OPINION

The lies we fund

Re: "Trump's new apprentice", (PostBag, Feb 15).

If USAID were influencing foreign governments in a way that was supportive of democracy and American interests, President Donald Trump would not be shutting it down.

But as I have stated, USAID has served interests antithetical to those of the US.

Some may imagine I simply have cultural differences with the Chinese people and CCP sympathisers like Yingwai. But how can one have cultural differences with those who simply know nothing about their culture?

It has been brainwashed from the memory of those living under the CCP's regime. There is nothing baseless about my analysis of the CCP.

Ask a political prisoner who has had his organs removed one by one while he is still alive.

Action, not handouts

Re: "Thai farmers protest falling rice prices", (BP, Feb 19).

Instead of protesting annually about falling rice prices, our farmers should force the government to solve the underlying problem of poor productivity. Our rice yields have not risen for the past 10 years and now are only half of our Vietnamese competitors'. Our average farm household has debts equal to 7.97 years of h/h income. Our average farmer, at the age of 58, is well past peak earning years, and only 20% have an M6 education.

We need sustainable income, not one-off handouts to see politicians through the next election. That means we need to boost productivity dramatically.

Farmers push PM Paetongtarn to have a vision.

Gravy train is over

Re: "Trump tariffs put tourism on edge", (Online, Feb 20).

Years ago, I warned the Post that Thailand needed to upskill and rely less on tourism. Despite a pandemic which closed everything, it was not done, so the economy largely relies on tourism and exports, both of which are waning in popularity after a long boom that could not last forever.

President Trump's tariffs will likely be permanent as he is evening the trade markets and forcing manufacturing back to America, so you will probably lose America's auto-building here in the next year or two. The days of Europe selling their cars at 2.5% cost while American cars have a 30% cost or so over their US sticker are over, probably forever because now Americans are aware of this.

Thailand's 2025/2026 economy comes down to three things. First, in 2024, the US (per Google AI) had an 11.3% increase in trade deficit with Thailand, totalling about $45.6 billion (1.5 trillion baht) due to escalating imports, which the US can largely get elsewhere, so that will be dealt with and likely won't make Americans happy to know now.

Finally, it comes down to how many more tourists Thailand can grab from basically anywhere who are new, as well as relations with the US, which have not been so stellar in recent years, granted that it is a two-way street, to be fair. Thailand is no longer America's favourite son, and the gravy train is ending.

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