Sweet election pledges for Isaan

sargeant · Post by **sargeant** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 9:53 am

all good posts i agree with you guess on most of it only to me if both sides do it then both sides should be equally called to book which was the case

just one question what are all the issaan people on silicon valley/production line gonna eat somebody has to grow food

and lastly will they who still grow rice still be taking the money for there votes to top up their subsistance incomes

Post by **lomuamart** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 11:33 am

Don't worry Sarge, there will be plenty of people up there who will continue to grow rice. After all, Thailand is the biggest exporter of the stuff in the world. As long as "western" demand dosn't contract, this country will always have a market abroad - and they can fill their bellies as well. Hopefully, the farmers will get a good deal.
On another and more general note about politics. It's amazing how much interest this thread has generated - bearing in mind we (as farangs) do not have the right to vote.
So, probably we "vote with our feet". That's a big assumption, but I think it's true in my case. Ie, any policies that are in any way negative to me, whether economically or visa wise, are obviously going to be unpopular with me. Dosn't matter from which side of the political field they come.
They also will potentially affect my wife and for that reason she gets interested. It's her life as well and I hope she's realised that my future here on sifting Immigration sands is always precarious.
So VOTE........ Na, can't be bothered. I can't anyway.

sargeant · Post by **sargeant** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 5:50 pm

you are right lomu but one thing is for sure people /manual /farm/agriculture workers will always be the poor relations in the workplace, it is sad but a fact which i cannot see changing.
In my country the manual workers are now educated and sit on their bums drawing dole or benefits too inteligent to do manual labour or any labour for that matter and and the poles and other migrant workers do it (doesnt say a lot for education) and before i get slated of course i am as fervent in wanting education for everyone as anybody else is
And contrary to what i may portray i have the same insecurity of visa as everybody more so in that the rate of exchange could decide stay or leave for me.
However i Knew that before i came i Knew it when i came and (if anything it has got slightly easier) and i still know it now i just dont blame thais for it I put myself in this situation and me alone and i take resposibility for my actions and always have
Just one small item of interest i am getting married next month i asked immigration and was told DO NOT change to marriage visa stay on retirement

any idea why lomu

Post by **lomuamart** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 6:46 pm

Yes. Easy, they don't want the hassle of visiting your house, processing all the paperwork to BKK and back etc etc.
So, retirement is an easier option for them. And they can do that on the spot.
Simple as that. "Marriage/family" extensions have to be cleared by BKK.
Oh, and don't forget that an extension based on "marriage"/family income" is 25,000 per mth Baht lower than the retirement amount. Ie: 40K vs 65K a month.
They just don't want us to marry their women.
Sarge, I'd be interested to hear how you get on with the "marriage" extension. If that falls flat on its face, I'm sure you're over 50, so go for retirement. However, read above.

sargeant · Post by **sargeant** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 7:56 pm

Thanks lomu that explains a lot
I am on a retirement visa but if the thai baht falls to 61/62 baht its touch and feely if i would make the 800,000 a year figure
By the way that does not mean the rate i get at the bank the 61/62 figure would be the figure they use and they are not the same
I will stick to the retirement visa for now but will be watching their rate of exchange
sorry for going of topic one and all

Post by **Big Boy** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 8:04 pm

Sarge,

Do you not have a letter from the British Embassy? If so, does it quote your income in Pounds or Baht? I've always (rightly or wrongly) assumed that it would quote Baht. If my assumption is right, surely you only get that letter once - therefore, does it really matter what happens to the exchange rate?

sargeant · Post by **sargeant** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 8:44 pm

I dont want to be accused of hijacking a thread the answer BB is i dont know? i had one for my initial visa 4 years ago,but they wanted a bank book for 3 renewals now they dont want a bank book they want a letter and i wont know until june next year

Post by **Big Boy** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 9:41 pm

Thanks, please let me know how you get on.

You are quite right, we shouldn't be hijacking this thread.

Post by **Norseman** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 10:32 pm

I think that most embassy's will state the amount in your own country's currency and further say "this is equivalent to THB xxxxx"
That is at least what my embassy states.

Post by **Big Boy** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 11:12 pm

We're still off topic

The point I'm trying to make/clarify is that once you've got that bit of paper, you don't have to get it again (or do you?). So if you've got a piece of paper from your embassy stating that you have an income equivalent to being excess of 800,000 Baht per year, I would have assumed that it would be valid for the rest of your life.

Post by **Norseman** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 11:35 pm

Hi BB.

No, valid only for a year I'm afraid.
You'll need it once a year if you want to get your one year visa.

Post by **Big Boy** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 11:44 pm

Ouch!! Thank you very much for that - a very important piece of information.

Post by **STEVE G** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 10:42 pm

lomuamart wrote:But, Issan people have been changing their crops for years.
One of the last times I was up country 5 years ago, there were loads of fields full of other things. They were other than rice.
My ex explained the whole thing. They've been doing it for ages.

Lomu, I agree that there is nothing new about changing crops, but it needs to be done on a larger scale to be really effective. Iâ€™ve done some research on this as a small way of helping out the partner's family and there is potential for a substantial increase in crop yields in the NE region if things were more organized.
If small family farms were conglomerated into larger units and dedicated to cash crops with the infrastructure to process and distribute the production there would be a considerable rise in productivity.
One benefit of the improving road systems is that it is now becoming practical to bus workers from villages to factory jobs located on the main highways.
These jobs give employment to villagers so they are less dependent on farming to make a living, thereby allowing more mechanization in agriculture to increase yields; we can now have industry and food to eat to keep Sarge happy!