The Thailand government will distribute money to its citizens. Economists critic

[DrBeer]

Giving advice, for another country, is not good. But, uh. I would recommend not just to give money to the population, but to give limited funds, for example in the form of funds that can only be invested in shares, for example - public or private companies in Thailand. I.e. to give a guaranteed amount of money to each citizen of the country, so that he did not spend it on trinkets, but invested in the economy of the country - from production to tourism business. This will allow the country to provide real help to its economy, and each resident to provide passive income. Yes - and allow the sale of shares in companies in which the population will invest this money, for example, in 3-5 years. This will be a chance for those who really need "living money" to receive income, and for the rest to receive dividends for many years and use them to buy goods produced by local companies, which will again help the local economy.

PS I love Thailand. I used to vacation there often, it's a beautiful country !

[Husires]

If a country has financial problems and decides to obtain a loan in order to give the citizen a specific amount per month, then this country will not obtain more loans, as lenders do not like their money to be spent on services or individuals and will not return it in the future. these solutions are always for countries that have A budget surplus or additional funds to cover such spending.

Discussion in the local board will give you experiences from the reality in which people live.

[wxa7115]

The authorities also want to control how the money is spent. Recipients of the government program will not be allowed to use the received funds for debt repayment, bill payment, tuition fees, gas and petrol purchases, gold or gemstones, internet products and services, alcohol, cigarettes, or marijuana.

-------------------------------------------

Question : is this a planned experiment regarding money supply manipulation and full control over society? Is this an attempt before implementing "temporary" currency internationally? A test on the population? What are your thoughts on this?

That temporal limit is what worries me the most, governments giving ‘free’ money to their citizens once in a while is incredibly common so it should not be surprising at all.

However over the years there have been talks about governments around the world putting a time limit to the currency that you earn, and once that time passes then it can not be used any longer, and this is a huge threat as in essence governments will be making saving money an impossible activity, which will have huge implications about how the world economy has to be run.

[Uruhara]

Distribution of money to people in my country has been done for a long time, but with different methods. Even residents in my country receive it once a month or once every 3 months. But people here are free to use their money for anything as long as it meets their living needs. But there are also programs that give money to the community to be used as business capital. But there is no program that requires the money given to be spent within a certain time limit. But I see what the Thai government is doing to stimulate the market there. Because there may have been a decline in purchasing power there. Which if left unchecked could indeed endanger the economy there. Or the level of recession will get worse if people's purchasing power and the circulation of money in the market slow down over a long period of time. So the distribution of money is possible to stimulate purchasing power and the circulation of money itself. Since there is a time limit this clarifies everything.

[vanesha]

is a good government to help its citizens. This is very necessary during the global economic crisis. I don't think it's just the government that has to step in, even we, who have advantages, have to have the courage to step in to help with the basic needs of those in need. In an economic crisis, humanity is truly tested.

[Blitzboy]

People are curious about the Thai government's plan. It could be a covert test of controlling money and manipulating people. Most likely. Limits on how the money can be spent, the fact that it can only be used electronically, and the fact that spending is tracked all point to a plan to watch and control how people act. The goal, on the surface, is to boost the economy, but what is the plan? To say the least, its not normally done.

But let us think more. Is this a step toward a new way of controlling currencies around the world? We could be wrong, but thats a big jump. An action like this would need agreement from all over the world, which is famously difficult to achieve. To be fair, the idea isnt completely crazy. This could be a place where bigger economic ideas are tried out. Pay close attention, because what happens in Thailand could affect how economies work all over the world in the future.

[Ucy]

What stops people who benefit from the scheme from reselling things they buy for cash?

I'm actually OK with limiting the kind of things people who benefit from free money can buy with the money, as they could still be motivated to work for money they can buy anything with.  Besides, the free money has to be spent on things that are abundant in supply or things that can be sufficiently produced anytime, to avoid creating inflation.
  

