Pheu Thai promises to make people rich before they age
Pheu Thai Party will make all segments of society rich before they become elderly to boost Thailand's economic growth, party-list MP Dr Linthiporn Varinwatchararoj said on Tuesday.
She made the remark after the new and controversial eligibility criterion for the elderly allowance came into effect on Saturday.
The new criterion stipulates that the state's monthly age allowance is only available to elderly people who have no income or inadequate money to meet basic expenses.
Noting that Thailand is becoming an ageing society where one-fifth of Thais are elderly, Linthiporn said she expects one-third of Thais to fall into this group in the next two decades and that the majority would face insufficient income and lack of savings.
Pheu Thai has thus launched a set of policies to support the ageing society as follow:
• Offering a digital wallet to stimulate the economy and relieve suffering among people.
• Creating 20 million high-skilled workers and enabling retired workers to generate income.
• Increasing agriculture income threefold.
• Upgrading healthcare schemes, such as allowing people to receive medical treatment by just presenting their ID card and offering free treatment for the bedridden and terminally ill.
• Enabling people to learn how to generate income and matching people to jobs suitable for their skills.
Linthiporn also pointed out that the new eligibility criterion for the elderly allowance was due to the government's financial constraints.
"Pheu Thai is the only political party that is talking about how to generate revenue to offer state welfare to all groups of vulnerable people," she added.
