For as long as our racial memories allow— our people have been fighting poverty. I’m annoyed. I’m peeved. I’m sick to death with all the negative, hopelessness permeating in the air. I get it that it is so damn hard to see past misery, it breaks your heart seeing a kid kill herself because she has lost hope. I see where people are coming from, looking at the leaves and not the forest. People have been asking and not for the first time nor the last, why hasn’t there been a trickle down effect? The rich are partying and the poor are still poor. And as Jon (who I totally agree with in his post) has put it correctly: the blame game continues.
We blame government and in this case, some people blame Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Now don’t get me wrong, we can blame her for a lot of things— but poverty and hopelessness wasn’t invented by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. If she wasn’t in power, we’d be blaming who was. It was Erap when he was President and we kicked him out for all those illegal gambling activities in that farce we created, remember? It was Ramos when he reigned. It was Cory when she was in charge and it was Marcoss when he ruled. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe they’re innocent because they and, generations of our leaders have some blame, some blood on their hands— but they’re not entirely to blame, not even half the reason.
How easy it is to wear a T-Shirt with the words, “get rid of poverty” or “President whomever sucks!” How is that any different when Jeep drivers call for fare rate hikes but never downgrades when fall. Why shouldn’t that market be deregulated?
For generations we Filipinos have been picketing on some issue, continuously blaming who’s in charge. We carry slogans and have them printed out, splashed across T-Shirts, newspaper ads, the Internet or whatever canvas they could find.
Grant Morrison started his run on Batman with an arc called “Batman & Son”. Batman in his public persona, “Bruce Wayne”, was in London at a high society function. He meets Jezebel Jet, fashion model turned leader of a small African Nation. Here’s a snippet:
BRUCE WAYNE: Tell me more about how a fashion model ended up running a small nation..
JEZEBEL JET: …I’m here to show everyone that Africa is more than just this year’s fashionable cause. It’s easy to wear a t-shirt that says “make poverty history”, until it fades in the wash.
BRUCE WAYNE: I’m all for it. And while we’re at it, let’s make wealth compulsory. It would solve so many of the world’s problems if everyone were a millionaire, don’t you think?
You didn’t think Batman has such a sense of humor, did you?
Speaking of fortunes, The Wall Street Journal has a post saying “Bernanke is Fighting the Last War“. It is a good read. Thought provoking:
“systemic risk” — the notion that allowing one firm to fail will cause a cascade that will take down otherwise healthy companies in its wake.
Ms. Schwartz doesn’t buy it. “It’s very easy when you’re a market participant,” she notes with a smile, “to claim that you shouldn’t shut down a firm that’s in really bad straits because everybody else who has lent to it will be injured. Well, if they lent to a firm that they knew was pretty rocky, that’s their responsibility. And if they have to be denied repayment of their loans, well, they wished it on themselves. The [government] doesn’t have to save them, just as it didn’t save the stockholders and the employees of Bear Stearns. Why should they be worried about the creditors? Creditors are no more worthy of being rescued than ordinary people, who are really innocent of what’s been going on.”
It takes real guts to let a large, powerful institution go down. But the alternative — the current credit freeze — is worse, Ms. Schwartz argues.
“I think if you have some principles and know what you’re doing, the market responds. They see that you have some structure to your actions, that it isn’t just ad hoc — you’ll do this today but you’ll do something different tomorrow. And the market respects people in supervisory positions who seem to be on top of what’s going on. So I think if you’re tough about firms that have invested unwisely, the market won’t blame you. They’ll say, ‘Well, yeah, it’s your fault. You did this. Nobody else told you to do it. Why should we be saving you at this point if you’re stuck with assets you can’t sell and liabilities you can’t pay off?’” But when the authorities finally got around to letting Lehman Brothers fail, it had saved so many others already that the markets didn’t know how to react. Instead of looking principled, the authorities looked erratic and inconstant.
Erratic and inconstant. hmm. Did you think those were just Filipino characteristics? heh. That and other things.
We’re all human after all. It is darn near impossible to change what others think or how they go about their thinking. On Helplessness i posted a comment:
Several years ago, i got a chance to peak at PGH’s numbers. i don’t know how they do it now, but back then they do charge for patients, if only minimally.
