Not so sure about the mental health part. The article uses Bangkok's low homeless population as a counterpoint to San Fran's homelessness. I was born and raised in Thailand and occasionally visit or have Thai relatives over. I would say in Asia, mental health awareness is pretty nonexistant. The fact that they have a low homeless population and low mental health awareness does kind of refute your mental healthcare point imo.
I think it's the fact that in Thailand, as the article mentions, there is a lot of gray area between "poor" and "rich". There's not many super wealthy people and not many super poor people. There's more of a "middle poor", "average", and "middle-rich", and the "middle poor" get by pretty well because of how cheap everything is. Healthcare is also dirt cheap compared to America, so you can get medical care for basic stuff and pay like $20 for it. My parents have even thought of doing some medical tourism to Thailand to do dentistry stuff because its just so damn cheap. Oh, one more thing, motorcycles are the poor man's transport, and just like everything else they are also dirt cheap. Cant afford rent? Well you can just go and live in a basic shack because a lot of people do that anyway. So yeah, if you're poor in Thailand you will generally get by pretty well because everything there is relatively cheap.
In America, it's either you are above the average line or you sink to the bottom. Like, if you don't make enough money, you can't expect to pay rent and then have money for food/healthcare/car. And in America, you NEED a car. How are you gonna get from San Fran to LA if you have a job interview? Taxi is out of the question, trains are 200+, buses dont arrive early in the morning. So the only answer is a car. Oh you have a problem with drug abuse? Are you poor and cant afford health insurance? Then hospital or rehab visits will cost thousands. Cant afford rent? Guess you're homeless.
It's a brutal system we have in America honestly. Lots of tech innovations, lots of good economics in Silicon Valley, but honestly it just sucks to be poor here. You need to be hovering in the neighborhood of the high GDP per capita if you want to survive. In Thailand, the GDP per capita is low enough that most people are near it, and the rich can enjoy a luxurious lifestyle with housemaids and stuff.
I think it's the fact that in Thailand, as the article mentions, there is a lot of gray area between "poor" and "rich". There's not many super wealthy people and not many super poor people. There's more of a "middle poor", "average", and "middle-rich", and the "middle poor" get by pretty well because of how cheap everything is. Healthcare is also dirt cheap compared to America, so you can get medical care for basic stuff and pay like $20 for it. My parents have even thought of doing some medical tourism to Thailand to do dentistry stuff because its just so damn cheap. Oh, one more thing, motorcycles are the poor man's transport, and just like everything else they are also dirt cheap. Cant afford rent? Well you can just go and live in a basic shack because a lot of people do that anyway. So yeah, if you're poor in Thailand you will generally get by pretty well because everything there is relatively cheap.
In America, it's either you are above the average line or you sink to the bottom. Like, if you don't make enough money, you can't expect to pay rent and then have money for food/healthcare/car. And in America, you NEED a car. How are you gonna get from San Fran to LA if you have a job interview? Taxi is out of the question, trains are 200+, buses dont arrive early in the morning. So the only answer is a car. Oh you have a problem with drug abuse? Are you poor and cant afford health insurance? Then hospital or rehab visits will cost thousands. Cant afford rent? Guess you're homeless.
It's a brutal system we have in America honestly. Lots of tech innovations, lots of good economics in Silicon Valley, but honestly it just sucks to be poor here. You need to be hovering in the neighborhood of the high GDP per capita if you want to survive. In Thailand, the GDP per capita is low enough that most people are near it, and the rich can enjoy a luxurious lifestyle with housemaids and stuff.