Budgetary provisions are under scrutiny as Thailand’s House of Representatives is currently in the process of vetting the much-delayed budget bill for fiscal 2024. The total outlay is 3.48 trillion baht (US$99 billion).
Public attention has turned to the widening income and wealth inequality, which has plagued Thailand for long. There has been a growing debate about the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.
State officials vs the people
The government has allocated close to 1 trillion baht for welfare spending on state officials and other citizens in fiscal year 2024. A look at the figures reveals the stark disparity in the per capita spending allocation for state officials as compared to other citizens.
The welfare budget for state employees and their families is 499 billion baht, Chat Khamsaeng, director at 101 Public Policy Think Tank who dug into the details of the…