Nevertheless, I believe people should be encouraged to work hard for every money they earn. This will help them value the money and spend it more prudently which will consequently strengthen the value of the money.   When it becomes necessary to help people who do not have enough, you should still tie the money that will be given to them to hardwork. They should be guranteed to receive the money when they need it, but under the condition that they solve some listed problems for society.



You could however develop similar scheme for under-paid people who work really hard and do fair or good job. That's better way to stimulate the economy because they are more likely to spend the money in ways that help productivity and grow the economy. And even could use the opportunity to own their own businesses and employ people the government want to give free money. People who work hard and well should be able to manage their own businesses unlike those who don't. Besides if you give any kind of person free money, he/she won't  be motivated to work hard and will likely expect wage that is higher than the free money he gets from government when he decides to work.

By the way, if you work hard for your money, nobody will have the right to determine how you use it. So people should really be careful with "free money".

[bayu7adi]

Isn't this just going to cause inflation rates in Thailand to rise? Considering that many people are receiving assistance, it seems like traders can hike prices as they know there's extra money to spend on their goods. If everything goes as planned, prices should go back down to normal within that final 6-month period. However, sneaky traders might not do that because the profits seem more attractive than caring about the national economy.

Indeed, economic issues are pretty complex. The same problem in another country might not be solved the same way. I see this as the government's attempt to control the economy through experimentation. Or perhaps, is it a beneficial campaign move for the political party?

[jaberwock]

I would much rather implement a "Coupon" system that can only be redeemed for "food" and basic necessities. I have seen people buying goods and selling it for "banned" substances, so no measures are free from exploitation. 

Let's not forget that the money that was used for this initiative are coming from the tax payers, so someone are paying for this. Yes, they are getting something back from their taxes, but they do not have the freedom to buy what they want from it. 

There's no difference then, because even if they can redeem a food and basic necessities, they can still sell it or exchanged it for those banned substances but that is only risky. I think there are still people who are not going to take risks because they can lose what they got plus they can also get penalized. That sounds or looks unpleasant to them than what they already going to have or already have.

It may seem that there is a less or no freedom there but I think that was also for their own good. Sometimes if we let people do what they want, they can also abuse it and do things which are not appropriate anymore. I'm sure you and others don't also want that to happen.

[kryptqnick]

This party, as I've anticipated, it populist, so it's not surprising that they've suggested handouts of money. Interestingly, they're using blockchain to distribute the funds. If I calculated correctly, they're giving $280 per person via digital wallets, which is a decent financial incentive.
If Thailand can afford such a measure, it can be a good thing. I don't think it signifies full control or whatever, as it's a temporary one-time thing to help people out. I don't think it should be perceived negatively, unless based on argumentation that it's too much governmental spending, which can turn out bad for the economy.

[arimamib]

It is highly unlikely that the thai government will distribute money to its citizens thailand's economy is currently slowing down. The country's economy slowed due to lower than expected foreign tourist arrivals and lower demand for goods from top trading partner China. Apart from this it is also feared that inflation in the country may increase due to the possibility of reduced production of rice and sugar due to drought. In view of this Thailand has decided to launch a digital wallet program to encourage investment financing through the national budget and taxes could further exacerbate the fiscal deficit.

The Thai government distributing money to its citizens is a policy to help stimulate the country's economy. Foreign tourist arrivals gives negative affections to domestic economy in Thailand. Local markets, tourism resorts and tourism jobs for local people are getting lower income. The another factor is that the demand for goods from Thailand's top trading partner, China, is also getting lower. Many factories struggle to sell their products without alternative market. The government hopes the policy will help to boost economic growth in Thailand.

[JoyMarsha]

The government in my country has been providing cash stimulus money for at least the last decade (new leader program). In its aim it is to "protect" the poor, but in reality it only maintains poverty levels. Someone who is poor becomes dependent on stimulus money and reduces their workload because they feel secure.

