The Shocking Reality of Poverty in Thailand: A Firsthand Account

[meteor]

I suppose that some of the members of PF have a job. In that case what's your wage? Not that I want to ransack the houses of the richest ones, just being curious

My wage is $1014 per month (860 euros/month). Perhaps is not a great deal in the states, but here is not a bad wage

 

[zanazzi78]

I checked Don`t have a job since i`m a student but before i went back to uni i used to earn abour 2000Euro a month

 

[mattmns]

I don't work either. And you are right, $1014/month is not much above minimum wage here in the US.

 

[inha]

I don't work either. And you are right, $1014/month is not much above minimum wage here in the US.

Is there a national minimum wage in the US? I was just wondering about that since living expenses vary pretty dramatically around the US.

Anyways I make about $100 more a month than meteor. I work only 20 hrs a week though.

 

[inha]

who makes 8-15k a month? Do you have a lot of valuable property at your house? I'm just checking because uhm... if you do you should get insurance if you don't have one already.

 

[mattmns]

Is there a national minimum wage in the US? I was just wondering about that since living expenses vary pretty dramatically around the US.
Anyways I make about $100 more a month than meteor. I work only 20 hrs a week though.

Yes there is a national minimum wage. Also, quite a few places have their own minimum wage.

 

[brewnog]

I work 37 hours a week on a pityful salary as a graduate engineer. Should start to go up a little bit soon, but I think I'll have to move to the US to make any decent money out of it. Boooo!

 

[FredGarvin]

I work 37 hours a week on a pityful salary as a graduate engineer. Should start to go up a little bit soon, but I think I'll have to move to the US to make any decent money out of it. Boooo!

I wouldn't hold onto that assumption too tightly Brews. The way things are going over here, there looks like there will be a pretty major shift in the next ten years or so. In the US, the mantra is that unless you are a business major or a lawyer, you're going to get the shaft.

BTW...I don't know what it's like in other countries, but it is in bad fashion here to ask someone how much they make. Just a little FYI.

 

[Evo]

I don't know, a friend of mine is an engineer and in Sicily was making about $1,000/mo. It was ridiculous. He could make a bit more in northern Italy, but not anywhere near what he would make in the US and the cost of living is higher in Italy. He owns his own company now, the only way he could get ahead.

 

[Entropy]

Jobs are for suckers.

 

[Cyrus]

Half of the world’s population earns under $1.00 a day. Count your blessings. This is why I save every dime I can get my hands on. I am afraid for our country's economy. Pretty soon all our jobs will be outsourced, and the ones left will be McDonalds for cheap immigrant labor...

 

[Entropy]

Half of the world’s population earns under $1.00 a day. Count your blessings.

This is deceptive because most of the world doesn't have to pay nearly as much for things like food, shelter, clothes, etc. It's like going to Mexico and buying stuff at a fraction of the cost it would cost in America. So just because they only make a dollar a day doesn't mean they are deprived.

 

[Jelfish]

Also, we aren't trained to be completely self-sufficient. We specialize in vocations to promote trade. If you live in the middle of nowhere but are able to supply yourself with the necessary food/water and shelter, then of course your daily salary will be very low, if existant.

 

[Cyrus]

Utter, nonsense. Those same people don't have good educations, and sustain themselves through begging, or making simple goods or doing simple services. I will take you to a poor country to open your eyes. I guess you don't care for things like hospital, electricity, heating, a car, etc, etc, etc...BASIC necessities in a modern world.

 

[Evo]

I saw terrible poverty when I went to Thailand. People lived under sheets of tin that they leaned against the guardrail along the road. They would cook their communal meals in a single steel drum at one end of the street. The average income is equivalent to $20 US per year.

 

[Astronuc]

I saw terrible poverty when I went to Thailand. People lived under sheets of tin that they leaned against the guardrail along the road. They would cook their communal meals in a single steel drum at one end of the street. The average income is equivalent to $20 US per year.

I can take one to places like that in the US. However, many shelters provide food - breakfast, lunch and/or dinner - and some provide overnight shelter. Of course, many people in this situation have mentally illness in varying degrees, many have poor education, and quite a few have drug and alcohol abuse problems (which is sometimes tied to mental illness).

So just because they only make a dollar a day doesn't mean they are deprived.

Unfortunately, yes it does. While cost is certainly relative, even a dollar a day means one is deprived - not only does this mean that one often must resort to scavenging or begging, but infant mortality is high, disease and illness are too frequent and common in the population, and life expectancy is in the 30-40 year range.

Some statistics - http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0908763.html

See also - http://pubs.wri.org/pubs_maps_description.cfm?ImageID=2264 (life expectancy in Africa)

 

[Maxwell]

$2000/month when I'm not at school. I'm fortunate enough to not have to work while I attend university.

 

[recon]

We're well-off in Brunei. I'm still in high school, and the chances are good that I'll be awarded a scholarship for university education as they hand them out by the dozens each year. We're a country of only 370,000 so that's not as glorious as it sounds (I'm no genius!). The ratio is actually something like a scholarship handed out to every 100 people.

If I get the scholarship, I am guaranteed a job straight out of university, earning US$2000 a month - pretty good, considering the living cost here is relatively cheap. Oh, and there's absolutely no tax at all. In fact, tax is a foreign concept to me.

 

[moose]

Does anyone else think that the gap between 8k and 15k is a little too big? There is a huge difference between 96k a year and 180k a year.I don't have a job o.o yet, I've applied to some...places

 

[Evo]

We're well-off in Brunei. I'm still in high school, and the chances are good that I'll be awarded a scholarship for university education as they hand them out by the dozens each year. We're a country of only 370,000 so that's not as glorious as it sounds (I'm no genius!). The ratio is actually something like a scholarship handed out to every 100 people.

If I get the scholarship, I am guaranteed a job straight out of university, earning US$2000 a month - pretty good, considering the living cost here is relatively cheap. Oh, and there's absolutely no tax at all. In fact, tax is a foreign concept to me.

Hey recon, glad you're back! We miss you!

 

[Entropy]

Also, we aren't trained to be completely self-sufficient. We specialize in vocations to promote trade. If you live in the middle of nowhere but are able to supply yourself with the necessary food/water and shelter, then of course your daily salary will be very low, if existant.

Exactly, most are probably substistance farmers that grow everything they need themselves.

Utter, nonsense. Those same people don't have good educations, and sustain themselves through begging, or making simple goods or doing simple services. I will take you to a poor country to open your eyes. I guess you don't care for things like hospital, electricity, heating, a car, etc, etc, etc...BASIC necessities in a modern world.

People don't NEED heating or cars. I live just fine without them. And what's wrong with making simple goods and services?

 

[Entropy]

I saw terrible poverty when I went to Thailand. People lived under sheets of tin that they leaned against the guardrail along the road. They would cook their communal meals in a single steel drum at one end of the street. The average income is equivalent to $20 US per year

My friend recently went to Thailand to witness and do vollunteer work instead of starting college. It blew my mind. He was really bright too, won awards all the time in school.