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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? 


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