi. Economic benefit for the poor? Do you mean the increase in the minimum wage that was effectively canceled out shortly afterwards by the increase in excise duties on alcohol and tobacco? The corporate tax was indeed reduced to 20% (the rich benefit). And did you read this week what assets our “power to the people, anti-elitist” possess? Prem is already 94, so Yingluck doesn't have to worry about that anyway.
The countless foreign trips to major powers such as Malawi, the Maldives and Tajikistan (exchange of flood management knowledge, the country is very dry) are the only things this half-wit can credit to her credit.
This 'halfwit' has a lot to her credit. She has had a wonderful career. She has also traveled to Japan, Pakistan, Sweden, Belgium, the UK and Tanzania where my two eldest children were born. She travels a little less and spends a little more time in parliament. But she is insecure, vague, likes to keep a low profile, and is not confrontational (no one has ever been able to catch her using an ugly word, such as 'half-wit', for her opponents), is a good listener, makes excellent contact with the population, but she certainly does not have the 'gift of the word'. (Her Thai is just as clumsy as her English). Many of those qualities are the opposite of your qualities and I don't mean to say anything against you. Take a look around the following websites, you may come back to your 'half wit', but I don't really expect that.
http://asiancorrespondent.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yingluck_Shinawatra
Unbelievable Tino, that someone like you still doesn't see that we are dealing with a doll whose big brother touches the threads. She is not confrontational and mostly keeps to the level. With the best will in the world I cannot find a positive point by which her administration has improved the country. Circled daily by her "advisors" who whisper one crazy idea after another to her, she nods, smiles and books another ticket to some petty dustbin. She is largely absent from parliamentary debates, creates committees as if her life depended on it (which we never hear from again) and lacks leadership of any kind.
Personally, I think Yingluck is a very amiable woman, but she is completely unsuited to the profession of politician and lacks all conceivable leadership qualities.
Recently (pun intended) she bombarded herself as Minister of Defense (after a telephone conversation with brother lief), because she said she knew nothing about the ins and outs of the army. And by becoming the head of the armed forces, she would learn the ins and outs of the Thai military.
Then you're not feeling well, are you? Imagine someone in a hospital appointing himself Chief of Surgery to find out what's going on there, without ever entering an OR. Isn't that too crazy to run loose?
Oh Tino, she has her college degree from an obscure American university. My students have a better command of the English language than Yingluck. Strange all.
Dear Cor,
1 You must have missed that the BP reported several times that Yingluck disregarded her big brother's advice.
2 I think you have a completely wrong idea of what qualities a good leader, especially a Prime Minister, needs. This does not include thorough professional knowledge, but it does include: being able to listen, especially to the population, setting priorities, saying what you do not know, receiving good advice, being able to lead a team, being able to resolve conflicts and being able to delegate. To put it bluntly: keeping things together. As a businesswoman, she has proven that she can handle all of this to a large extent and she does so now. I am not a good leader because I talk too much and listen too little.
3 A minister of defense does not need any expertise, the commanders of the armed forces already have that. Comparing a minister of defense with a Chief of Surgery is absurd. You can compare a minister of defense with a director of a hospital and thank God he hasn't been a doctor for ages. Given Thailand's history, it is an excellent move that Yingluck took on this position. Who knows, she can prevent a coup like this.
4 Yingluck's English is lousy, but I doubt that your students speak better. Sorry.
Dear Tino, in a year or so, when this country has been definitively taken to the gall by this government, we will talk again. Agree?
Moderator: Cor and Tino please stop this discussion now, because it is no longer about the posting.
@ Cor In addition, Yingluck Shinawatra received her bachelor's degree in political science and public administration from Chiang Mai University in 1988 and her master's degree in political science in 1990 from Kentucky State University (USA).
Cor, don't forget the unsurpassed rice mortgage system. Could Egypt also learn something from it?
How is it possible that various commentators differ so much about Yingluck's performance? All the facts are on the table and nothing other than a sensible analysis is needed to reach a judgement. I completely agree with Cor and Hans! The misconception, even if BP writes. This, that Yingluck distances herself from her brother, is the biggest deception I have ever read and completely misunderstands any insight into the political situation in Thailand.
My dear egon wout: I would like to hear what your insights are in the Thai political situation. The only insight you share with me now is to say that it is not right, and to point in a direction followed by many. Please some explanation of Thailand's political landscape.
Well, dear Egon, I'll tell you a little story.
The three most handsome professors in the country once stood at a patient's bedside. They had knowledge of all the facts and had done a thorough analysis. One said to wait and see, another said more investigations needed to be done, and the third said surgery was necessary. They waited a while, then there was an investigation and finally the poor patient was operated on and nothing was found. The patient went home with a scar richer and an illusion poorer.
There is nothing more deadly to a good debate than the assumption that there is only one truth and that another truth must necessarily be based on a lack of knowledge of the facts or unwise analysis. The hallmark of a political debate is precisely those differences of opinion, and that's a good thing. You also know situations in which the entire population held the same opinion about their leader.
Moderator: You are chatting.