Travelers social impact on Isan

I'm not convinced by the argument above - one or two foreigners in a village of a couple of hundred - where the local family earns 3000 per mont and the two new ones spend 100,000 per month - that's a huge difference -

I would have thought that it would be more likely that thais doing business ARE the market - the market of course is twisted by corruption and nepotism, this however is out of the remit of most farang buyers who pay over the top and distort land prices - there IS evidence of this if you care to dig about.
From the purchase of the land to the over paying for labour, materials and landfill - as you say this is a small part of the market but the ramifications are significant - especially if we are to believe the figures in the OP.

I'm not blaming anyone - I'm making an observation on the effects that a sudden influx of money can have on a micro-economy.

Duhhh...the folks I know do not spend 100'000 per month.
Most of them are up there in Isaan precisly for one reason: cost of living is cheap there - anf they don't have big bucks themselves.
30'000-45'000 is rather their spending money - at the most.
They buy some land indeed, but those actually living up there have a good idea about prices and don't over pay. And once they acquired their piece of land they usually don't continue buying up all land around there.
So how can the 0-2 foreigners in a village drive up land prices in that village? Even if they would pay too much after they got the land they wanted there won't be any buyers anymore. Back to normal. It isn't that because one or two guys bought overpriced land in a village suddenly others flock in to buy land it that village...

Different story is the 'big shots' who don't life in Isaan. The dudes that got well payed jobs abroad and life abroad, but build a house in her wifes family, buy mopeds and pick-ups for them, grab land, etc, etc.
Those often have more money than understanding and might spend big during their short visits. However not too many of them.
Even among those who life abroad and just visit the family up there, the big shots are in the minority. Most I know are regular grunts with average wages in Europe which can't afford to play big sugar daddy in Isaan. Still better off than the locals, but that 100'000 baht per month figure is way over the top for them.

One I know supports even two...his wife and his mia noi...
:-)
For the mia noi it's 10'000 a month and he brings in another 15'000 per month when he's staying there. That's it.
++

Sorry to hear that....I certainly haven't got time to parry words from the "bootless and unhorsed"

BTW, with a bit research I get from the net:
21million pop in Isaan, as of 2000. Now likely closer to 23'000'000.
Average household Isaan 4.1 (Bangkok is 3).
Makes roughly 5,6 million households.

That would make at 100'000 couples 1,8% of households, not 3% (those 100'00 are just estimated...no sources).
Note that the other source in the article states as of 2003 just 20'000 marriages there.

And none of them actually say that they are all living there througout the whole year.

Funny is actually how it continues where OP excerpt ends:

• 'Nowadays in the villages, parents will say to their daughters: If your Thai husband is no good you can divorce him and find a farang (foreign) husband,' Buapan said. 'So you have to behave now.'

hehehe...
**

If you can access youtube this documentary from the UK a couple of years ago covers some of the ground as I seem to remember - My Boyfriend the sex tourist

Shite title I know but shows Isaan and Bangkok and the thoughts of some of those covered in the OP.

There are plenty of negatives to this - normal regional market forces are upset.....
Firstly they upset the price of land and housing (rents even) make difficult for locals
to own or rent housing or farmland.

Um, no. When it comes to land for housing it's effectively infinite. Farmland perhaps not, but keep in mind that foreigners simply cannot own land in Thailand, so the Thai wife owns it. And she IS a local. The only difference is that it's likely a person who in other circumstances wouldn't be able to own land. So instead of rich Thai business people owning it all, this woman also gets a slice of the pie. I struggle to call that a negative.

What they build is not necessarily good either -

They tend to build exactly what the Mrs. wants. A typical modern Thai home. It also wouldn't surprise me that many husbands who DO get to build what they want then go for a more traditional teak wooden home; very few Thais with money build those because it's more expensive and takes more maintenance than concrete & bricks. Check out the www.teakdoor.com construction forum to see what typical Farang husbands build.

it can impact on an inefficient utilities infrastructure and of course uses possible farmland.

Honestly how much farmland can a house take up. It's not like there's a shortage of farmland in Issan. ;) And basically there are very few utilities that can be used, ineffeciently or not; water likely comes from a well & water tower that you have to build, sewage means digging a cess pit system. Basically electricity is the only utility used.

THe psychological effects of having a wealthy "foreigner" in the midst of a community
can affect male female relationships and the way local businesses conduct their business
- holding out on locals in the hope that the "big bucks" will come from the foreigner.

Sure. Just about any district town will have more (and wealthier) Thais though; they're the people owning the motorcycle & farm machinery dealership, the bank manager, agricultural brokers, the gold shop owners, etc, etc.

In UK in WW2 they had a saying about the US troops - "Over paid, oversexed and over here" -
I;m sure this sort of resentment exists in Issan now.

If it did to any significant degree then why would people want to live there..? People move there (instead of Pattaya) to get AWAY from that mindset.

I laugh at the posts of the Mayor of Simpleton and his minions - ha! ha!

I really can't seethe pint in doing anything else - it's either that or bang my head against the wall - which is nice because it stops - unlike the drivel posted by some

Always happy to entertain. ;)