Tawee Warns Government: Misused Public Debt Will Become a Karmic Legacy for Future Generations
Police Colonel Tawee warns that Thailand's rapidly escalating public debt—now growing faster than GDP—risks becoming a burden on future generations if misused for current spending rather than productive investment. With interest payments al
On April 28, 2026, Police Colonel Tawee Sodsong, list MP and leader of the Prachasaart Party (PCP), posted on Facebook warning that "public debt, if misused, will become a karmic legacy for our descendants to shoulder." He argued that when borrowed funds are deployed "in the wrong way," they cease to function as an economic recovery tool and instead become "poison" that will drag the country down in the long term. Thailand currently stands at a critical fiscal turning point, with rapidly escalating public debt, yet the crucial question remains: do these massive loans actually improve the economy?
1. The Unavoidable Truth: "We're Borrowing Faster Than Our Economy Grows" - 2015-2019: Debt increased by only 2.5 trillion baht annually while GDP grew by 6 trillion baht per year (economy outpacing debt) - 2020-2022: Debt increased by 1.2 trillion baht annually while GDP declined by -2 trillion baht (debt outpacing economy) - 2023-2026: Debt increased by 8 trillion baht annually while GDP grew by only 4 trillion baht per year (debt outpacing economy)
Thailand is consistently borrowing faster than its actual revenue-generating capacity. The nation has shifted from "borrowing to build the future" to "borrowing to sustain the present"—a transformation from investment to life support.
2. The Appropriate Public Debt-to-GDP Ratio: Research from the IMF, OECD, and EU shows there is no "single fixed figure" applicable to all countries. However, there is consensus that higher debt increases growth risks in a non-linear fashion. Debt doesn't destroy the economy immediately but gradually erodes it until the economic system reaches its breaking point.
3. The Silent Burden: With an average interest rate of 2.95% annually, the 2026 budget requires Thailand to pay 2.5-2.8 trillion baht in interest yearly, or approximately 21 billion baht monthly. This money is not an investment but a burden that future generations must bear—stemming from the government's failure to complete funded projects on schedule or allowing budgets to remain incomplete.
Beyond failing to generate GDP, this transfers interest payment costs to citizens, further inflating public debt due to institutional negligence. This should not compound the people's suffering further.
4. Budget Allocation Inequality and Lack of Transparency: Bangkok residents comprise 8% of the population but receive 74% of budget allocations, while provincial residents make up 92% but receive only 26%. Local government organizations receive a mere 7-8%, while approximately 80% of budgets go to recurrent expenditures. Massive loans are not flowing to grassroots economies.
5. Thailand Faces Three Concurrent Crises: - Borrowing faster than economic growth - Spending without generating growth - Inequitable resource distribution
The problem isn't that we're borrowing too much, but that we're borrowing incorrectly and spending wrongly. Unless we reform the budget allocation structure, borrowing additional trillions will merely "buy time" at an astronomical cost, leaving future generations to inherit a debt bill they barely profited from. We must transition toward genuine investment-based borrowing, distribute budgets to provincial areas, reduce recurrent spending, ensure transparent data disclosure, and grow the economy faster than interest accumulates.
Misallocating borrowed funds with interest is an embedded injustice that demands urgent correction. We cannot allow it to harm our descendants' futures or saddle them with karmic debt they did nothing to incur.
