Thai treasury reserves down 85% since coup

[travelerjim]

Alarming financial report for Thailand

Thai treasury reserves down 85% since coup

http://www.khaosodenglish.com/politics/ ... ince-coup/

WOW

Tj

[mahjongguy]

It's not happy news, no, but that's the price of populism.

And, it's mostly an internal matter. Foreign reserves are much more important, and those numbers are pleasingly plump.

[Bob]

A couple of years after the 2006 coup, the head dude (the army general stooge that was appointed as Prime Minister) gave a telling interview where he acknowledged that the army had every capability to take over the government but actually had no clue how to run one. A bit of rare honesty there.

The old adage that one can pretty much find out what's happening by "following the money" remains as true now as it was then. Following the 2006 coup, the coup makers in the first year increased the military budget by 40%+ and no doubt the current stooges running the place have made sure that there is no lack of funds for the armed forces. The large number* of guys of the upper military echelon are incredibly wealthy.....and it's a wealth that in no way can be derived or computed from the official salaries they've received.

[*The United States has a total of 964 flag officers (meaning generals and admirals) whereas Thailand has 1,750 flag officers. And, last I looked, the US has about 5 times the population of Thailand.....go figure.]

[Alex]

A couple of years after the 2006 coup, the head dude (the army general stooge that was appointed as Prime Minister) gave a telling interview where he acknowledged that the army had every capability to take over the government but actually had no clue how to run one. A bit of rare honesty there.

I don't recall that interview, but if that's what he said, he made an excellent point. This time around, with all their magic super powers and quite a long time in self-appointed office, they get surprisingly little done. Whether it's a simple MRT connection between two lines less than a mile apart, a pet project like fixing lottery ticket prices or a complex endeavor like the Chinese high speed railway cooperation, it all gets screwed up somewhere along the way almost without failure. Just goes to show that even absolute power isn't enough to get things done, or maybe it is just an illusion.

[Dodger]

Well...look at this on the bright side. With only 15% of the cash left it should be pretty soon before they allow free elections...

[Alex]

That, or they might tax the living .... out of us. They've already increased the tax on jet fuel by a whopping 1900℅.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/tou ... e-defended

[thaiworthy]

Sansern speaks like a true politician.