Absolutely. That will be the drawback of the stimulus funding provided. Many people(especially young people) won't want to work as hard because they believe that they will get stimulus money each month, which they can use to pay their bills and live their lives without trying to earn more money. However, I don't think this will apply to the people of Thailand because there are restrictions on the over a thousand dollars that were supposed to be handed to the country's 50 million population.

Citizens will not be able to convert the virtual wallet contents into cash, and the funds will need to be spent within six months of receiving them.

The authorities also want to control how the money is spent. Recipients of the government program will not be allowed to use the received funds for debt repayment, bill payment, tuition fees, gas and petrol purchases, gold or gemstones, internet products and services, alcohol, cigarettes, or marijuana.

[justdimin]

Question : is this a planned experiment regarding money supply manipulation and full control over society? Is this an attempt before implementing "temporary" currency internationally? A test on the population? What are your thoughts on this?

I do wonder what the end result of this will be, I can't say that I can predict it. Everyone thinks they know what's going to happen, but nobody says "let them do it, it doesn't bother me, I am not from there, so lets see how it happens and what are the results".

I think that could be something important and we could learn from it, if it sucks and it is terrible then we learned what not to do, and if it works and everyone is doing better then we learned a new idea what to do to improve a nation. These are all important stuff and we should not judge them, we should let them do whatever, it is like an experiment and the results will help us grow and use for our nation in the time to come, that matters a lot for all of us.

[jrrsparkles]

If the government can manage to give $1000 or even $100 to 50 million people without printing that money then it will do the job as suggested like helping the local vendors, bringing back the money circulation which is practically impossible and they will print money and give it to people which doesn't make any changes in the core and just decrease the purchasing power and increase the supply.

[Renampun]

...

That temporal limit is what worries me the most, governments giving ‘free’ money to their citizens once in a while is incredibly common so it should not be surprising at all.

However over the years there have been talks about governments around the world putting a time limit to the currency that you earn, and once that time passes then it can not be used any longer, and this is a huge threat as in essence governments will be making saving money an impossible activity, which will have huge implications about how the world economy has to be run.

saving is really just a waste of time, the fiat money we get now will not necessarily sell in the next 10 years, so if you get fiat money now, only use it for investment (buy gold or bitcoin), every few years, inflation causes us to have to spend more money to buy a product while our income does not increase. The Thai government may see that currently giving free money to their population is effective but in the long term it is completely ineffective.

[mv1986]

The policy of mass cash transfers was one of the campaign slogans of the centrist Pheu Thai Party (For Thais), which came to power in the Asian country in the summer. The aim is to stimulate the economy by giving the equivalent of over a thousand Dollars to 50 million people, encouraging them to spend more and thus helping local producers, shops, and small businesses. Under the influence of opposition criticism, Prime Minister Srettha slightly reduced the initially planned scale of the program, which was originally intended to cover 56 million people. Income limits and savings limits were introduced. Ultimately, anyone who is at least 16 years old, earns less than 70,000 baht per month, and has less than 500,000 baht in their bank account will be eligible for the transfer.


The money is intended to reach the broad masses of the population exclusively in electronic form, through an e-wallet available via the government application used by millions of Thai citizens. Citizens will not be able to convert the virtual wallet contents into cash, and the funds will need to be spent within six months of receiving them.

The authorities also want to control how the money is spent. Recipients of the government program will not be allowed to use the received funds for debt repayment, bill payment, tuition fees, gas and petrol purchases, gold or gemstones, internet products and services, alcohol, cigarettes, or marijuana.

-------------------------------------------

Question : is this a planned experiment regarding money supply manipulation and full control over society? Is this an attempt before implementing "temporary" currency internationally? A test on the population? What are your thoughts on this?

It would be helpful to know what this

The authorities also want to control how the money is spent.

means in detail. At first glance, it means that they can't spent the money on literally anything, for example things like gambling or using it to buy Bitcoin or any pleasure activity will be blocked/prohibited.

