Skip to main content

Trying to Discipline EVERY SINGLE FILIPINO Isn't a Sound Economic Plan

CoRRECT Movement

It's the -ber months and it's only 90+ days before Christmas. I feel like every year, Christmas gets worse. Just Google "Christmas Day disasters" and let's stop thinking Christmas is some magical special time where the world is at peace with love. At this point, I feel like always complaining about last-minute Christmas shopping (read here). It's been a leading cause of traffic. Some people even plan to do their shopping on December 24th. Some argue that some people are living paycheck-to-paycheck. Some are still waiting for their Christmas bonuses. However. one must question why they don't have money left. Think every dumb way possible to drain that paycheck (read here). One can take a look at poor money habits such as putting your wants over needs. People living paycheck-to-paycheck should focus on their needs, maybe avoid payday blowouts as much as possible, and focus on trying to make ends meet first before anything. Yet, we know how Filipino society is typical with putting wants over needs. Payday? They decide to go on a blowout, buy the latest iPhone (and mind you, it's that expensive), going gambling (which is a real money killer), and you know what happens next.

I always tend to argue even until now, "Isn't it any wonder why the Philippines doesn't improve?" It also reminded me of my college days when I had to meet students with poor money habits. Somebody I knew dated a girl for her money. Somebody I knew even said it didn't matter for her parents even if it took more than 10 years to finish her course. I soon said, "Isn't it any wonder why you have no money? Isn't it any wonder why the Philippines doesn't improve?" The next thing to happen is rich-shaming because they felt it's the fault of the rich that they're poor. Some people even have this mentality, "Why should you worry about money? Aren't you rich?" Nobody gets rich by carelessly handling or giving away money. If you donated everything to charity today then you won't be able to give to charity for the days to come.

I remembered my high school Asian history exam. I always spoke about how discipline may be the key to improving the Philippines. I always mentioned how Singapore was a very disciplined country. Maybe, that's why Singapore is so rich. The late Lee Kuan Yew even wrote his book From Third World to First which serves as a legacy. That book should be made readily available in the Philippines. I felt that if and every Filipino were disciplined--the Philippines will improve. It's sad really how K+10 didn't have middle school and high school. It's a shame really that I had to wait until I was fourth year high school in K+10 to know economics. Not even the impressive intelligence of a teacher who's pretty much like the late Miriam Defensor-Santiago could give me that literacy. I had to wait until college to know how economics is part of life. It sounds stupid but it's true.

What I tend to ignore (and what people tend to ignore) is that it's almost impossible (if not impossible) to discipline poor people. If one is so poor and can't afford food--stealing may become the only option. Some people work several jobs to make ends meet. At the end of the day, the breadwinner is too exhausted. The father is already too tired. The mother is already too tired. More often than not, they might even be too stuck with their several menial jobs to notice that their children are badly in need of a spanking and scolding. They're working several menial jobs just to make ends meet. The salary rate of the Philippines is the lowest in the ASEAN region. Some even end up working abroad because salaries are higher abroad. Yet, the family can't even be taught to value money if they rely too much on OFW remittance (read here). During COVID-19, some poor people can't even practice social distancing at home because they live in very cramped areas. 

It's a good thing I was able to get deeper insights into how Singapore and other former third-world countries rose. Some say that the third-world countries only accepted foreign direct investment (FDI) only after their local businesses prospered. That's a very blatant lie as Lee stated that if they waited for the Singaporeans to be industrialists--they would've starved to death. Instead, what Lee did was to invite multinational corporations (MNCs) to invest in Singapore while it was still not business-savvy. Singapore had a long way to go. Lee had to sit down for 31 years before Singapore truly became even more powerful. During the course of its challenge--other nations somehow followed its economic model. Two communist countries namely Vietnam and China both followed Singapore's example and succeeded. 

Some say that it's wasteful to allow MNCs to invest in the Philippines because Filipinos will just waste the money they'll earn working from them. I can't imagine if Lee decided to say that. Singapore used to be crime-infested. Reading through From Third World to First made me think Singapore may have been worse than Tondo in Manila. I'd like to say that there's a tendency for people to waste their first paycheck. However, that doesn't mean people shouldn't get employed. Let's see more MNCs enter the Philippines. Let's say that the Public Services Act of 2022 will generate more jobs (which it will). We start to have more Filipinos employed. Okay, it's very easy to waste that money because you feel like you have your own money. However, there's room for learning. The Filipino employed at the MNC may have wasted the money. There may be productive people around him. Maybe, the Filipino employed at the MNC will be taught smart money habits by the boss. Overtime, the Filipino working for an MNC may learn how to go beyond paycheck-to-paycheck living. Even better, more businesses may increase the daily minimum wage as a result of better economics. More businesses registered equals more taxes, and more prosperity for the nation. 

