More govt debt for growth opposed
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THE THAI CHAMBER of Commerce has suggested that the government should avoid incurring any more debt for the sake of stimulating economic growth, but it should rather focus on increasing people's incomes to offset the higher cost of living.
Honorary chairman Pramon Sutivong said that although the Thai economy this year would grow slower than previously expected, the government has not yet needed to spend a huge amount of the budget to stimulate the economy.
“The Thai economy could grow more than 4 per cent this year. The slowdown in growth this year is due mainly to people cutting spending due to weak confidence. The government should increase people’s incomes rather than launch any measures to cause more debt or losses to the country,” said Pramon.
He pointed out that household debt has increased continuously this year as incomes could not offset the higher cost of living. The government should help increase people’s incomes and manage the rising cost of living, he added.
To deal with the higher cost of living, one efficient measure would be to increase the income of those in the lower-income category.
But the government should not pressure companies to reduce the retail price as companies could face problems and this would affect their employees.