There are far too many people who are sick and even at minimal cost— maintenance and equipment can be overcome.
PGH i think is a reflection of how things are. Just like the state of EDSA is a mirror to the Filipino’s soul. There are many things wrong with PGH that can easily be solved. Its problems aren’t as huge as one might think. It suffers from the same disease as any government run agency is.
i humbly submit that PGH isn’t equal to health care, but it is an important aspect of delivering service. That’s not to say there isn’t a challenge in delivering health care in the Philippines, just as there is around the world.
but that’s not the point.
I see where MLQ3 is coming from.
Our nation stands a captive of our apathy and a prisoner of incapacity. Lulled by good intensions and seduced by rhetoric, we’ve permitted our national life to be gamed by politicians.
In this darkness, our Apathy stems from.
We’ve lost faith and that apathy born of broken trust, from young and old, powerful and small– every Filipino, arrogant and greedy, is all for himself now.
It is a universe where heroes are ruined. They fall from grace.
There is no common cause, only anger and fear. There is no one willing to make our world strong and free, to overcome challenges that threaten to overwhelm us. There are no heroes, only the blame game. Always with us what can not be done.
It is the disease of incapacity.
Many quarters are still holding on to hope that this Republic can somehow overcome these challenges. The slate of 2010 is shaping out to be merely the same old game: uninspiring, not surprising. Simply put: old, tired. ancient. Perhaps it is time to consider more vigorously that we must already write this Republic’s epitaph because it would be easier to start anew.
The Future does not wait for the Filipino.
The Frontier ahead of us is a world of profound transformation. It is filled with unknown peril and yet equally, opportunity.
Can you not see it?
Without doubt any future Republic will be born in the same universe we buried the dead one. It would be a universe of undefeated poverty, of unchallenged ignorance, of powerful prejudice and unequal surplus. It is understandable to shrink from that daunting task. Understandable but should be unacceptable.
Are we equal to the challenge?
Can our people draw upon courage that flows naturally in the Filipino? We require vigorous leadership. We require invention, innovation, imagination and most importantly— decision in our politics, in our economy, in education, in health care, in our pursuit of science. I would like to write, “abangan” (trans: wait for it).
I fear the truth is far more bitter. It is a deep “no,” for a Republic that is the land of the dead, the incapacitated where there is no hope at all.
youth has a right to be arrogant because it inspires innovation. elders have a right to put the uppity in their place but in the end, time takes its toll and todays elders will be replaced by today’s youth -who will be criticized in turn by today’s babies.
My generation fails to see that if we do not hold on fast to our politics. If we refuse to engage our elders with blatant rebellion— rebellion the kind of running for public office. Of challenging the status quo. Of raising the bar of expectation for everyone— not just those in government. We will join generations before us lamenting.
The bitter pill is that it may be the sins of our Fathers, but it is our children’s country. Every generation has its challenges. The bitter pill is that we maybe unwilling and unable to take it, conquer it. And our children shall inherit a nation similar to the one that we entered. That says something about us than it does the generation we critique.
The challenge of why institutions like PGH is the way it is because of the way we structure our assets. Simplistic I know. But a detailed break down would take an entire book that no one would read.
People still read right? Or do our kids simply watch Television?
In Look Ma! Giant Fries! Marck wrote:
Maybe because we have no choice but to content ourselves with the French fries of our society: that we can’t do anything about the poor, that the President deserves her spot because of the rule of law, that we shouldn’t save the poor, that if a free society cannot help the many who are poor then it cannot save the few who are rich…
Many lives have been transformed by the wealth being generated by Filipinos working abroad. It is the refuge of a population where we find so few jobs in country that greater opportunities exist elsewhere. We’re not the only country in the freaking planet to find greener pastures elsewhere. There is no disputing that the lifeblood of this country has been Filipinos living abroad.
Many have looked at the state of the country’s economy for years, and we’ve been drowning in explanation and analysis that hasn’t really changed much has it? Our people are still wondering, why the common public consensus is the hopelessness we breathe in day in and day out.
Have we paused and stopped and thought that instead of wearing black and white and yelling and blaming others— for things we can not change that perhaps, we ought to focus on the things that we can? Yes, standing up against a government that often abuse its power is well and good. Those things are important but that’s not all we need to accomplish and more importantly, can accomplish.
