Income inequality remains a big problem to be solved in Thailand
By Jon Fernquest
In
her weekly Bangkok Post column yesterday veteran journalist Sanitsuda
Ekachai [Twitter: @Sanitsuda] discusses income
inequality
in Thailand.Also check out The Historical Origins of Populism at the Australian National University (ANU) New Mandala blog.
Today's editorial in the Bangkok Post (here) and also an article (here) also discuss income inequality in Thailand.
Today's article also includes a lot of Thai vocabulary equivalents to English words.
The following is an extract (See full article here):
Country's in for it in a very bad way
26/11/2009Sanitsuda Ekachai
...How can normalcy return when the root problem of extreme economic disparity remains unaddressed? How extreme? Prof Pasuk Phongpaichit did not leave room for doubt about our shamelessly unfair society in her recent keynote speech on "Towards a Fair Society" at the King Prachadhipok Institute conference. Among the glaring facts [after vocabulary]:
income inequality - how
big the differences in income (and therefore wealth) are between
different groups in a society (See Wikipedia)
X is "in for it in a very bad way" - X is going to have a bad experience
return to normalcy - return to a normal situation
root problem - the most important and central problem (that causes all other problems)
disparity - a big difference between two things ความแตกต่างกัน
economic disparity - big differences in income between people in an economy
problem remains unaddressed - people are still not trying to solve problem
doubt - not know for sure if something is true or false, uncertain
did not leave room for doubt - was very persuasive and convincing
keynote speech - the first speech of a big meeting or conference (that provides the general ideas or theme of the meeting)
King Prachadhipok Institute - a research institute devoted to democracy in Thailand (See website and history) สถาบันพระปกเกล้า
glaring facts - things that are obviously true
X is "in for it in a very bad way" - X is going to have a bad experience
return to normalcy - return to a normal situation
root problem - the most important and central problem (that causes all other problems)
disparity - a big difference between two things ความแตกต่างกัน
economic disparity - big differences in income between people in an economy
problem remains unaddressed - people are still not trying to solve problem
doubt - not know for sure if something is true or false, uncertain
did not leave room for doubt - was very persuasive and convincing
keynote speech - the first speech of a big meeting or conference (that provides the general ideas or theme of the meeting)
King Prachadhipok Institute - a research institute devoted to democracy in Thailand (See website and history) สถาบันพระปกเกล้า
glaring facts - things that are obviously true
- The top 20% own 69% of the country's assets while the bottom 20% own only 1%.
- 42% of bank savings money comes from only 70,000 bank accounts holding more than 10 million baht. They make up only 0.09% of all bank accounts in the country. In other words, less than 1% of the people own nearly half of the country's savings.
- Among the farming families, nearly 20% of them are landless, or about 811,871 families, while 1-1.5 million farming families are tenants or struggling with insufficient land.
- 10% of land owners own more than 100 rai each, while the rest 90% own one rai or less.
- On income distribution, the top 20% enjoy more than 50% of the gross domestic product while the bottom 20% only 4%.
- The average income of the bottom 20% is the same as the poverty line at 1,443 baht per month.
- The gap between the richest and poorest family is 13 times, higher than all our neighbouring countries.
assets - a thing of
value with an owner ทรัพย์สิน
tenants - renters of land, apartment, office or other real estate ผู้เช่า
insufficient - not sufficient, not enough ไม่พอ
income distribution - how a country’s total income economy is distributed amongst its population (either equally or unequally) (See Wikipedia) การกระจายรายได้
tenants - renters of land, apartment, office or other real estate ผู้เช่า
insufficient - not sufficient, not enough ไม่พอ
income distribution - how a country’s total income economy is distributed amongst its population (either equally or unequally) (See Wikipedia) การกระจายรายได้
A fairer taxation system could reduce this economic disparity, she said. This can be done by expanding the base of direct taxpayers, introducing progressive land, inheritance, capital gains and interest taxes, for example. Unfortunately, the current taxation system worsens economic disparity by allowing easy tax evasion among the super rich while focusing on direct taxation which treats the poor the same as the rich. Talk about justice!
State expenditure on free education, public health welfare, a comprehensive social security system and better agricultural policies have proven elsewhere to help bridge the gap, she said.
