This is a follow-up to the Work Permits for Beggars post that I wrote yesterday. I was compelled to write it after reading someone else's take on the situation.
I have been thinking more about the proposed law to deal with homeless beggars on the streets of Bangkok. It seems to me that the point is not to make sure that all homeless people have ID cards and work permits. Hopefully the government knows that this is impossible. Some of these people can barely keep up with their clothes, let alone ID documents.
I think the main point of the law is to crack down on the exploitation of others. As I said yesterday, I have heard that some beggars are put on the streets and forced to beg by others who simply take the majority of the money collected. This is especially evident around Siam and MBK, where I see the same beggars year after year, except that every year or so they get a new baby to hold or a new puppy dog all in the hopes of eliciting sympathy from Thai shoppers or farang tourists.
I don't know the details about Thai law on this subject, but perhaps they are closing a loophole or getting this kind of language in the code of law so that they can go after those who exploit others for their own gain in this way. I think that these people are who the law is directed at, not at the elderly or the physically or mentally disabled that I see on the streets every day.
At least I hope that is the case.