If there are more people employed (whether at a local company or a foreign company) then more Filipinos will start to rethink things. Local businesses will either learn to shape up or ship out. Good examples of businesses that grew via competition are Jollibee and Bo's Coffee Club. Bo's Coffee Club had faced much competition even today (read here). Bo's Coffee Club's foreign competitors can come in the form of MNCs like Chatime and Gong Cha. Jollibee had to face McDonald's. Now, Jollibee is an MNC proving that Filipino businesses can compete against FDI (read here). If local businesses start to improve thanks to competition then think how much more will it retrain the local Filipino workforce. Bo's Coffee Club faced it head on and it's still going strong. Jollibee's status as an MNC proves that yes, Filipino businesses can become MNCs. But Jollibee became an MNC when it competed against an MNC. The same goes for the late John Gokongwei's Universal Robina as it has branches abroad too.

If more people in the Philippines are employed (with better pay) then there's really more room for discipline. The father will be home after an eight-hour shift. There will be much less absentee parenting. In short, if the parents are employed with better opportunities then think there's more time to take care of the children. The father can easily get the belt or the cane to spank the children's buttocks if they did something as stupid as using his credit card to buy a Playstation 5 online without his permission. It's very unlike if the father's OFW remittance was used by the children to by a Playstation 5 (without the father's consent) and he was working from Dubai, Singapore, or any country where OFWs go to earn better money. It'd be easier to monitor children stealing money from their parents' savings if both parents were around. It would mean less absentee parenting therefore much less excuse not to discipline the children. In short, it's been more of a lack of progress that has led to the Philippines' bad culture. 

Based on experience, trying to discipline every single Filipino to achieve economic growth is stupid. I really had countless tantrums trying to do it. The Philippines has 7,107 islands. The total population of 109.6 billion is estimated by statistics. Can you imagine trying to discipline 109.6 billion Filipinos? I'd already become a corpse by then (in short, I'd be dead) trying to do that. Even if I do become the president of the Philippines--can I really discipline the Philippines? Let's say I became president in some time--the population boom may have doubled by then! I'd be at the Malacanang and there's no surveillance camera on every island, every home, etc. I might die even before barely a half of my term trying to discipline every single Filipino. I might go ahead and order the building of concentration camps for wayward people. All those concentration camps that would be built under my regime will be good only on paper. It's because it's just impossible to discipline every single Filipino. 

Developed countries are more disciplined because of development. Yes, we need discipline for progress but that alone will not help. South Korea can have its military training for men all it wants. However, South Korea will still remain poor if it's as protectionist as its rival state, North Korea. Singapore did both discipline and economics. One might even say that Deng Xiaoping was no-nonsense guy. Deng can keep sending wayward people to concentration camps but that will not help the economy. What helped the economy was when Deng decided to open China up to the world market (read here). Deng couldn't discipline every single Chinese and there were so many wayward Chinese thanks to Mao Zedong's stupid policies. China has a population bigger than the Philippines. Deng was an old man when he took over. Deng would've probably died a lot earlier if he tried to discipline every single Chinese. 

The solution for economics is to remove excessive restrictions. Cash handouts, if ever, should only be handed out during times of crisis (like the current COVID-19 pandemic) like massive layoffs that couldn't be avoided. Giving handouts should only be an emergency measure. Otherwise, poverty alleviation programs (such as scholarship programs) should be encouraged among private enterprises with coordination from the government. Former Philippine president Rodrigo R. Duterte signed the Public Services Act of 2022. The late former Philippine president Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III signed several laws that loosened up the negative list. Economist (and Liberal Party of the Philippines supporter) Andrew J. Masigan even saw economic charter change as a badly needed mechanism. Filipinos now should listen to Kishore Mahbubani says about FDI. Mahbubani had proven Hilario G. Davide Jr. wrong even before (read here). The Philippines needs FDI in its list of registered companies. It will benefit better from it. 

With that, we can also consider upgrading the public school system too. I remembered being cross-enrolled for CAT-1 in high school. I remembered taking NEAT exams in public schools. The comfort rooms were anything but comfortable. With FDI, one can have more adequate funding to make sure that public schools can have functioning CRs, functioning classrooms, better pay for teachers, and the like. It would mean that the less privileged can still get good education as a result. Aquino III's approval of K+12 wasn't enough. This also means that when ROTC is restored--there will be real serious training and not just wooden rifles. It would mean that public schools can get more funding because there will be more taxes from both local businesses and FDI. Public schools may soon be easier to handle if there's a fully motivated workforce, if the less fortunate will not be that less fortunate, and that would be because there's more funding thanks to welcoming FDI to invest in the Philippines. 

