Skip to main content

Complaining About Inflation While Wasting Money on Firecrackers as a "Necessity"

As 2022 ends, today is Rizal Day (and I must admit, I took him as an inspiration back in high school), and tomorrow is New Year's Eve, I felt like writing this. I couldn't help but cringe over all the complaints about the reality that at one place in the Philippines--the cost of onions was already PHP 600.00. Some people were complaining that one kilo of lechon was already too expensive. That's why I wrote about it that is it possible such people are complaining about it because they feel the need for lavish festivities (read here)? I think it's true with my experience of having lived downtown and having neighbors who celebrate lavishly when they can't afford it. That's why I even love to bring up that after the Noche Buena (Christmas dinner) they may no longer have money for tomorrow's New Year's Eve dinner (read here).

Tomorrow is New Year and one of the things I hate about it is the heavy use of firecrackers. I remembered the cringy site of the news and the increased number of firecracker injuries. It's only good that rules against dangerous firecrackers got stricter. I believe people need permits to use firecrackers or that private households shouldn't use them for one reason. We don't want a similar case of excess smoke like what happened in New Delhi after Diwali, the festival of lights. Yet, some people are still too attached to the tradition of firecrackers like they're attached to having lechon on Noche Buena. I guess that's why they were whining that the cost of lechon is that expensive.

I just read from the Inquirer that prices of firecrackers soared in Bulacan. Should we be amazed? I guess it's all about supply and demand. If gatherings were really stopped during the first two years of the pandemic--do you think it'd make sense to make firecrackers? The prices went from PHP 350.00 to PHP 750.00 and were later sold at PHP 850 to PHP 1,000.00. Yet, some people were still buying firecrackers worth that much while whining that one kilo of onions is already PHP 600.00 or that PHP 500.00 wouldn't be enough for the "mandatory" lechon for Noche Buena. 

I guess complaining about increasing costs here is linked with ignorance and financial responsibility. What do you expect from people who just love to splurge on whatever money is given? If one's living paycheck to paycheck when why splurge the salary on payday (read here)? These old habits are hard to kill because it seems to be a tradition for them. They would spend the money the moment they get it. Some may be working in call centers. Others may be getting remittances from their OFW loved ones. The moment they get it--they overlook their needs and focus on their wants. What happens is that bills are ignored. They end up adding debt to debt. The money that was supposedly spent on bills was spent on having the barkada (peer) blowout on payday. Even worse, they end up buying stuff that they aren't willing to pay extra for. It's like why buy a car if you don't have a garage and can't afford gas? Why buy an airconditioner if you can't afford to pay higher electricity?

Still, some will stubbornly say, "But it's tradition to have firecrackers as lechon is to Noche Buena! That's why we're complaining about inflation!" Then I could say, "Isn't it any wonder why your financial situation never improves? If it's inflation then shouldn't you save more money?" I guess their whining about inflation is because they wish the money could buy more. It's not because they want to save. It's because they still want to celebrate lavishly even if inflation is also caused by supply and demand. We have a supply chain analysis. We should really look at factors that led to inflation. Yet, when I talk about importing raw materials (read here), these people also whine, "But you'll kill the local farmers!" Wouldn't asking the local farmers to sell lower than their cost be killing local farmers more than importation ever will? 


Even worse, firecracker injuries are very costly to treat. This reminds me of a Visayan song by Max Surban called "Rebentador Rock". Rebentador is a Visayan word for firecracker. I even wonder where their good financial sense is anyway? Should I expect any financial literacy from people who never budget their paychecks and splurge on it? These firecracker injuries usually lead to permanent disability like mutilated fingers and mutilated legs, and I definitely don't want to elaborate since the sight is very disturbing. They wasted their money from January to November, they borrowed tons of money for the Noche Buena, and for the New Year. They probably even didn't buy health insurance saying it's "costly" while wasting their money on having a good time. 

This is really comparable to the cost of adding sugar whenever things are bitter (read here). The mantra tends to be, "Bitter? Just add sugar!" If you add sugar to almost everything then prepare for the consequences. These consequences can be extreme obesity, diabetes (and this can soon lead to severed limbs if it goes extreme), tooth decay, and other health problems related to excess sugar. The obsession with firecrackers can also lead to several health problems too. I guess some will be hospitalized by January 1 worrying about mounting bills.

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Venezuela as a Cautionary Tale on #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba, Nationalistic Pride, Welfare State Economics

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 ...
Read more

Venezuela's Pride and Protectionism

The Telegraph Venezuela is an oil-rich country yet it's a very poor country. Somebody could go ahead and give every unthinkable reason such as "foreign investments caused it" (a blatant lie) and "It's because America had economic sanctions in Venezuela". Yet, the answer can be found in several causes such as corruption. Yet, China and Vietnam, which can be seen to still have a good amount of corruption, are far more successful. The answer also lies in one policy--economic protectionism . The very idea that a country that first world countries used "protectionism" to succeed is a lie as proven by Venezuela's ongoing crisis. A common-sense examination of one root cause of Venezuela's continuing crisis Forbes magazine mentions this in "What Do Investors Need To Understand About Venezuela's Economic Crisis?" by Nathaniel Parish Flannery on December 21, 2016: Venezuela is far and away the worst-managed economy in the Americas . Ad...
Read more

Davide vs. Mahathir: Which Lolo Should Filipinos Take Economic Advice From?

The real issue isn't that something is old or new. Instead, if something old or new still works, or doesn't work! Many modern laws are built on some ancient principles, while adjusting to the current times!  The Constitution of Japan is actually older than the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines. However, it's more effective for the reasons that (1) their constitution is silent when it comes to regulating economic activities (ex., protectionist measures), and (2) it's a parliamentary system. Honestly, it's a pretty straightforward constitution compared to ours! As Mahatir Mohamad turned 100 today, I would like to raise up Atty. Hilario G. Davide Jr. once again. The problem isn't Davide's age but his unwillingness to embrace change when needed (read here ). This time, it's time to bring up a contrast between wise old people and unwise old people. A young person can be right where the old person is wrong. A young person can be wiser because he or she lea...
Read more

Filipino Manufacturing's Golden Age ENDED Because of the Filipino First Policy

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...
Read more

Confusing Foreign Direct Investment for Foreign Imperialism for the Bajillionth Time

I guess those fools of the Philippine Anti-Fascist League (and many of its deluded supporters) either refuse to get it or are blatantly lying. Almost every rally held by what many believe are CPP-NPA legal fronts also confuses foreign investors for foreign invasion or even foreign imperialism . Once again, do I need to say that 100% FDI ownership is all about the shares and not land ownership ? What makes it even more hypocritical is that they are actually recording these things on imported media . They're sharing their anti-FDI rants using imported devices, imported platforms, and imported social media (read here ). When I do ask them on Facebook, they say how can they take them seriously and that they're "simply forced to participate in capitalism". Did anybody (especially those they call "evil capitalists") force them to buy the expensive Apple equipment when they could've settled for Xiaomi or Huawei?  A simple research on the dictionary will tell us...
Read more