Run for public office! Or build businesses! Create! No matter how seemingly insignificant: they also serve those who stand and wait.
Those of us that do have a bit more, isn’t it our responsibility to grow that wealth? Isn’t it our responsibility to put that work to good use, by building businesses, creating jobs and thus employing people? Didn’t we learn in Religion class or in theology class or in Church that teaching someone to fish is much better than fishing for them?
Poverty is everywhere. It lives in the land of the free. It is living in first world countries and it thrives in countries that are developing. To fight poverty you don’t even have to be an entrepreneur, you don’t need slogans and T-Shirts or to go blame government why there isn’t any tickle down effect.
On What Gross National Product Measures, I wrote this:
This pursuit of material wealth does not include the beauty of our poetry, the depth of our music, the strength of our marriages and the enduring force that is the Filipino family. This GNP does not imbue intelligence in our public discourse nor raise the integrity of our public officials. Neither does Gross National Product measure the deafness of our middle-class and theologians to the fundamental gospel that incapacity is the greater evil gripping our nation, more than our outrage about the true nature of our public officials. Nor does it measure the blindness of our leadership to see beyond their petty concerns and see what our people truly need.
This statistic does not by any standard tell us how mute and hopeless and incapacitated the poor really are.
Gross National Product can not fully quantify the perseverance and level of sacrifice of the Filipino diaspora. It can never weigh the joys of our children at simple play, at simple pleasure. It does not measure our wit, our laugh, our people’s beautiful smile, nor the depth of our religious devotion and The Filipino’s courage that is God’s gift to our people.
Our Gross National Product measures everything in short except that which make life worth while. And it can tell us everything about Our Nation except why we ought to be proud of being Filipino.
Many employ drivers, or maids— that spreads wealth. Some even go far as to help educate their house-help, or the children of their house-help to give those people a change at a better life down the road. Ordinary Filipinos day in and day out help their relatives get on their foot— some provide for the education or give jobs to their relatives. We’re not entirely powerless to fight poverty or to help in the struggle against it. It is the right thing to do, work, grow the wealth, share the wealth: the glass is half-full, not half-empty.
this post is an update of, and borrows heavily from my Poverty: The Glass is Half-Full, Not Half-Empty
Popularity: 1% [?]
Thanks for the link but my question was not ‘why there hasn’t been a trickle down effect?’. Rather, why is our economic development strategy based on there being a trickle down effect? The policy sequence followed by our neighbors is as follows:
Stage 1: Address Inequality (especially in land) to build a domestic market and give room for wealth concentration in the industrial sector.
Stage 2: Implement market reforms to encourage entrepreneurial activity and accelerate economic growth.
It is only after Stage 2 that trickle down works (if the economy grows fast enough) but, as the example of our neighbors have shown (both Capitalist and Communist) this has to be preceded by wealth redistribution.
1. Land reform is the true wealth distribution for our country. Economic zoning is part of it.
2. Small business administration at the local government units must be implemented. Promote livelihood and allow competition for basic service to produce basic needs. Assess demand for goods and services.
What are policies and support from government for programs to work? Why is the process of implementation so slow?
Chuck,
How do you address land inequality?
If this is another could have would have should have, then that is not a proposal at all.
How can you get rid of the oligarchs?
you cited examples with a disclaimer that you do not condone the extreme measures employed by your grand examples?
how do you want to do that, tell them all to migrate to somewhere else? kill them all?
How?
I still do not get it,with all the questions I have asked you and with all the explanations you have provided me.
you are very idealistic,and there is nothing wrong with that,but will you be like the others who blamed the older generations for not changing what needs to be changed.
Please, this time do not give a retroactive approach.
What trickle down effect are you looking for?
like teaching the young of wellness program…
kumain ka ng itlog ikaw ay lulusog,
uminom ng gatas ikaw ay lalakas…
when these poor pupils can not even afford to buy milk. ha ha ha
The Ca t, i think “what trickle down effect are you looking for?” should be address to Chuck.
i dont believe in the trickle down effect. too deterministic for my taste.
leytenian, we’ve had land reform for what..? 20 years. it is an utter fail.
No it is addressed to you in relation to your statement quoted above.
