Do you know how many menial jobs Thai people do each day in Thailand?
Farming, fishing, food selling, and street cleaning are just a few on the list.
Thai people can spend their entire lives doing the same thing, 7 days a week.
Lack of education in rural areas is a big contributor to lack of income.
Thai’s have to make a living and many do so with the only skill they know how to do.
No matter what that skill is, that is the amount of money they are able to earn each day and their entire lives.
Imagine working cutting rice or sugar cane when the temperature is 100f+ for as little as US $8 a day?
Outside of tourist areas and cities, into rural Thailand, many Thai’s live on less than 70,000 thb per YEAR!
I grew up that way too.
My family was dirt poor, only earning money from doing manual farming work when available.
You never once hear a Thai complain about it.
Many do run into high debts, alcoholism, gambling and other issues related to having little money to live on.
Unfortunately the majority of tourists never get to see or experience this.