Solving poverty goes beyond writing cheques

COMMENTARY

Solving poverty goes beyond writing cheques

Published: 4 Oct 2012 at 00.00
Newspaper section: News

The pungent smell of tobacco, urine and sweat reek of despair and degradation in the heat of the noon sun. How can they stand it? Hundreds, perhaps thousands of people, many old, some young, spread out on simple bamboo mats laid out on the asphalt in hopes of attracting attention from those beyond the tall steel gates.

Farmers stage a sit-in outside the Finance Ministry’s gates on Sept 27 as they call for debt restructuring reform. Over past weeks, they have travelled from afar to beg for help. APICHART JINAKUL

I doubt anyone will listen.

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Aussie John
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Discussion 2 : 04 Oct 2012 at 05.322
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As long as the country exists in a neo-feudal like state all aspirations of alleviating poverty will come to nothing, as all those on the hierarchical food chain see it as their right to take a bigger bite of the tax payers pie. Thai politics and business is patrimonial with investment securely centralised to those in wealthy families and the cronies that support them. Ones status is based on wealth and connections, connections that go right up into the government. With so many feeding of the pie, the poor are left with no only the crumbs but hollow promises. If only Thailand had a group of people who with true altruistic vision could reform what has for decades corroded to what it has become today.
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spiceman
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Discussion 1 : 04 Oct 2012 at 03.561
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Yes, absolutely. Throwing money at the problem only makes it worse. Just look at bankrupting Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and even the USA!
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Solving poverty goes beyond writing cheques | Bangkok Post: opinion