But while economic stimulation could be one reason to do this, gathering data and getting access to a person's private sphere could be another reason. I have no idea how the infrastructure is built out and whether the government has a good overview of who owns what, who consumes what and so on and so forth, but I can tell you that even in some European countries governments have severe problems to figure out the social and financial status of their citizens and to address citizens either all at once or based on selective requirements because they lack data necessary to decide who is eligible for support and who is not. If bureaucracy is an issue in a country, this kind of project may help to sensitize them for what's to come what has long been planned by the government.

[benalexis12]

The policy of mass cash transfers was one of the campaign slogans of the centrist Pheu Thai Party (For Thais), which came to power in the Asian country in the summer. The aim is to stimulate the economy by giving the equivalent of over a thousand Dollars to 50 million people, encouraging them to spend more and thus helping local producers, shops, and small businesses. Under the influence of opposition criticism, Prime Minister Srettha slightly reduced the initially planned scale of the program, which was originally intended to cover 56 million people. Income limits and savings limits were introduced. Ultimately, anyone who is at least 16 years old, earns less than 70,000 baht per month, and has less than 500,000 baht in their bank account will be eligible for the transfer.


The money is intended to reach the broad masses of the population exclusively in electronic form, through an e-wallet available via the government application used by millions of Thai citizens. Citizens will not be able to convert the virtual wallet contents into cash, and the funds will need to be spent within six months of receiving them.

The authorities also want to control how the money is spent. Recipients of the government program will not be allowed to use the received funds for debt repayment, bill payment, tuition fees, gas and petrol purchases, gold or gemstones, internet products and services, alcohol, cigarettes, or marijuana.

-------------------------------------------

Question : is this a planned experiment regarding money supply manipulation and full control over society? Is this an attempt before implementing "temporary" currency internationally? A test on the population? What are your thoughts on this?

What does this have to do with the Bitcoin issue here on the forum? Because it is clear that this topic you raised is a government policy that wants to be implemented for all the citizens under their jurisdiction. And it seems like it's still in the experimental period right now, if I'm not mistaken, right?

In addition to what the government of Thailand is doing, it seems like you have no secrets to hide from them; they want to control your entire privacy. I don't agree with what the country of Thailand is doing, to be honest. This is just my opinion; I don't know about the rest of us.

[jacafbiz]

There is no doubt people are in need of financial incentives because of the high inflation all over the world but the problem I have with this kind of financial incentive is that most of it goes towards consumption, if the government can find a way to push the funds towards production the positive impact will be greatly felt in the economy but from history especially in countries with high corruption level most of these fund ends up being stolen whereby living the citizen worse off.

[Freddie Boyer]

The money is intended to reach the broad masses of the population exclusively in electronic form, through an e-wallet available via the government application used by millions of Thai citizens. Citizens will not be able to convert the virtual wallet contents into cash, and the funds will need to be spent within six months of receiving them.

The authorities also want to control how the money is spent. Recipients of the government program will not be allowed to use the received funds for debt repayment, bill payment, tuition fees, gas and petrol purchases, gold or gemstones, internet products and services, alcohol, cigarettes, or marijuana.

This is a good step from the Thai government and could be a form of realization for the president during the campaign before he ascended, but in my opinion this discourse could be considered by some people there or other parties as being forced and having excessive intervention in the private lives of citizens (Full Control over Society )

I might agree with the use of electronic wallets as a pattern for controlling outgoing funds because it can facilitate distribution and ensure that the aid is actually used for consumption, in accordance with the government's objectives.

[el kaka22]

Not really that shocking, that is what printing of money looks like. We need to remember two things, first of all governments do not have their own money, they do not make money, they do not have income, they just tax you and then in this case give you the money back, equally to everyone no matter how much you were taxed.

Secondly, we need to remember that no matter if you do a good thing or a bad thing for a nation, as long as you do not have a sustained thing, it will not matter. Even the worst thing possible, unless it is for a very long period of time, I do not think that it will matter all that much, we should realize that we need to do a lot better with some time and that means that we need to be careful about it.