Transcript of above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing whether or not the Thai Government cares about small business. I have had a hard time thinking about making this video. I had first decided I didn't want to do it, then I decided yeah it was a good idea to go ahead and do it. I am not making this, again I hate prefacing these videos this way. I just don't want to sound cynical. I am not trying to point fingers at anyone.

The reason for making this video is hopefully to provide maybe insight to those who have been adversely impacted this past year. Folks out there, you know who you are. We certainly have had clients that it has just been terrible. Since February 2020, the way that this has progressed and evolved hasn't been good for anybody and small businesses I think have been hit the hardest. I certainly can understand why people look at the way things have gone here in Thailand. Thailand is not the only place that has made policies that have had a substantially detrimental impact on SMEs. I mean the United States just to name one example, has done things that have really critically fundamentally hurt small businesses. So again, this isn't so much a dig at the Thai Government and no one else. Again I have said this before and I will say it again. I think everybody is acting in good faith; I think everybody is trying to do things that will have the least detrimental impact. It is one of the reasons I have been a little bit snarky lately in talking about the non-lockdowns in Thailand but I do think the Government is taking heed of the fact that there are economic repercussions to these restrictions that they put on people. Do they not care? I don't think they don't care. I think that they do care to whatever extent any Government or bureaucracy cares about anything.

What I think is more the phenomenon that is occurring right now is there is sort of blinders on with regard to "the only priority is dealing with COVID". Now my personal opinion is I think you need to take a much bigger picture approach to dealing with this, in my opinion especially a year on. There is a certain level of this we are just going to have to get used to living with and dealing with the fact that yes some businesses are going to be open and in my opinion, that that may cause some spread. It is not a zero sum game at this and I think personally it is not great to look at it that way. That said, when you do put the blinders on, your only priority is dealing with this, other things can fall by the wayside and I think that that is more what is happening rather than just a concerted effort, I don't think there is any effort, but rather than looking at it as an effort to undermine small business or even for lack of a better term negligent neglect that is going on, I don't even think that is what is going on. It is just the main priority at least from the Government's standpoint seem to be dealing with this and then everything else is just a secondary issue.

Now again, whether or not that is the most prudent way of dealing with this especially a year on, I have my opinions on that. I don't think they are really pertinent to this video but yeah I really understand where people are coming from where they have a lot of antipathy toward the Government's response to this and how it is impacting small business but do I think it is intentional? No. I almost would say that they are just almost blinded by their goal of dealing with or responding to COVID and they are letting everything else fall by the wayside while they are dealing with that.