Why Christmas Every Day (Mixed with More Economic Protectionism) Will Make the Philippines the Poorest Country on Earth

-

Tomorrow is the time for Noche Buena, right? For Filipinos, there's really that overly festive attitude that makes me think that someone right now might be wishing it was Christmas every day. I decided to write this entry before that "Big Day" (and last year was a cheerless Christmas) for the reason that I could. I felt that all the exaggerations done with citizens saying that inflation in the Philippines is now "highest in the world" is because they feel the need for lavish celebrations (read here). There are complaints about the prices of one kilo of lechon (roasted pig), whipped cream, and almost everything fatty for Christmas dinner has increased. I guess this is what you get from a nation that lives with the mentality of, "If it's bitter then just add sugar. (read here)".

With bad money habits, it's very common for people to splurge on their paychecks (read here). That's why I feel discussing economics with an overspender is incredibly frustrating (read here). Living paycheck to paycheck means you really need to be more careful about how you spend. Instead, they think about, "Payday? Yes! Let's party!" The cycle repeats itself and when December comes, they have no money. They repeat the mentality, "If it's bitter then just add sugar!" They try to celebrate to forget their problems only for their problems to worsen by January. I wonder if they enjoy being chased by their loansharks? They would have the bad habit of borrowing money in order to celebrate. The bit question worth asking is, "Why did you just run out of money? What were you doing?" 

Christmas season is the time for the Christmas bonus and 13th-month pay, right? I guess it's safe to assume that after receiving their 13th month's pay, some of these wastrels may be saying in whatever Filipino dialect they speak, saying, "If only it were Christmas every day!" I believe a good amount of people who are probably wishing for it right now are also the same people who speak ignorantly about economics. They may be the same people who still believe that the Philippines is stuck in a game of conquest between OFWs vs. FDIs (read here). Such people may be saying stuff like, "Are you crazy? Let the foreigners invest here and they will exploit us!" All the while, they hypocritically write it on American-made platforms such as Blogger, Wordpress, Facebook, and Twitter. Hypocritically ironic isn't it?

Ever heard of the statement, "Be careful about what you wish for?" Well, that's going to be a cautionary tale. I remembered one of those childhood Christmas specials was called Christmas Every Day. It was a cautionary tale when a little girl (the paternal grandmother of the children) once wished it would be Christmas every day. At first, it felt delightful because there was a feast day after day. However, the effect soon went from good to bad to worse. Inflation happened because supply was short and demand was high. I kind of laughed looking at it when people gave rags to each other because they ran out of presents. Soon enough, the prices of chicken increased as well after the turkey supply got so low. Supply and demand really play a key every Christmas. That's why some stores usually put on sale older items or stock up before Christmas. Some buy cheaper supplies before Christmas shopping begin to make a profit. 

Now, let's imagine Christmas every day happened in the Philippines mixed with economic protectionism. I could think of other consequences that could happen aside from the fictional cartoon I just mentioned earlier. Just think about it inflation has already happened affecting the Noche Buena. I guess such people think that Christmas should make inflation magically go away. Instead, it will make it worse. If it were Christmas every day then commercial establishments (which will be very few thanks to Filipino First Policy) will have to give the 13th-month pay and Christmas bonuses every month. People will be overspending to the point Christmas gifts will be hit by inflation. Worse, by not importing when needed, you can expect the prices of items for Christmas to even skyrocket. Electricity will eventually be so expensive only few can afford it. There will be so many brownouts because only local electricity suppliers will be there. I can expect frequent fires to also happen due to people using faulty Christmas lights or because of excessive usage of Christmas lights. Once again, supply and demand will play a factor to bankrupting a Philippines where it's Christmas all the time.

Worse, it means that the Philippine government will have to borrow money that it can't pay. It was already bad enough that the late Lee Kuan Yew mentioned why he refused to loan money to the Marcos Sr. Administration. If they want it to be Christmas every day then the government will have to borrow more money (eventually) because of inflation. You can imagine hyperinflation. One box of whipped cream will cost as much as PHP 10,000.00 or even higher. If they say, "Well, print more money!" Unfortunately, printing more money will devalue the money. That's exactly what happened with Venezuela (read here). Venezuela has printed so much money that they have inflation to be much higher than the Philippines. 

If they're still demanding also for higher salaries, lower prices of goods, and handouts for all (read here) then they can expect worse. If goods and services are rendered lower then salaries have to be lower. It's absolutely basic accounting that salaries are part of the means of production. If you're increasing salaries then you need to sell at a higher price. To have higher salaries but selling your goods at ridiculously low prices is selling at a loss. If that's their wish to include in their Christmas every day--they can expect businesses to shut down. Eventually, they will start to use expired whipped cream, expired queso de bola, and I hope they enjoy their rotten food for their daily noche buena. It's because fresh food will no longer be available as a result of feasting daily. 

