Thread: Thailand to suffer most in economic crisis

Originally Posted by robuzo

^^The "personal crime rate" is just not that bad here (although that may change). Makes me question their other determinations.

maybe so , BUT that was only 1/2 of it ................

Personal crime rate/police-to-citizen ratio

policemen per thousand people

Thailand: 3.35665 per 1,000 people

Poor police to people ratio forces common man to fend for himself « A wide angle view of India

surprisingly high

Originally Posted by Mid

policemen per thousand people

Thailand: 3.35665 per 1,000 people

Poor police to people ratio forces common man to fend for himself « A wide angle view of India

surprisingly high

The number of paramilitary border police might skew the figures a bit. I didn't expect the number to be nearly three times higher than Japan, which has an enormous national police force (and of course a little less than twice the population).

wonder how many in inactive posts

I do not profess to be an economic expert nor possess the same knowledge as some of the other financial gurus here but I have always wondered where the Thai government (whoever they may be and at any given time) gain the finances to run this country.

As I understand the corporate tax rates are quite low and are rarely collected in their entirety, only a small percentage of the working population actually pay taxes and taxes on commodity products such as fuel, locally produced food and for example cigarettes is very low and when compared to other countries.

Can someone very briefly offer me their wisdom and with regard to my ignorance?

Wow! This site is quite something for a newbie like me. I can jump from really challenging and serious stuff like Thai girls knickers, to meaningless froth like this economic stuff.
Well done TD, keep up the diversity, it's awesome.

Originally Posted by Loy Toy

I do not profess to be an economic expert nor possess the same knowledge as some of the other financial gurus here but I have always wondered where the Thai government (whoever they may be and at any given time) gain the finances to run this country.

As I understand the corporate tax rates are quite low and are rarely collected in their entirety, only a small percentage of the working population actually pay taxes and taxes on commodity products such as fuel, locally produced food and for example cigarettes is very low and when compared to other countries.

Can someone very briefly offer me their wisdom and with regard to my ignorance?

I thought most of it came from you

Originally Posted by robuzo

Originally Posted by Mid

Originally Posted by robuzo

^^The "personal crime rate" is just not that bad here (although that may change). Makes me question their other determinations.

maybe so , BUT that was only 1/2 of it ................

Personal crime rate/police-to-citizen ratio

Yes, and my opinion remains unchanged- the personal crime rate is fairly low compared to other countries, and the police-to-citizen ratio is fairly high, I think. I could be wrong but I think larvidchr's interpretation of police-to-citizen ratio as "the crime rate committed by the Police against normal citizens" is incorrect; I think it simply means the number of cops vs. the number of citizens. One might expect there to be a correlation between the number of cops and the crime rate- but then one might not be familiar with the Thai cops.

Thailand has a very high murder rate, which I think could skew the statistics to make it look like a high-crime country. While that may look like a contradiction, the rate of violence committed during robbery, theft, etc. I take to be fairly low; murder as a result of loss of face, murder amongst family and acquaintances is high. There is a lot of outsourcing in the Philippines (because of the "English" spoken there), where one has a much higher chance of becoming a victim of violent crime than here.

You might be right Robuzo, I am not sure myself

Originally Posted by larvidchr

I thought most of it came from you

Yes I always pay full taxes (well I guess that's what you are referring too) but when it comes down to how they can sustain this countries infrastructure and public service costs I have absolutely no idea mate.

^ Thanks spin and good afternoon!

^^ ... Because there are greedy, conniving, super rich.

Originally Posted by Loy Toy

Originally Posted by larvidchr

I thought most of it came from you

Yes I always pay full taxes (well I guess that's what you are referring too) but when it comes down to how they can sustain this countries infrastructure and public service costs I have absolutely no idea mate.

I was just joking mate , what I meant to say really was they seem to be very good at making sure that "Farangs" in business here pay their full due, but when it comes to many big and small Thai enterprises the Taxation looks to be somewhat more hap hazard.

^ Of course I don't want to go out on a limb here but I have been told of some larger organisations who pay very little tax but get away with paying special donations.

Yes my tax is paid "in full" every month and based upon my salary and according to my qualifications and as stated on my work permit.

Something like three times the national average monthly salary last time I looked and about 1 year ago.

Maybe a more realistic view-

"Downturn to last 3 or 4 years

By: BangkokPost.comPublished: 28/02/2009 at 12:41 PM The current economic downturn would be more severe than the 1997 financial crisis and recovery could take three or four years, according to former finance minister Chalongphob Sussangkarn.
He said the 1997 financial crisis was cushioned by the export sector. The current problem was more complex. With the decline in exports there was nothing to help accommodate the unemployed.
Thailand took five years after the 1997 crisis to restore levels of production. Bailing out the current downturn would take three or four years, depending on government policy.

All countries in the region were experiencing a staggering decline in exports. This was an insoluble problem at the moment, the former finance minister said. The consumption stimulus policy would not be effective at a time of no confidence, and the government should turn its attention to ensuring the quality of life instead of the GDP figure.

Mr Chalongphob said the government should employ people who lose their jobs, because job training would be fruitless without actual work positions being available.
He also suggested the administration place more importance on increasing tourism spending, as every baht spent within the tourism sector adds two baht to the GDP."

And maybe it is time the Government get their priority's right, starting with throwing the people in jail (a long long time) that have contributed greatly to ruining the tourist industry.

Originally Posted by Loy Toy

good afternoon!

Good afternoon to you too

Originally Posted by larvidchr

recovery could take three or four years, according to former finance minister Chalongphob Sussangkarn.

Now we are getting somewhere, the majority of the worlds significant countries are all experiencing recessions at the same time. This doesnt happen too often and the recover curve will be much slower.

Originally Posted by larvidchr

former finance minister Chalongphob Sussangkarn.

"Former", thats a shame because unlike the current minister, this guy seems in touch with whats going down in the real world.

It's no longer a crices, it's now a crisis.

Brad Setser: Follow the Money » Blog Archive » More bad news from Asia
Frederic Neumann, Asia chief economist at HSBC, told the FT
The collapse in Asian exports over the fourth quarter was “nothing short of breath-taking”, said “Economic models and experience suggest that financial turmoil tends to transmit far more gradually into the real economy than has occurred this time around. In fact, the severity and rapidity of the fall in output exceeds anything we have ever seen before.”

The collapse in Asian exports over the fourth quarter was “nothing short of breath-taking”,

only to those not paying attention

Originally Posted by larvidchr

former finance minister Chalongphob Sussangkarn.

Yes, I had a meeting with him when he was minister of finance. Very much on the ball

^ Who punctured the ball?

tourism might only be 6% of GDP, but the multiplier effect of the currency they bring, and the money they spent is definitely more

Originally Posted by Mid

policemen per thousand people

Thailand: 3.35665 per 1,000 people

Poor police to people ratio forces common man to fend for himself « A wide angle view of India

surprisingly high

Methinks Thailand would be a lot safer with less police. Maybe it's the high per capita cop ratio that makes them rank it as dangerous.

Originally Posted by Loy Toy

Of course I don't want to go out on a limb here but I have been told of some larger organisations who pay very little tax but get away with paying special donations.

CPB pays no tax.