Thai households have been hit hard by sharp price increases for goods, food and energy. Unsurprisingly, such compounded economic malaise has prompted people to ask the government to help them cope.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, however, turns defensive whenever people complain about the economic conditions.
The prime minister last week mounted a stern defence of his government's policies which, he claims, are better suited to dealing with the economic crisis than those of many other countries.
Indeed anyone who criticises the government for failing to solve problems is advised to look at other countries, lagging as they are behind Thailand's superior example. His government is doing better, says the prime minister, and if there are problems, they can be put down to one main factor: budget constraints.
It's true that economic problems owe mainly to the impacts from the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war that has affected fuel prices worldwide. These have constrained budgets everywhere.
Nonetheless, the prime minister and his government are duty-bound to do their best to handle the situation and relieve people's hardship no matter the cause.
The economic contexts of Thailand and other countries are different. The prime minister should not claim achievement by comparing Thai economic conditions to other countries. The evaluation of his government's performance should be based on whether people's hardship has been solved.
Gen Prayut appealed for understanding over his government's attempts to curb energy and goods prices.
He asked people to be patient and, in the meantime, adjust their consumption behaviour, saying that people who have less income must be more selective and make purchases that suit their earnings.
In fact, the prime minister has no need to tell people to do so since people have already been forced by the sluggish economy to change their consumption behaviour.
Instead, he should tell his cabinet ministers to exercise some self-control, for instance by slashing unnecessary weapons shopping sprees and suppressing corruption.
A survey by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC) found the average debt per household is at 217,952 baht, up 5.9% from a year earlier and the highest in 14 years.
According to the survey, some 31.5% of respondents have defaulted on debt repayments in the past 12 months.
They cited the higher cost of living, a drop in income, rising product prices and more borrowing.
Crucially, most respondents said the economy has not yet recovered and called on the government for help, especially in terms of assistance to cope with the higher cost of living.
There are more bad numbers, including inflation for February at 5.28%, the highest level in 13 years.
And although exports grew 19.5% to US$28.8 billion (900 trillion baht) in March, the highest level in 30 years, this was thanks to the baht's depreciation, which in turn makes fuel more expensive.
Instead of turning defensive, the prime minister and his government must work harder and smarter to solve economic problems.
Begging people to understand the adverse situation, even while claiming Thailand is doing better than other countries, is neither smart government nor a reasonable excuse.
