Approximately 6,600 people who registered for state welfare (which is, of course, sponsored by the taxpayers), were surprisingly found to have master’s and even doctorate degrees, leading to the Finance Ministry to reconsider the qualifications of those eligible for the benefits.
In the new program granting citizens earning less than THB30,000 per year a monthly payment to cover necessities, the government has found that among the 14 million people registered, thousands of them are very educated — 6,000 people have master’s degrees and 600 hold doctorate degrees.
Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong said that they’ll re-verify the qualifications of those eligible for the state welfares and opt for a rescreening, Thai PBS reported.
So far, they have disqualified 2 million people because they earn an annual income and own assets worth more than THB30,000.
The welfare program will be proposed to the cabinet within the next few weeks. For now, the details remain cloudy.
In July, it was reported that the Finance Ministry was considering giving a monthly fund of THB2,750 to help low-income earners pay for public transportation, electricity, and water bills. The money would be transferred to their payment cards in order to pay for those services only and could not be withdrawn in cash.
In other news, last year, the government found many rich people, and those who have been recorded as dead, registered to receive a New Year’s cash gift for low-income earners.
Granted, anyone hoping to game the system for a welfare check has a long way to go before catching up with the scam’s all-time champ: Ol’ Dirty Bastard.
