Business Discipline Meets Historical Records. An MBA’s Review of Policy and Facts.
Search This Blog
Would You Want a MARITES in Management and Economics?
Above is a meme I found on Facebook a few days ago. I thought I'd not be writing anything for now. Instead, I was thinking of giving a "sequel" to my Intrigador Financials joke post (read here). I feel the abundance of social media gossipers has given me the motivation to write another joke post. This time, it's the MARITES which means Master in Arts in Relaying Information Through Exaggerated Storytelling. We can all forget about getting a master's degree in economics. Instead, we can pretend that Intrigador Financials has now opened a financial literacy academy. We can start a new school of management with Intrigador Financials. Instead of a Master in Business Administration (MBA) or a Masters of Arts in Economics (MA Econ)--we can imagine having a MARITES graduate school program from none other than Intrigador Financials.
I was thinking about how Intrigador Financials' MARITES program will try to develop financial literacy. Chances are their preferred mode of payment will be cryptocurrency, preferably through Bitcoin and Binance. The MARITES program will promote the following promises if you join them:
Learn how to gamble your way to success.
Learn how to manipulate cryptocurrency and become an overnight billionaire.
Learn how to time the stock market by determining when to panic and sell your bulk-bought bull market stocks.
Learn how to do day-to-day trading and earn money fast through the stock market.
Learn how to reason out why heads of government are always to blame for inflation.
Learn how to enforce cash dole-outs and learn to reason why a PHP 10,000.00 rollout isn't inflationary.
Learn why foreign direct investment (FDI) is bad and why the Philippines should remain in a protectionist economy.
Learn how to effectively market products by Intrigador Financials.
Learn how to play Axie Infinity at beat the other players.
In the end, you can expect to have billions of pesos when you get your MARITES.
What's the course starter kit? Well, above is Charlie Munger beating down fake financial gurus. Yet, you'll probably end up having courses that are written by the missing Ruja Ignatova, the late Gerald Cotten, Tai Lopez (and his garage), and many more. I could imagine Intrigador Financials might even endorse the writings of the late Bernard Madoff and Charles Ponzi (who died decades ago). There are so many fake financial gurus that I don't think I can memorize all their names, except for those who get overly notorious.
Chances are, I think this group (if it exists) will also align with the economist "think tank" IBON Foundation (read more here). I could imagine if we had Sonny Africa (who I refuse to take seriously) or maybe we could have Binance and Mavis Sky as part of the financial program. Maybe Mavis Sky can keep promoting Axie Infinity as a life-changing game. They will try to say that any scheme against them is nothing more than one done by jealous people.
If this program exists, I could imagine people will be buying cryptocurrency instead. For one, it's a lot more logical to buy devalued stocks either through DIY portfolio or through an index fund. One could consider keeping their AXA Chinese Tycoon Fund going or buying more from any feasible index fund. ATRAM has some good index funds. BPI has a good Philippine stock index fund. Metrobank has some good index funds. These stock funds can be useful in taking advantage of the dip. Though, I think Intrigador Financials will prefer cryptocurrency to hide their schemes. Just think about it how cryptocurrency has been used for criminal operations. I'd probably prefer cryptocurrency if I were a crook. It's going to be much harder to trace me that way.
If this financial training program exists--I can imagine it should be either a pyramid scam, a Ponzi scam, or maybe even a combination of both. Getting a MARITES may easily get the first few easy gains. However, Intrigador Financials will soon rob X to pay Y who joins their MARITES program. For me, no thanks. I had my experiences in being scammed. Joining any too good to be true financial guru programs is definitely not in my agenda.
Many people want to be rich, but not so many people want the discipline on how to be rich. Isn't that the plain hard truth ? As I do this sideline blog , I contemplated whether I should write another post after writing several posts years back, or when I wrote about Venezuela as a cautionary tale . Back on topic, I thought about how financial discipline is something often overlooked. It's easy to talk about Christmas since that's probably the most wonderful time of the year to be spendthrift , only to find out that one's broke by the New Year . The cycle of reckless financial habits tends to restart in January, even when January becomes that time of reckoning between debtors and creditors! January 2026 will end, February 2026 comes, and then the cycle of financial recklessness continues. It's the same cycle over and over! Last Christmas, I remember how DTI Secretary Christina Roque spoke about the PHP 500.00 noche buena, for a family of four . I called it tactless b...
The Sunday Guardian Years ago, I wrote about Venezuela's pride and protectionism , under a more "formal" style of writing compared to my latest posts. I decided to use an even "less formal" and "less academic" tone since I'm not writing a term paper. Instead, it's like how a professor and a student discuss the thesis using first person over third person, using contractions, etc., while the thesis doesn't use such tones. Back on track, I thought about the arrest of Venezuelan President Maduro can spark debate. Was it a violation of sovereignty? I'm no expert on international law. However, Venezuelans can be seen celebrating Maduro's arrest. Right now, I'm using Gemini AI and Google search to help me find some sources for this blog. It's because I don't want my blog to become another gossip central, but a place to discuss facts with my own personal opinions (making sure they don't derail the facts). I used Venezuela ...
Gemini AI Updated: September 27, 2025 It would be nice to talk about the typical blame game in the Philippines. I could remember that, as a child and a teenager, I had this habit of blaming people I disliked for my failing an exam. The reasons are mostly imagined. What I remembered in my later college years was when I met a couple of super irresponsible students. They had this attitude to say something like, "My parents don't care if it'll take me 20 years to finish my bachelor's degree." Some people even say something like, "It's the fault of the rich that we are poor." It was a backfire when I told such people, "Isn't it any wonder why your finances are down? It's because your parents don't even value the money when they don't care if it'll take up to 20 years to finish college!" Understanding the blame game and why it feels so good Psychology Today presents this on why some people will always blame others . These fin...
I remember reading through Third World to First by the late Lee Kuan Yew. It's very easy to use the book to badmouth the Marcoses but not to learn from the rest of it. The book also talks about Vietnam and LKY's encounter with the late Nguyen Duy Cong aka Do Muoi. It's often said that Singapore only opened because of its lack of natural resources. On the contrary, Do Muoi decided to learn from Singapore how to turn the Communist Party of Vietnam into a powerhouse. Do Muoi, though a communist , was impressed by Singapore during his October 1993 state visit. Vietnam, unlike Singapore, is a country rich in natural resources. The third-world mentality said that MNCs are there to rape the resources . A very huge misconception especially if you know Singapore's history Some Filipinos on social media even say that FDIs will destroy agriculture and nature. This is a meme by the Philippine Anti-Fascist League on Facebook. They say that FDIs equals environmental degradation. Yet...
Here's a picture from the Dose of Disbelief Page on Facebook. Here's something that it wrote: Filipinos once trusted locally made products more than imports. Before World War II, the label "Made in the Philippines" carried prestige, not stigma, reflecting a strong sense of national confidence in domestic production. Local products such as shoes, cigars, textiles, furniture, and food were often preferred over imports. This preference was rooted in the belief that local goods were better adapted to local conditions, tastes, and were often of comparable, if not superior, quality. This period showcases a strong historical era of consumer nationalism and thriving local industries. We need to look into the context of Filipino history If we look at the Philippine history timeline , we must account for 1935-1940, during which the Philippines was under the Commonwealth government. Independence was declared from Spain on June 12, 1898. However, there was a transition period w...
