cost comparison: US vs Thailand

At the market in Chiang Mai today, I bought a banana for 5 baht – $0.16; of course I had to filet it myself, but hey.

.

U.S. – healthcare has doubled in the last decade

Via: Huffington Post

U.S. healthcare is so expensive that records are broken even when cost increases slow.

According to a new report by Milliman, a global consulting and actuarial firm, the total cost of healthcare for the average family of four, if covered by a preferred provider organization, is now a now a record $19,393.

Trends over the last decade more completely illustrate the toll taken on the average American by rising healthcare costs.

“In 2002, American families had healthcare costs of $9,235, and those costs have now doubled in fewer than nine years,” said Lorraine Mayne, Milliman principal and consulting actuary, in a press release. “As costs continue to gr ow
– and even as the cost trend decelerates — the total cost of care for American families constitutes a larger and larger portion of the household budget.”

Of that $1,319 increase, employers were paid for 48.6 percent of the increase, while the additional 51.6 percent was the responsibility of employees.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/16/us-healthcare-costs-double-report_n_862677.html

***

In Thailand:

- I have full coverage, and I STILL pay less than my employee contribution was in 2006.

- In the U. S., without the ‘employer contribution’, private insurance is prohibitively expensive.

- Yes, the premiums have gone up in Thailand, but when you start so low, . . .

- And when I say full, I mean FULL: hospital, physician, and meds.

- NO deductibles, NO denile of services, and NO paperwork hassle.

- It’s good for emergency care, outside of Thailand.

- Because I joined before turning 60, I am covered for life; that’s right, I know, my life.

“Every day in every way, it’s getting better, and better, and better”

Cabinet to consider approving pricey military gift list

via: The Nation (April 6, 2011)

- The biggest item will be 200 new medium tanks to replace, on a unit-by-unit basis, vintage US M41 tanks.

- Another 82 BTR3-E1 wheeled armoured personnel carriers, made in Ukraine and worth Bt4 billion, are to be handed over to the Army, and a further 121 BTR3-E1s, worth Bt5 billion, will be purchased in a later phase.

- Three Russian-made medium Mi-17V5 helicopters, worth Bt994 million, are also on the list, to replace ageing US-made CH-47 Chinooks, for which maintenance and obtaining spare parts has become difficult and expensive.

- Three more US-made UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters will also be bought at a cost of Bt2 billion.

- The Royal Thai Air Force will get another six Swedish-made Gripen jet fighters, worth Bt16 billion, in the next two years. The first six, which cost Thailand Bt19 billion, arrived in February.

- A number of rescue helicopters are also being sought by the RTAF, as those currently in use have proved less than fully capable of helping in disasters.

- Support and radar systems currently being used with US-made F-16 fighter jets will be integrated into new systems coming with the Gripen fighters, to make the different aircraft work together, the RTAF said in its purchase request. It has not yet said when the integration will take place or how much it will cost.

- The Navy is also pushing for Cabinet endorsement of projects that require funding of more than Bt16 billion, to buy six used submarines and to upgrade two of its frigates, the Taksin and the Naresuan, at a cost of Bt7.5 billion.

~~~

current exchange rate @30.21Bt

1,000,000,000 Bt = plus/minus $33,101,621.98 USD

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/Cabinet-to-consider-approving-pricey-military-gift-30152606.html

===

via: The Nation (April 6, 2011)

‘No coup’

In an unprecedented move, top commanders came out yesterday to declare there would definitely be no military overthrow of the government.

“We ask you not to believe the rumours that soldiers will stage a coup. The Thai Armed Forces strictly abide by the Constitution under constitutional monarchy. Soldiers will not get involved in any political affairs,” supreme commander General Songkitti Jaggabatara told a news conference together with the chiefs of the three armed branches.

He also warned that any military unit moving out of its barracks without orders would be charged with treason.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2011/04/06/national/No-coup-30152605.html

===

via the Nation (April 6, 2011)

purely coincident?ally, I’m sur?e,

‘Hikes in soybean oil and milk prices’

The Commerce Ministry is allowing manufacturers of bottled soybean oil to increase the price by Bt9 per litre from tomorrow.

Yesterday’s approval will bring retail prices of soybean oil up to Bt55 per litre from Bt46.

“The price will have to be reviewed again in three months,” Vatchari Vimooktayon, director-general of Internal Trade Department, said.

The department is consider?ing the price of several goods, since manufacturers are strug?gling from rising production costs. The next product to be considered for price adjustment would be fertiliser.

Vatchari said the price of soybean oil had been increased in line with the cost of import?ed soybean seed, which has risen from Bt14.86 to Bt17.31 per kilogram. In order to pro?duce one litre of oil, 5.87kg of soybean seeds have to be used. As a result, it costs manufac?turers an extra Bt14.09 to pro?duce a litre of oil, which is why they want to set the retail price at Bt60 per litre.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2011/04/06/business/Hikes-in-soybean-oil-and-milk-prices-30152591.html

1. SAVAGE price hike looms – Bangkok Post

The prices of many food and consumer goods products are set to skyrocket at the end of this month and the public is being warned they will have to reach far deeper into their pockets.

The scrapping of price controls between manufacturers and the Commerce Ministry, which will take effect at the end of this month, means it will cost a lot more for people to buy many products, including fertilizers, pharmaceutical products, detergent and soap.

Adding to consumers’ woes, the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) said yesterday that prices of food products are also set to soar soon.

Visit Limprana, an FTI executive, said food prices are expected to surge by about 10-15% over last year.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/226049/savage-price-hikes-loom

===

GOOD NEWS:

Three Thai businessmen managed to maintain their positions in this year’s Forbes The World’s Billionaires list, despite many new entrants, particularly from Asia. The fortunes of all three Thai billionaires have improved over last year

Ranked No 1 in Thailand for two years, with a net worth of US$6.5 billion (Bt197 billion), Charoen Pokphand Group’s Dhanin Chearavanont and his family are ranked 152nd in Forbes’ 25th annual ranking of the richest people in the world. Last year, net worth of $2.1 billion put him at 463rd.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2011/03/11/business/Thais-billionaires-shin-up-Forbes-list-of-worlds-r-30150572.html

Safe to say, these guys are going to do okay.

***

NOT SO GOOD NEWS:

Many Thai people will be severely impacted by the price increases.

At the household level, increasing food prices have the greatest effect on poor and food-insecure populations, who spend 50 to 60 percent or more of their income on food, according to the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/humanitarian_assistance/foodcrisis/