Much of the PDRC's anger is directed at what it sees as the government's populist policies; policies which, it claims, send resources to the North and Northeast and are tantamount to buying votes. But what seems to get little attention is the fact that Bangkok and indeed the South _ strongholds of the Democrats and the PDRC _ continue to enjoy vastly higher receipts of government expenditure in absolute terms and, even more so, on a per capita basis.
According to research by the World Bank in 2012 (and available via its website), Bangkok's share of total government expenditure, on a per capita basis, is 14 times higher, and the South's two times higher, than the rest of Thailand.
The bank made the following summary: Even correcting for the fact that Bangkok is the administrative capital for the country, such a concentration of expenditure is extreme. Service delivery disparities mirror expenditure disparities. In the health sector there are three times more doctors per capita in Bangkok than in other regions. While in the education sector the teacher per student ratio is much lower in the North and the Northeast than Bangkok and the Central region. These disparities are correlated to human development outcomes.
While some of the actual policies chosen by the government to channel a larger flow of resources to regions outside Bangkok and the South may have been ill-conceived _ the rice-pledging scheme being a case in point _ it is clear that future governments, whoever they may be controlled by, will need to find ways to address this glaring inequality and will need to convince Bangkokians that the disproportionately large slice of the cake which they currently enjoy is unsustainable.
CHARLES HORNER
Springing into action
Robin Grant (''The kidnapper is coming'', PostBag, Jan 16) disagreed with my view that the country's moral and ethical standards had improved. I agree that Suthep Thaugsuban could hardly be cited as an example.
However, it is the consequence of Mr Suthep's initiative that has stirred the improvements. Never again will any majority party oppress the minority in the way the Pheu Thai Party and the Shinawatra family have done in forcing its unsavoury legislation down our throats. Their conduct ignited the ''Thai Spring''. Their previous tolerable conduct has now become intolerable and regarded as unethical and immoral. Hence, standards have now improved just like in Tunisia, the cradle of the Arab Spring.
SONGDEJ PRADITSMANONT
Thaksin not the disease
The PDRC movement will never succeed in winning the hearts and minds of Thais without first taking a good long look in the mirror. Ugly shades of elitism, racism, sexism and censorship continue to surface in speeches and interviews. These elements contribute nothing to the goals of the protesters and serve only to alienate the many marginalised groups who nonetheless are going to have a say in the country's future, whether the PDRC gets its way or not.
Thaksin Shinawatra and his family's influence are not the underlying disease causing national division, as many protesters would have us believe, but are a symptom of a disease that has been festering for many years _ the treatment of many Thais by their fellow compatriots as second-class citizens, not worthy of sharing the same political space or of having desires and ideas that the government should respond to. Rather than asking why one man and his family have been allowed to dominate Thai politics for so long, protesters would be wiser to look for the answer in themselves. The mirror is waiting.
DEBATE 101
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