What part of my explanation above (at 9:45 am) “Thanks for the link but my question was NOT ‘why there hasn’t been a trickle down effect?’.”…is unclear?
The Ca t.
i’m confused…?
as a point of clarification:
1. cocoy doesn’t believe in the trickle down effect.
the trickle down effect says there are stages in a country economic development. which i disagree with because it sounds too formulalistic, too Determinism for my taste.
2. chuck wrote a post which i linked to. which i think he explained in his first comment. hence, my reply that you should address your questions on trickle down theory to him.
Karl (at 11:21 am), in terms of proposals, the above (at 9:45 am) is the two-stage strategic direction i believe we should take, which is to address inequality first [Stage 1] so that we can make the market economy take off later [Stage 2].
On Land Reform, i’ve detailed my proposals in my blog. I’ve also blogged about the Victory Gardens proposal that Manolo brought up (which was triggered by your bringing up the Vertical Gardens). On helping the 1 Dollar a day Rural Poor, i like the recommendations of American Capitalist Entrepreneur Paul Polak.
My purpose of pointing out the success stories of our neighbors is for us to emulate them, and by ‘emulate’ i do not mean copy word for word but adapt the essence of their ideas to our context in a democratic and peaceful manner while avoiding their mistakes.
Nothing like that. I did tell Patricio in a previous thread that the Oligarchs should shift their capital away from agriculture and real estate and into industry so they can build our own Chaebols and Zaibatsus. (For this, reference Abe Margallo’s ‘Bayanihan Pact’ suggestion).
I never have. All the templates i cited, whether it be the relatively benign examples of Japan, Korea, Taiwan or the more drastic examples of China and Vietnam, comprise the menu of options for future implementation.
cvj,
In fact, all of your proposals are anchored on the bloody murder and/or violent eviction of an entire socio-economic class.
So how do we go about doing that, Chuck?
Jon, as i mentioned repeatedly (which somehow does not seem to be getting through *sigh*), my preference is for peace. As i mentioned to Abe two years ago…
I told more or less the same thing to fellow FV-blogger Lester last February in my own blog. My preference is for a Bayanihan Pact along the lines proposed by fellow FV-blogger Abe.
Ok chuck,it seems that for now all we got to do is wait.
Now for leytenian:
1. Land reform is the true wealth distribution for our country. Economic zoning is part of it.
2. Small business administration at the local government units must be implemented. Promote livelihood and allow competition for basic service to produce basic needs. Assess demand for goods and services.
What are policies and support from government for programs to work? Why is the process of implementation so slow?
We do not have a land use law, even in the urban areas there is no zoning; it has been filed and refiled but nada.
Then you will have to implement a bio fuels law with out a land use law, we will end up like brazil,destroying its forests just for bio fuels.
Back to land reform:it is a bust. We have a so called voluntary offer to donate lands,for some reason those who volunteered to give up land are not yet paid with their money stuck in land bank.
Access to credit: we implemented a collective titling system which is more difficult to monitor and having access to credit as difficult.
But there really is no access to credit whether the titling may be individual or collective.
The farmers are not as lucky as the microentreps where microlending is helping them somehow.let us see if even microlending will be a success or a failure.
As to the involvement of the local government,I recently learned that congress is against it, because they said land reform is already so much politicized.
The Land reform law will not be extended,so they have to file a new law early next year,if it would be all talk then it may be for the next admin. They have not even resolved the issue if just to support those who already benefited or distribute to those who have not yet tasted land reform.
back to cvj;
I have pointed out that owners have their rights too.
Now if you just give the land because they have been in that land for the last fifty years, will you think that would be fair?
That is for urban and rural.
For urban squatting,so as not to be trapped by syndicates for paying those that who do not actually own the land for so long, why not look for a parcel of land with a real owner that can be easily located and form a group just enough for the down payment and talk to that particular land owner.
Going back to rural.that (upon death)giving it to your children by dividing it equally won’t work,the land would be very small or just as big as soil in flower pots,that law has to change.
That is enough for now, thanks.
cvj,
Doesn’t answer my second question, unfortunately.
Karl, land reform is a ‘bust’ (or in Cocoy’s words ‘fail’) because it has not been implemented extensively enough. In the link i provided above (at 1:35 pm), Solita Monsod points to a study which finds that…
The fail aspect of land reform has been on the slowness of the implementation and on the lack of credit and infrastructure support to the beneficiares. Of course, i am not surprised that Congress will use any reason not to extend land reform. It has been against the interest of their Class.
