If boosting the economic stagnation of the country is the main concern, I think this visa is a wager of bringing in tourists with higher capital and semi-perminant, rather than the "value" tourist this country attracts. As seen from the 10,000 baht digital wallet, it seems like Thaksin is banking on good old Keynesian theory. In terms of equal distribution across the country, I'm yet to see anything from this current Government that expands beyond the hot spots.
I agree the Thai government has made some nasty kneejerk decisions, and I do agree that some fine tuning will occur. I'm one of the DTV crowd, so I do have some vested interests 😂
the main issue for this current Government is to prove stability - for investors and for tourists. A complete retroactive reshuffle of a key policy point is not in this interest. But as you said, only time will tell.