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The trouble with this approach is that between the administration of Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and those that followed – currently a civilian administration that followed on the heels of a military junta – the spending power of Thailand’s masses has been severely undercut, as it has been for citizens of other nations.
In Thailand the cause originated from overspending, over borrowing, corruption on unparalleled scales, and the public expectation that no matter what happened the people would always have enough – or sufficient. But reality does not work that way.
Bubbles burst, lies were – partly – revealed, and the pretension that economic stability was a perpetual quality evaporated first in 1984, then again during the Asia Contagion of 1997, and now once more in the last couple of years as a result of the corrupt management of capitalist economies. Suddenly even the rich stopped spending, scaling down to minimal maintenance levels and totally ignoring opportunities that they would have earlier taken advantage of – and which were responsible for the current economic mess in Thailand and the rest of the world.
Whether or not clear skies lie ahead is unknown at the moment. But two recent indications that things are improving include a positive climb in private home purchases in the United States, and here in northeast Thailand the increased construction of homes and residential rental units.
Someone is prepared to spend money. But as His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s “sufficiency economy” theory suggests, let the buyer beware, for several reasons.
First is, of course, that spending these days usually involves depletion of existing savings. Where formerly investors and builders drew funds from growing stock portfolios, they now take directly out of their savings. Secondly, the propensity to overspend on things one can’t afford is always present. People need to be reminded that if they decide to buy more than they really need, they had better be able to pay for it in cash.
A “sufficiency economy” has a direct impact on overall national investment, since it demands caution that is a limiting factor in the investment decision-making process. Potential spenders are wary of putting money into projects that traditionally turned a profit but that today carry no guarantee except initial costs and continued operating expenses.
One of the problems in Thailand’s search for economic and political stability is the degree of secrecy and lack of transparency across the board, from village grassroots organizations to government ministries and national agencies. For every baht spent openly there are probably three or four spent under questionable circumstances, or certainly circumstances that are going to remain closed to public scrutiny.
Here in Nakhonratchasima in northeast Thailand, for example, the mayor was recently castigated for keeping secret municipal contracts for repaving a main city street. According to local reports the paving was costing 30 percent more than it should have; according to this writer’s experienced civil inspection eye, the quality was nearer 30 percent less than it should have been.
What did the mayor do? He remained silent and ignored all press questions relating to the project.
Not all officials in Thailand are confident the New Year will be without its literal bangs. Current Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Theubsuban has expressed the fear that the opposition Red Shirts will try their best during January or February to overthrow the government.
Former Legislative Assembly Chairman Meechai Ruchupan, who has been warning that the country faces its worst crisis ever, said that all political groups are pursuing their own interests. “Their attitude is if they like what you say then you belong to their camp, but if not then you're the enemy. They do not think that, okay, we see things differently and together we find solutions," he said.
What Meechai and his like are constantly ignoring, however, is the sell-outs to the ruling elite that have taken place over the decades and the idea that possibly people are growing fed up with them. That is a problem that those expounding sagacious public wisdom in Thailand need to recognize, not prolong.
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(Frank G. Anderson is the Thailand representative of American Citizens Abroad. He was a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer to Thailand from 1965-67, working in community development. A freelance writer and founder of northeast Thailand's first local English language newspaper, the Korat Post – www.thekoratpost.com – he has spent over eight years in Thailand "embedded" with the local media. He has an MBA in information management and an associate degree in construction technology. ©Copyright Frank G. Anderson.)