Property owner’s rights are not absolute. Sometimes, the needs of the many outweigh these rights. Here in Singapore, i know someone who’s family’s farm was expropriated (back in the 70′s). The Singapore government compensated them by putting them up in government housing. The end result being, the vast majority of Singaporeans [not all] have an apartment of their own.
That’s why i mentioned the advocacy of Paul Polack in ending extreme (less than dollar a day) poverty. Look up his ideas (as written in his book ‘Out of Poverty’) if you have time. He’s a conservative capitalist entrepreneur so i don’t think you’ll be allergic to his views on helping farmers with small plots of land.
Jon, but i did answer your first question, right?
Chuck,
I have read the summary.
re :Polak
I will paste it here:
Paul Polak challenges us to launch a revolution in the way we in the West
think about water, agriculture, markets and design. Innovative design and
the ruthless pursuit of affordability, he argues, are key to long-term
impacts on poverty and to eradicating it worldwide. Polak and his
colleagues at IDE have interviewed 3,000 small farmers around the globe
over the past 25 years to help develop small-scale innovations that have
worked -— placing 750,000 acres of land under irrigation and proving that
farmers in developing countries can generate wealth by focusing on
high-value, labor-intensive cash crops.
In his book “Out of Poverty,” Polak demonstrates that his approach -—
helping small farmers increase their crop yield year-round with
innovative, low-cost agricultural tools -— is an effective way for the 800
million people living on one-acre farms worldwide to move out of poverty.
Challenging current conventional methods for alleviating poverty, Polak
exposes the “three poverty eradication myths” -— that we can donate people
out of poverty; that national economic growth will end poverty; and that
big business, operating as it does now, will end poverty.
“While it certainly is true that powerlessness, poor health, poor
education and absent transport infrastructure are important root causes of
poverty,” Polak says, “there can be no question that the most direct and
cost-effective first step out of poverty is to find ways to help poor
people to increase their income.”
our country only has 15,500 sq m of irrigated land out of the approximately 56,652 sq m of arable land and shrinking due to lack of land use.
what happened was that land owners sold it to developers for mall,subdivisons,etc.making them have a one time big time increase in income,so in a way some increased their income. We both know that is not what Polak meant.
Many factors need to be overhauled like the 5-6 and other pautangs because the traditional way is so hARD.
With what I said about finding the owners and talking to them indicated that i said that owners have absolute rights, I only said they have rights too,unless you don’t think so.
Property is something na pinagpapatayan sa real world that is why i think that locating and talkin to the owner and pooling yourselves enough to have a down payment maybe the way to go.
For land reform,laws may sound good even the present laws on land reform is music to the ears,but unless that music would make people dance then that music may just for singing along.
As to the vertical stuff,I don’t think any leader will imlement a bliss type project,look what happened to the fvr’s bcda projects.
For the vertical farming,I think I was the one who mentioned that to you.
it is the phrase, this has to be preceded by wealth disribution.
So i get right that what you mean is there is wealth distribution before the trickle-down-effect?
if so in what form is the redistribution of wealth?
definition of terms:
trickle-down-effect
Trickle-down economics” and “trickle-down theory” are terms of political rhetoric that refer to the policy of providing tax or other benefits to businesses and rich individuals, in the belief that this will indirectly benefit the broad population.
redistribution of wealth: transfers of wealth from those who have it to those who do not have it mostly in the form of charity.
NOW EDUCATE ME.
I read the link of trickle- down- effect in your blog.
My dear the trickle- down- effect does not solve absolute poverty. If you can not understand what this theory really mean. just tell me.
Now Mr. Cvj, educate me. Just use simple terminologies. remember my brain cells are dying according to a young blogger, although my MRI scan says otherwise.
And i am disappointed that you quoted one event specialist who is a party animal. Do you know who he is? Sheesh.
Yes it was. I did acknowledge above (at 1:35 pm) that it was your idea when i stated above “which was triggered by your bringing up the Vertical Gardens“.
Chuck,
that time I just scanned the comment instead of doing it usual word for word.