I'm no top economist but I'm speaking this based on basic economics. Christmas should be as it is--an occassion to look forward to. If it were Christmas every day then it will diminish the specialness of the holiday. Then again I guess some people are still having their deluded fantasies of a Christmas every day utopia, am I right? 


Popular posts from this blog

The "Kahit Konting Awa" Attitude Wouldn't Help Alleviate Anyone from Poverty

-
Image
  As the countdown to Christmas continues--it's easy to expect the toxic Filipino trait that I'll dub as "Kahit Konting Awa". The literal meaning is "Just a Little Pity". I named it after that song by Nora Aunor, the theme song of The Flor Contemplacion Story . I wasn't a bit surprised when the hit movie was uploaded on VIVA Films' YouTube page last 2013 (read here ). Back on the topic, I noticed it's easy for people to desire to reconcile because it's the Christmas season. The Philippines has the longest Christmas season. However, people love to do last-minute Christmas shopping presumably due to their poor budgetary habits. Ever heard of the one-day paycheck pandemic in the Philippines? It's a common abusive trait in the Philippines to have that "Kahit Konting Awa" attitude. There's the problem of "Utang (debt) is life." It's no surprise that financial literacy is that low in the Philippines. A not fun fact a
Read more

The Philippines 60-40 Equity Scheme Doesn't Prohibit FDIs But It's Still VERY DISCOURAGING for International Business

-
Image
First and foremost, I'd like to tell people that I don't believe that the Marcos Years were the "golden years". I still agree with economist Cielo Magno that land ownership isn't a factor, since some countries without equity restrictions, don't allow foreigners to buy land. In contrast, inflation and the like were rampant during that time. However, we need to realize that any gains after EDSA 1986 weren't realized. As I was looking at Facebook, a page called Punch the Lies by Atty. Mike Navallo stated this:  FACT: The 1987 Constitution does not prohibit entry of global investors into PH. What it regulates is foreign investment in areas deemed critical such as public utilities; exploration, devt and use of natural resources; and certain investments as determined by Congress. (Art XII)   Public utilities (water, electricity, petroleum distribution, seaports, PUVs) are considered vital to socio-economic devt that's why they're subject to foreign owner
Read more

The Irony the Philippines Starts the Christmas Season in September BUT Many Filipinos Love Last-Minute Christmas Shopping

-
Image
  Uproxx As Christmas is just around the corner--I feel more stress coming in! It doesn't help when people try to use the late Andy Williams' "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" to try and skip the problem. It's already known that most Filipinos love to start Christmas in September . However, the irony is that Filipinos start Christmas early but do their Christmas shopping late. If they began the Christmas Season early, shouldn't they think about what to do before December strikes?  Two years ago, I wrote a post discussing last-minute Christmas shopping . Many Filipinos tend to do last-minute Christmas shopping. They had all of November (when the Christmas sale usually begins) but why do the Christmas shopping in December ? One of the things I blame is the one-day paycheck lifestyle (see here ). It can be observed that many Filipinos never learn to prioritize more important things . One can get their stars when they see their paychecks. However, the
Read more

If You Want to Make the Philippines Better, Study... HARDER?

-
Image
I grew up complaining and complaining about stuff. I always looked at the Philippines as a hopeless case. I hated studying the Tagalog subject--which was mandatory by the DepEd. I was told, "Look lazy bum! If you want to make the Philippines a better place--study harder!" In college, I began to apply myself more seriously even if I didn't graduate summa cum laude. I felt a sense of achievement when I won a commerce award for making an outstanding difference. What I never thought was that during the practicum--it was working smart and not working hard. Sure, hard work is there but smart work allows more hard work to be done at a better pace. Not long after, I took my MBA course but it was also at that time, I was scammed . I discovered I wasn't alone in being scammed--many MBA students were scammed during the same time I was scammed! However, what I discovered was the problem of saying, "Your grades will determine your future!" It was typical in Philippine sc
Read more

Hussam Middle Eastern Restaurant: A Trip Into Authentic Syrian Cuisine At Ayala Center Cebu