References

Books

"From Third World to First--The Singapore Story: 1965-2000) by Lee Kuan Yew
Harpers Collins Publishers

Videos

"The Singapore economic model - VPRO documentary - 2009"  by VRPO Documentary (September 8, 2018)

Websites

"Long overdue laws finally passed" by Andrew J. Masigan (April 06, 2022)

"The legacy of Philippines President Benigno Aquino" by Laura Southgate (August 25, 2015)

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Get Stuck with EDSA, End Up Like Nokia

  Yes, we should never forget what history teaches us. A classmate of mine, back in high school, wrote a simple and blunt essay called "History: A Teacher". I doubt he still has a soft copy, given it was already more than 20 years ago. I'd like to quote Duterte critic Andrew James Masigan wrote this in  Philippine Star --something that should remain relevant: I would never undervalue the 1987 Constitution. It dismantled the legal framework of a repressive regime and established the democratic institutions we enjoy today. For this, I am grateful. The 1987 Constitution was crafted with the best of intentions. It sought to put the Filipino first in all aspects of governance and to level the playing field amongst sectors and peoples.  But it is far from perfect. It failed to consider the importance of foreign capital and technologies and the stiff competition we would have to face to obtain them. In short, its economic provisions were short-sighted . So despite the Constitut...
Read more

#SahodItaasPresyoIbaba Economics' Bad Accounting

I would like to apologize in advance to my readers. The picture I'm presenting is in Tagalog, and not all my readers speak Tagalog. I would translate the picture's text into English for convenience. It says:   "Ano ang bumubuo sa mga presyo?" means "What comprises the price?" "Gastos ng materyales" means materials expense "Gastos sa kasangkapan" means depreciation expense ""Gaston sa pasahod" means salary expense "Kapitalista" means capitalist Renta is well, rent "Kayang pababain ang presyo" means "Prices can be lowered". It says that capitalists (industrialists, landlords, bankers) and elitist governments are part in the gross profit. Get rid of excise taxes (either permanently or temporarily) for the prices of goods and services. In the times of crisis, in the burden of sacrifices, we need to be watchful for capacity. Whatever savings for times of difficulty by the workers and countrymen, the...
Read more

Past Chinese School Education in the Philippines was Based on "Sǐ Jì Yìng Bèi"

  Chinoys of my age (and older) may remember these textbooks. I called them as the "symbol of trauma". It was memorizing something without understanding it . One would just memorize (without understanding it) because it was typical. Not being able to memorize what was assigned? Get a bad grade? One can expect physical punishment like hitting the hand with a ruler or chili in the mouth. Chinese language teachers are stereotypically strict . The language textbooks (above) are what were used during the 1990s to the early 2000s. As I wrote it, the Sinjiang textbooks aren't effective in teaching Mandarin , in a world where Mandarin has over a billion speakers!  There's a Chinese proverb that says, "死記硬背 sǐ jì yìng bèi" or "Memorize to the point of death". That's exactly what those textbooks are. Memorize to the point of death! Okay, it may sound exaggerated. However, that's how Chinese language teachers in the Philippines were made to teach the ...
Read more

Migrante International's Really Bad Economic Literacy

March 17 (which is tomorrow) seems to be an unofficial holiday for some people, right? I'm sickened that the late Flor Contemplacion has been treated like she's some national heroine (and thankfully, tomorrow isn't a  holiday) even after Singapore had proven her guilt. A movie was made by Joel Lamangan called The Flor Contemplacion Story . The call for Migrante (Migrant) International has been to remember Flor even after several years. What's not too surprising was to learn that Flor's sons were all arrested for drug-related charges. Even her eldest son died while in prison. You have Migrante International wanting to end the labor export policy. However, a post by Migrante really shows how this group fails basic economics. I will not post the whole press statement but one part that made my eyes roll. >> Further opening the country’s economy to foreign ownership and control will worsen the exploitation of our people and the environment without creating a susta...
Read more

"Filipino First Policy" Has NO PLACE in the Rising Asian 21st Century

I guess nobody saw the Asian 21st Century coming, right? China was once a poor nation but look at it now. Vietnam was once a poor nation but look at it now. Singapore was once a poor nation but look at it now. The late great Lee Kuan Yew wrote his book From Third World to First . I'm afraid some people have been using it to go against the presidency of Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. while ignoring what else Lee Kuan Yew had to say. Lee Kuan Yew described the Filipino press to be rambunctious on pages 304-305 which I agree. I'm afraid that the Filipino press may have had a hand in getting rid of any economic or political reforms that could help the Philippines. Yet, one policy has been holding back the Philippines for decades and yes, it's the Filipino First Policy .  Reviewing the Filipino First Policy and why it has no place in the rising Asian 21st century I remembered how the values education subject taught Carlos P. Garcia's stupid Filipino First Policy as a Filipino value...
Read more