Sorry for the narcissism.
Another thing Chuck, because Cathy mentioned it Tim Yap is a party blogger.
Sana nilagyan na lang ng by anonymous.
If it is a don’t shoot the messenger stuff,you tell me.
for a googler like me na mabusisi minsan,parang ang labo yata na maggaling sa katulad nya ang quotation about people keep on partying,mindless of others.
My reaction would be the same as to when I questioned your middleclass bashing,knowing that you are middle class yourself.
Karl, i don’t agree with the logic that since i am Middle Class, i should not bash the Middle Class. For me, what is right is right and what is wrong is wrong. We have to step back from our class affiliations and analyze the situation from point of view of the entire System and our place within it.
Likewise, i think the poor and the rich should assess themselves in a similar manner. What are they doing right and what are they doing wrong. Don’t you think that’s just fair?
Between cvj and Jon Limjap, FV’s got everything covered: Jon wants to change the attitudes of the poor, and cvj wants to change the attitudes of the rich. The middle class can go pick whichever side theyre for.
Foget about that tim yap guy. even adam smith was criticized after centuries of writing two seemingly contradictory books one that emphasizes sympathy for others (Theory of Moral sentiments) and one emphasizes self interest(Wealth of Nations).
You already explained yourself to me and others that middle class stuff,bahala na kami kung pano namin interpret yun.
One last thing ,what is the need for any trickling down if the wealth is already distributed?
chuck,
I was talking about that senseless exchange at Mlq3s when I questioned that.
Jeg,
About changing attitudes,of the rich,poor,or middle class; if they(we) all need changing ,then so be it.
and yes,Fv has all bases covered.
Don’t kick out that highpriest guy,invite him for some more.
Jeg,
Lots of fun, ain’t it? BTW, you forgot benign0, who wants to change EVERYONE’s attitudes. So there. :P
cvj,
on: “it is inequality in land ownership that is the most detrimental to economic growth. That’s why our neighbors who tackled this matter early on had more success in economic development. Besides, it is better for capital to be diverted to industry rather than real estate.”
This is exactly what’s happening in our real estate industry. The elites who are real estate developer are catering the middle class to buy real estate such as high rise condo and single family homes in a subdivision. Most of our emerging middle class are OFW or FW. The middle class has very little role in terms of economic development except making the rich richer. Economic development from small business requires capital. OFW or FW are sources of capital. Many wonder , where did all those remittances go. It all went to buy products and services from the elites.
The poor have very little room to play in the market. The hope from OFW, FW and elites to create more jobs are instead invested in real estate. The imbalance of market is the responsibility of our leader. How can the poor get in and join the market when no one is interested in employing them?
is it because middle class pinoy are not really entrepreneurial? is it because government governance and program implementations are lacking?
the elites know exactly what they are doing and they have the advantage. A monopoly in a weak market.
leytenian,
i think it was Jon who blogged about a statistic that said that there are a lot of Filipino entrepreneurs. i forgot the link. maybe jon can provide that..?
The market is small in the Philippines. we’ve little to compete with globally. That’s not to say Filipinos can’t give others a run for their money. For example, one problem most businesses have is the HIGH cost of electricity.
Then there is the problem of accessibility. Our airports really suck. the roads going to and from our beaches give little to inspire a return trip.
Cocoy,
This is what I discussed in:
Filipinos and entrepreneurship: what’s the real score?
As for roads to beaches — I’m one who actually prefers roads remain underdeveloped going to such places, the reason being that well-paved roads usually lead to uber-development in said beaches, tainting their beauty.
That being said, “roads to beaches” gives me the impression that you have mainly been going to beaches in Luzon, which is ironic since the main mode of going to the best beaches in the country is by pumpboat. ;)
In fact, it is not what our beaches could offer that makes people want to return, it’s what’s under the water that is truly inspiring. Fortunately scuba is becoming very cheap lately.
Sorry for the OT, but just had to point that out. :P
Jon, point well taken. i should have been more clear. roads=transportation. trains, boats, etc.
i would have thought under-development of roads/transportation makes it harder just to get from one place to another. major deal breaker for me. time is money.
i’m no beach expert. my last trip was to ilocos right before my “retirement”. ;) you’re the travel guy and i defer to your expertise. :D