A majority of elderly people given 10,000 baht each under the second phase of the cash handout said the scheme influenced their support for the government, while many would still back it regardless of the stimulus program’s existence, Nida Poll shows.
The opinion survey was conducted nationwide by the National Institute of Development on Feb 3-5, with 1,310 respondents aged 60 and over of various levels of education and income.
Asked if they would give political support to the Pheu Thai-led government now that they and/or their family members had received the 10,000-baht handout under the economic stimulus programme, the answers varied as follows:
44.89% said the programme influenced their support for the government.
30.69% said they would support the government regardless of the stimulus programme’s existence.
14.35% said they would not support the government under any circumstances.
10.07% said they were not sure and had not decided yet.
According to the survey data, 47.10% of the respondents were housewives/househusbands/retirees/jobless and 41.07% had no income.
Asked what the respondents had spent the 10,000-baht cash handout on, the answers were as follows:
86.18% daily expenses (including utility bills and petrol)
26.26% health-related expenses (e.g., buying medicines, seeing a doctor)
13.66% repaying debt
11.98% saving for future expenses
9.24% buying goods for reselling
8.70% education expenses
4.35% buying underground/government lottery tickets
1.76% purchasing electrical appliances
0.53% buying mobile phones/ IT devices
0.46% travel expenses
0.38% entertainment purposes (e.g., partying, buying alcohol or cigarettes)
