Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing the Digital Wallet so-called yet again. I have been talking about this kind of in earnest because Parliament is currently reviewing the matter and I think this is a terrible idea for Thailand on a number of different levels. As I have discussed in other videos, I think it's totalitarian financial surveillance; I don't think it's financially wise; it's not fiscally sound at this time. There has been all of this talk about, "oh we are in a financial calamity, the economy needs stimulating". Meanwhile the first quarter of the year saw booming consumer spending and booming tourism growth; overall numbers were up across the board. Meanwhile there is this continued push within the media to push this narrative of "oh we need a stimulus!" Well why? Well that question may be asked, or is being asked and I may be able to answer a little bit of it here. 

I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Bangkok Post, bangkokpost.com, the article is titled: Supplementary Bill for digital handout to 'pass with flying colours'. Well first of all I love how the budgeting for all of this is just about as opaque as muddy river water. I mean you cannot figure out where the money for this is coming from. One minute they are saying one thing, one minute it is loans, one minute it's from the budget. Here's another thing. Even if it comes from the budget, we are going to deplete the entire budget to pay for this and then they will say "oh that is fiscally sound because we didn't have to go into debt", but meanwhile we will have to go into debt later for the normal expenses of running the Government because the budget has been completely depleted for this particular boondog. That said, again the article is titled: Supplementary bill for digital handout to 'pass with flying colours'. Quoting directly: "The Pheu Thai Party is confident that a supplementary Bill aimed at funding its flagship digital wallet handout scheme will pass the House's second and third readings on Wednesday." Well first of all is anyone reviewing this? Because where is this money coming from? I have just heard a million different things through the Press. Quoting further: "The final deliberation of the Bill is expected to wrap up in 4 hours..." Really? 4 hours? Quoting further: " ..as only 20 MPs have listed questions about the scheme's budget, he said." I don't mean to sound too alarmist on this but I don't think I can sound too alarmist on this. Only 20 MPs are going to talk or have any kind of discussion in Parliament about something that literally could not only burden the nation with two orders of magnitude more debt than currently exists monetarily within the banking system as it exists at this moment. So we are going to saddle the nation with that kind of debt and even if we don't directly do it through this Bill, they will gut the budget and then come whining later that they have no money and now they need to go into debt, so it all works out the same way. But we need to do this because why? Where is the exigent need for that and again is anybody reviewing this? And only 20 people have questions about this? Again this thing could fundamentally change the way we all live our lives, the way we all operate monetarily. It's financial surveillance by any metric and nobody seems interested in this? Why? Quoting further: "Meanwhile, a source said that although the Scrutiny Committee agreed with the Bill in principle, it has raised some points that the Government must consider." Yeah, like a lot of points. Quoting further: "First, the Government should specify in the project's terms of reference that it will collect users' spending data.." - let me read that again: "it will collect users spending data". So for anybody that thinks I am a conspiracy theorist or some kind of a crackpot because I am saying this is financial surveillance, here is the Bangkok Post saying it is financial surveillance. Quoting further: "..so it can monitor the economic effect of the stimulus scheme." Yeah, neat. So "it can monitor!" Again, surveillance. Quoting further: "The panel also suggested the Government differentiate between investment expenditures and regular expenditures.." I don't even know what that means. Is that the money they are handing out to people that isn't real money, that you can't get cash for it and you can't use it for everything? which I will get to it in a minute, or is that the money needed to create this boondoggle infrastructure that's going to surveil all of our financial transactions into the foreseeable and unforeseeable future? Quoting further: "..and recommended the Budget Bureau define "investment expenditure" with additional details to ensure clarity, the source said. The Committee also suggested a clear list of items or services that people are prohibited from buying using the handout money, the source said."  So the Parliament is going to put this country into debt and then tell the very people who have gone into debt, how they can spend the "money" that is being given to them for "stimulus", which we don't need. Explain to me how this is a good idea in any way, shape or form? Fiscally, economically, socially, governmentally, philosophically, how is this a good idea? Why is this a good idea? Then meanwhile those pushing it, where is the massive push at the popular grassroots level here in Thailand for this initiative? I'll answer that question for you. It's not there. If it was there, the people pushing this would have had a much clearer electoral mandate than they presently have, and I'll just leave it at that.

Meanwhile, I have serious questions about where this idea is coming from. Is this some kind of internationalist, Neo-Colonial notion created by the World Economic Forum which certain members of our Government seem enamoured of at this present time? And if so, why is this being imposed on people with very little oversight from the populist who is going to bear the brunt of this the worst? Again, really, 4 hours to discuss arguably the biggest change to Thailand's Monetary Policy maybe in 100 years or longer? 4 hours and only 20 people signed up in Parliament, 20 Members of Parliament signed up to have any questions on the matter. Wow! I mean what is Parliament there to do? Because I've been here when we haven't effectively had one and it was all right. So what are they doing now, other than pushing down our throat things that we don't really want?