Most of us in Thailand celebrate New Year's two or three times a year: the international one in January; the Chinese one in February; the Thai one in April. But some in Thailand also get to celebrate the Fiscal New Year in October. For them, the fiscal or budget season is also a time of celebration and gift-giving, a time to dispense favors and largesse. Our government budet passed a milestone this yea. The annual budget exceeds two trillion baht for the first time ever. Two trillion is a lot of baht. It is about 20% of GDP. It is enough to build another 17 Suvarnabhumi airports. Ten years ago, the budget was only 910 billion baht. It has more than doubled. Where has all the increased spending gone?....
Click on link in title for full article. First published in Bangkok Post, 14 July 2010.