-
Image
  The last time I ate at a Hussam Middle Eastern Restaurant branch last year, I couldn't give a good assessment. I haven't been to Hussam's main branch at Il Corso, so I didn't formally meet its owner, Hussam Alfakeh Alkourdi. The branch I ate was in Ayala Center Cebu instead. This is the interior of the restaurant. Ayala Center Cebu has Persian Palate on the third floor, above Timezone. Hussam is near one of the entrances of Ayala Center Cebu--near a Chinese restaurant. Persian Palate was my entry point to Middle Eastern cuisine.  Hussam serves authentic Syrian food. There are dishes similar to those from the Persian Palate. They serve Syrian bread, different from my favorite Pita bread served at Shawarma Gourmet (read my review here ), a Lebanese restaurant. So far, I tried their mixed meat platter with Syrian bread. My second dish there was actually baked Arabic rice with grilled beef kebab. I love their tomato sauce (which I mistook for ginger sauce) and garlic sauc
Read more

The Philippines will NEVER Get Richer by Blaming Its Richer Asian Neighbors

-
Image
iStock It would be nice to talk about the typical blame game in the Philippines. I could rememeber that, as a child and a teenager, I had this habit of blaming people I dislike that I failed 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 findings can help understand the st
Read more

Can Diehard 1987 Constitution Defenders Prove Their Claims to the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy?

-
Image
It's not enough to say something. The question is, "Where's the substance or the empirical evidence?" When I start quoting from the late Lee Kuan Yew, these diehard 1987 Constitution of the Philippines defenders start diverting the topic by pointing out my errors to spite me than to correct me. They would ask if I know the Deming Theory of Management which talks about quality management in the company culture. Okay, that was something worth asking but as said, can these people really understand the problem of the Philippines has been more systemic (that is, within the system ) than just the people running the system? What allowed the legislative to be filled with people who know-nothing anyway? That's why I didn't want to vote for Senator Robin Padilla (who ironically understands the need for reforms, read here ). Unfortunately, so many Ad Hominem attacks have been done.  A past article I wrote was Should you  listen to either Davide Jr. or Kishore Mahbubani
Read more

My Experience With Delicious ITealicious' Filling in the Milk Tea Demand in Cebu City

-
Image
It's been some time since I did a food review, right? Back then, I remembered how my first love with Taiwanese milk tea was Chatime. Though. when I went to Chatime--I usually ordered fruit tea since I was trying to lose weight. I ended up trying Tiger Sugar which ordering something without sugar doesn't make sense. So, another milk tea I decided to try (via delivery, haven't gone to the branches yet since the pandemic) is ITealicious. ITealicious is founded by Taiwan-born Yuwen Chiu (who's also a Chinese teacher in Cebu Eastern College). It was founded in 2018--the time when I was so devoted to weight loss that I didn't try it until I lost some pounds. In trying to renew my driver's license--I discovered I went from 85 pounds to 79 pounds since I've been doing a lot of cardiovascular exercises during the pandemic. I decided to give ITealicious a shot after I had tasted the food at Jolly Bubble. Jolly Bubble is pretty much the ideal place to get a delicious m
Read more

It'd Be Stupid to Continue Using Obsolete Chinese Language Textbooks to Teach Mandarin Chinese

-
Image
I remember writing about how to make Mandarin Chinese more accessible in the Philippines . I remembered the day when I ended up not liking school not because I didn't want to learn. I was eager to learn. Science and history are interesting subjects. However, mathematics is taught in such a way that it's almost irrelevant. "You just need to study it, it's required by the DepEd and you can't graduate without it!" was the only reason. You're not allowed to think, just be a robot, and then parents get mad about why their children have almost no initiative and need to be programmed like robots. It's because the school system kills initiative and nobody does a robot's job better than a robot .  Bahay Tsinoy, museum of Chinese life in the Philippines I just found this photo shared on Facebook. It was the picture of childhood trauma that I'd like to talk about. The standard Chinese textbook. At first, I was excited to learn Chinese but that excitement
Read more

Red Lizard: Wrestling With Your Taste Buds With Delicious Mexican Food

-
Image
During the late 2010s, I remember one of the greatest things I got into was Mexican food. I remembered a delicious Mexican restaurant opened in I.T. Park Cebu but it was later closed down. From what I heard, the owner closed it down out of grief and I don't blame the person for it. Years later, there was El Taquito at SSY which I also enjoyed. However, El Taquito is now located on Governor M. Roa Avenue in Cebu City. I would like to talk about the Red Lizard--Taqueria which has branches in SM Cyberzone, IT Park (where I usually get my deliveries), and Ayala Center Cebu.  I had quite a wild imagination thinking the restaurant was founded by a retired wrestler. I thought Red Lizard was a real luchador or Mexican wrestler. On the contrary, the character of Red Lizard is as fictitious as Jollibee's mascot, an anthropomorphic bee named Jollibee. Further research showed that Red Lizard belongs to the Abaca Group of Companies founded by Jason Hyatt and his Chinese wife Anna (whom he m
Read more