the poverty line -
the income that officially divides poor people from not-poor people
(below the "povery line" income and you are poor)
expanding the base of direct taxpayers, introducing -
progress - advance, go forward ก้าวหน้า
progressive tax - when high-income earners pay a higher percentage of their income as tax than low-income earners (See Wikipedia) ภาษีก้าวหน้า
regress - go backwards, move backwards ถอยหลัง
regressive tax - when low-income earners pay a higher percentage of their income as tax than high-income earners (See Wikipedia) ภาษีถอยหลัง
inheritance - money and things that you receive from a person when they die
capital gains - profits from sale of an asset กำไรจากการขายทรัพย์สิน
capital gains tax - a tax on profits from sale of an asset ภาษีกำไรจากการขายทรัพย์สิน
interest taxes - taxes paid on interest that banks pay for keeping money in a bank account
evasion - การหลีกเลี่ยง
tax evasion - the crime of not paying taxes การหลีกเลี่ยงภาษี
direct taxation - tax collected directly from people or companies person (e.g. income tax)
justice - when people are treated fairly and equally (See Wikipedia) ความยุติธรรม
comprehensive - complete, includes everything needed ที่ครอบคลุม
social security system -
bridge the gap - bridge the income gap, end the income difference
expanding the base of direct taxpayers, introducing -
progress - advance, go forward ก้าวหน้า
progressive tax - when high-income earners pay a higher percentage of their income as tax than low-income earners (See Wikipedia) ภาษีก้าวหน้า
regress - go backwards, move backwards ถอยหลัง
regressive tax - when low-income earners pay a higher percentage of their income as tax than high-income earners (See Wikipedia) ภาษีถอยหลัง
inheritance - money and things that you receive from a person when they die
capital gains - profits from sale of an asset กำไรจากการขายทรัพย์สิน
capital gains tax - a tax on profits from sale of an asset ภาษีกำไรจากการขายทรัพย์สิน
interest taxes - taxes paid on interest that banks pay for keeping money in a bank account
evasion - การหลีกเลี่ยง
tax evasion - the crime of not paying taxes การหลีกเลี่ยงภาษี
direct taxation - tax collected directly from people or companies person (e.g. income tax)
justice - when people are treated fairly and equally (See Wikipedia) ความยุติธรรม
comprehensive - complete, includes everything needed ที่ครอบคลุม
social security system -
bridge the gap - bridge the income gap, end the income difference
In Thailand, however, the amount of state expenditure is not only too small, most of them benefit the cities, thus worsening the gap between the rich and the poor.
The lack of political will among the power cliques and corruption are apparently Thailand's biggest obstacles. But the decline of public trust in parliamentary/money politics is no reason to debunk it, she insists. It is still the best system to allow democracy to grow more strongly, to effect fair taxation and state spending for the public good, to fight corruption and facilitate peaceful conflict resolution. "We just need to be patient."
...without fixing the stark economic disparity through fairer taxation and state expenditure, the country's prospects ahead are indeed grim.
will - the
determination and drive to do or achieve something ความตั้งใจ
political will - the drive to achieve some political goals
a clique - a group of close friends (hostile to those outside group) กลุ่มคนที่สมาคมเฉพาะพวกของตน
power cliques - a group of powerful politicians (competing against other powerful politicians)
obstacles - things that makes it difficult to go somewhere or do something อุปสรรค
debunk - show that something that people believe is not true แสดงให้เห็นว่าความคิดหรือความเชื่อนั้นผิด
facilitate - help, make it easier for project to achieve goals ทำให้ง่าย
conflict – an angry disagreement and fighting between people or groups ความขัดแย้ง
conflict resolution - the process of ending fighting between groups การแก้ไขความขัดแย้ง
facilitate peaceful conflict resolution - help groups end fighting (in a peaceful way, using peaceful methods)
patient – staying calm and not get annoying (if you have to wait a long time or people do not do what you want, for example) อดทน, อดกลั้น
stark - harsh and unpleasant
disparity - a big difference between two things ความแตกต่างกัน
stark economic disparity - harsh and unpleasant income inequality
prospects (noun) - the possibility that certain things will happen in the future การคาดหวัง
grim (adjective) - unpleasant, upsetting, depressing, difficult to accept
grim prospects - unpleasant things are likely to happen in the future การคาดหวังน่ากังวล
political will - the drive to achieve some political goals
a clique - a group of close friends (hostile to those outside group) กลุ่มคนที่สมาคมเฉพาะพวกของตน
power cliques - a group of powerful politicians (competing against other powerful politicians)
obstacles - things that makes it difficult to go somewhere or do something อุปสรรค
debunk - show that something that people believe is not true แสดงให้เห็นว่าความคิดหรือความเชื่อนั้นผิด
facilitate - help, make it easier for project to achieve goals ทำให้ง่าย
conflict – an angry disagreement and fighting between people or groups ความขัดแย้ง
conflict resolution - the process of ending fighting between groups การแก้ไขความขัดแย้ง
facilitate peaceful conflict resolution - help groups end fighting (in a peaceful way, using peaceful methods)
patient – staying calm and not get annoying (if you have to wait a long time or people do not do what you want, for example) อดทน, อดกลั้น
stark - harsh and unpleasant
disparity - a big difference between two things ความแตกต่างกัน
stark economic disparity - harsh and unpleasant income inequality
prospects (noun) - the possibility that certain things will happen in the future การคาดหวัง
grim (adjective) - unpleasant, upsetting, depressing, difficult to accept
grim prospects - unpleasant things are likely to happen in the future การคาดหวังน่ากังวล
| grim – unpleasant and making you feel upset and worried ที่โหดร้าย | |||||||||
@Sanitsuda Ekachai is Assistant Editor (Outlook), Bangkok Post.
Email: sanitsudae@bangkokpost.co.th
(Source: Bangkok Post, Country's in for it in a very bad way, 26/11/2009, Sanitsuda Ekachai, link)
