Well, I wish the Thailand economy was as hot as the weather. I'm here in Bangkok on a business trip of sorts and while here naturally I would be checking out the action on the stockmarket and goings on economy wise.
There are rumblings of a coup here at the moment, where the "PAD" a people's democracy movement are trying to overthrow the nation's leader. This is naturally having an affect on the local stockmarket and their stock index has waivered in the last couple of days.
Looking around the country though any natural born capitalist, or one who has joined the movement recently, would be excited at the industrial nature of commerce and industry. The economy is of course highly controlled by a benevolent dictatorship(my own estimation) but that doesn't stop the nations people from trying to reach their obvious economic dream of having all the western accoutrement's.
If our tour guide is accurate in her figures, one of the main reasons for the locals and their fastidious work rate is the personal tax system. A range from 3% to a maximum of 30% is a definite incentive to get the country moving in a forward economic direction.
Our corrupt socialist Labour Party New Zealand leaders should take note. Our high tax rate is of course strangling our economy to death. Take my word, the Thai people are very poor as a whole today and the economy is struggling but give them 10 years or so and they will be richer than New Zealand. Far richer.
The constraints of red tape and planning procedures also don't hamper the forwards progress of the Thai economy. Factories belch lovely coloured smoke and their water is undrinkable. The 19th century industrial process is a little late in coming here. You have to let them have it though. It would be greedy and hypocritical of the Western World to hamper them with the Global Warming madness and other business constraints. Time and money will take care of the environment.
Leaving the hotel after this I will be confronted with a million people trying to take a Baht or 2 off me to help feed their families. It is in your face, exciting and entrepreneurial to the extreme. All that New Zealand business seems to lack at present, and has done for a long time.
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Notes from San Francisco
c Share Investor 2008
