The apparent decision to stay away from the Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives signals another big problem for the government’s flagship policy.
In case the digital wallet scheme cannot go ahead as planned but the funding somehow becomes available and the government still wants to spend, there are other possibilities.
But first off, let’s put Bt450 billion (the latest amount of money the programme will reportedly cost) into perspective.
If the whole amount comes as 100-baht banknotes, they can go around the world almost 17 times if laid down end to end. That’s 675,000 kilometres.
One can even almost travel to the moon and come back, because the distance between the earth and its nearest celestial neighbour is 384,400 kilometres.
Tuvalu, a small island nation in the Pacific Ocean, has a national budget (annual) of around $50 million and $60 million. $60 million is a little more than Bt2.1 billion.
Granted, that country’s population is minuscule, smaller than many Thai districts, but spending Bt450 billion in one year would be unfathomable to anyone there, government or ordinary citizens.
But if the Pheu Thai-led government still wants to use up Bt450 billion in addition to the routine expenditure, here are some proposals:
1. Give some money to school dropouts. Recently, it was reported that a million Thai children have to involuntarily leave school, largely because of financial reasons.
Imagine Bt50,000 is given to each. That would cost just about Bt50 billion. Double that and it would be only Bt100 billion.
2. The most budget-friendly Kindle (the world’s most popular E-reader) is Bt3,100 give or take. Less famous brands or bulk purchases will be even cheaper.
Bt10 billion could buy more than 322,000 Kindles for the same number of school children. Another Bt200 million shall be set aside for setting up facilities and infrastructure.
3. 1+2 would cost just a bit over Bt110 billion (assuming each of the 1 million school dropout is given Bt100,000). We are still left with more than Bt339
billion. How about tax breaks for those who desperately need it. Bt150 billion could help a big number of struggling families.
4. Students or first jobbers who pass wealth screening should be able to ride public transport including provincial buses freely until Bt100 billion runs out. (School dropouts getting the imaginary subsidy can even be excluded from this.)
If the youngsters need Bt100 for transport every day, Bt100 billion can sponsor 1 billion days of travelling.
Assuming a subsidy period is around 1,500 days, a person would need around Bt150,000. Bt100 billion would benefit more than 660,000 young people who really need it.
5. We still have about Bt88-89 billion left after 1+2+3+4. How about using that to support poor couples who want to have kids? Raising a child is pricey, but in case a needy couple got Bt100,000 per child, the remaining fund could help or encourage nearly 90,000 couples.
All of the above runs against a major principle of digital wallet, which is the idea that the programme should be blanket.
Under the government’s agenda, about 50 million Thais or a little fewer would be given Bt10,000 each which they are expected to spend and hence stimulate the national economy.
In addition to being blanket, digital wallet is controversial for two other main reasons: It allegedly defies monetary disciplines of the state, and unnecessarily (also allegedly) requires creation and installment of a new app while an old one should do.
There are lesser arguments as well. For example, despite all the rules being set up by the government, some have already found loopholes.
Opponents have admitted that it may be hard to beat the salary rule, unless the employers agree to risk themselves and cooperate, that is.
However, the money-in-the-bank limit can be outsmarted, especially by those who don’t have too much above the set ceiling.
Say if one has Bt200,000 above the limit, it shouldn’t be difficult to reduce it so it matches the requirement. Maybe the Bt200,000 can be withdrawn and kept as cash at home for a while in order to get Bt10,000 in state money.
The authorities may investigate suspicious withdrawals, but lies like home renovation, or flopped investment, or payment to scammers, are not hard to tell.
The salary and bank money limits are also controversial, because many consider them to be too high.
Numbers are likely to be adjusted some more, yet, in the end, people earning tens of thousands of baht per month and having half a million in the bank would still be eligible.
Are they really needy?
By announcing that digital wallet will cost the government Bt450 billion instead of Bt500 billion, the Srettha administration has managed to distance itself from the BAAC without losing much face.
However, problems spawned by this agenda go far beyond the farmers’ bank.
It comes down to the question of who will benefit. So far, support for the programme is due almost entirely to the fact that virtually everyone loves free money.
If one has a choice between getting Bt10,000 and having three poor students at a village 300 kilometres away get one e-reader each, of course he or she will most likely take the first option.
That doesn’t mean getting Bt10,000 is good or morally right, though. It simply goes to show that greed and cutthroat electoral politics feed on each other, and that “populist” politics can be malignant and make numbers more important than conscience.
By Tulsathit Taptim
(Writer’s note: Sincere apology if some calculations are incorrect.)
