Penny-pinching plans: Finance ministry’s welfare budget shuffle in the works

In an attempt to ease the strain on government spending, the Ministry of Finance is contemplating new measures regarding the allocation of the public welfare budget, an anonymous source from the finance ministry disclosed.

This primarily pertains to the bracket of public welfare budget expenditure which, the source identifies, consists of redundant items that do not necessarily correlate with the section of the population who are most in need of welfare payments.

One glaring example of this mismatch surrounds the old age allowance (OAA) scheme which currently pays progressive rates ranging from 600 to 1,000 baht monthly, relative to the age of the beneficiary. For instance, individuals aged between 60 to 69 are allotted 600 baht, those aged 70 to 79 get 700 baht, those aged 80 to 89 are granted 800 baht, and those aged 90 and above receive…