Welfare state "key to future"

       Academics yesterday suggested the political rift among Thais could be healed if the country created a viable welfare system.
       Nipon Puapongsakorn, vice-chairman of the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI), and Somkiat Tangkitvanich, TDRI research director, made the proposal at a seminar called "The Way Out For Thailand".
       The seminar was hosted by the King Prajadhipok's Institute (KPI), the Thai Journalists Association and TDRI.
       Mr Nipon said unfair distribution of wealth had led to poor distribution of political power.
       He suggested a better basic welfare system should be put in place to reduce the income gap.
       Successive governments had not tried to narrow the income gap. Instead, they had all widened the gap.
       With such a wide gap, the rich have tried to consolidate their wealth through politics, according to Mr Nipon.
       This has prompted governments to implement populist policies which could cause damage to the country in the long run.
       Governments should create more wealth to finance welfare schemes for people through tax reform, cutting government expenses, improving concession bidding procedures to ensure the utmost benefit to the state, and overhauling the medical welfare scheme for state officials, which consumed huge amounts of money each year, said Mr Nipon.
       Mr Somkiat said unfair income distribution among Thais had led to major political disruptions such as the Sept 19, 2006, coup which occurred because the government had tried to improve income distribution via extreme populist policies.
       The government's alternative now was to improve income distribution and put in place a basic welfare system, said Mr Somkiat.
       Welfare would provide a safety net for the poor, helping close the income gap.
       Borwornsak Uwanno, KPI secretary-general, said the think-tank would help push forward the academics' idea, by proposing it to the government and the parliament.
       "I believe Thailand will go through a major change. If we're not prepared, the situation could go the same way as it did in the May 1992 or the October 1973 uprisings," added Mr Borwornsak.