Remembering the Late Jesse Robredo's Quote on Systems That Force People to be Good

It's been some time since Jesse M. Robredo died too soon. Hopefully, his wife Atty. Maria Leonor Gerona-Robredo is true to her word, in her willingness to amend the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines, for the sake of foreign investments. It's a shame I never wrote about the late great man. The CoRRECT Movement on Facebook gave this important note on Robredo's life. Robredo said, "It's not enough for an official to be good. There has to be a system that forces them to be good." Whether or not Robredo was for charter change or a few constitutional amendments, I can't tell. For some racists, let me remind them that Robredo's real surname is Lim  and his paternal grandfather is the late Lim Pay Co.  In terms of Robredo's credentials (and I tend to sometimes brag about the credentials of those I quote), here's what the City Government of Naga website says: He is an Edward Mason Fellow and a graduate of Masters in Public Administration at the John...
Read more

Filipino First Education Created the Fixed Mindset Over Growth Mindset Mentality

Tomorrow is Bonifacio Day. It's effortless to say that Filipino First Policy works. I wouldn't be surprised if Andres Bonifacio gets used as a poster boy. However, Bonifacio worked for British and German investors . I'd like to talk about how decades of Filipino First Policy compromised our education system. Some idiot on Facebook said which I'll paraphrase to avoid getting personal. The idiot said, "If you let foreigners invest here, can Filipinos afford it?" The same idiot also scorns the law of supply and demand (read my post discussing why that's plain silly  here ). People who believe in #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba must first prove it works by opening such stores nationwide, to show that the Philippines doesn't need FDI to succeed (read here ). Of course, I can expect them to say "It's the government's responsibility to raise salaries without raising the prices of goods." That's just plain bad accounting and finance too! Andrew Ja...
Read more

Refuse to Do Business with a Person Who Looks Down on Menial Work

If there's any reason why some people are angry with the rich--it's because of rich people who look down on the poor. Some people are born rich without knowing the struggles of the one who originally acquired the wealth. Some rich parents make the fatal mistake of making their children feel entitled. Meanwhile, some rich parents make their children do the right thing by not waiting until things get too far. Some rich parents end up making their children attend middle-class schools, do summer jobs, work as employees in their own businesses, and teach them the value of wealth, especially by narrating the struggles before they got wealthy. In looking for a business partner, I feel it's very important to look at the attitude of these people. How do they treat people who do menial work? I could imagine looking forward to a business contract. However, it turns out that the potential business partner is a spoiled brat . Maybe, it's already a red alarm if I'm invited to an ...
Read more

Dayang Daya: The Case of Five-Six Lending Services Roaming to Collect Christmas/New Year Debts by January

I remember during the late 1990s when the song "Dayang Dayang" (Princess of the First Degree) was played on the radio. The origins are often debated whether or not it was from Muslim Mindanao or from the other neighboring countries. The Philippines has had settlers also from Malaysia and Indonesia. A parody cover by the late Yoyoy Villame was called Dayang Daya or Cheating Cheating. It was probably making fun of the Indian five-six lending business. Indians tend to be called Bombay because of the location known as Mumbai. I even made the mistake of referring to Indians as "Bombays" more than once. The song "Dayang Daya" does talk about the five-six lending services. It does target a lot of gullible people. I even became nearly distrustful of Indians in college for quite some time.  I wrote how a Merry Christmas may lead to an Unhappy New Year due to debt burden (read here ). I tend to say to myself, "Somebody hasn't paid their debt!" every ti...
Read more

Will Opening the Philippines to 100% FDI Lead to Foreign Monopoly?

Monopoly - Hasbro I was looking at the CoRRECT Movement Moderated Public Forum on Facebook. I found more illogical arguments by a certain troll in the forum named Juan Dalisay Jr.--the writer of the Superphysics One website. However, this isn't the first argument I ran into as I've seen arguments from Kabataan Partylist and the League of Filipino Students on Facebook. They have claimed that foreign direct investments (FDIs) will lead to exploitation, only they will get rich, that they will rape resources, and an even funnier claim is that they will lead to monopolies . Some people, even fools, should be allowed to defend themselves at CoRRECT Moderated Public Forum than just live in their echo chamber of Facebook pages. However, Kishore Mahbubani and the late Lee Kuan Yew had long disproven that . The testimony is in the book From Third World to First by Lee himself. Mahbubani said foreign investors create jobs, bring capital, and teach new skills. I wonder if protectionist adv...
Read more