Will Anti-FDI, Anti-Business Filipinos Be Willing to Eat Rotten Food in an Isolationist Philippines?

The decades of Filipino First Policy really need a clean-up, right? It's really amazing how some people keep blaming the US for Venezuela's current situation. What's next? Will they blame China and South Korea for North Korea being poor? I wrote an article where I discussed Venezuela's pride and protectionism. One of the many sources I cited discussed how frequent blackouts caused Venezuelans to eat rotten meat last 2018. Are they going to well, blame the USA again, for the frequent blackouts? If Venezuela's basic utilities are all monopolized by the government--how can they blame the US for the crisis that Venezuela caused itself? Did the US tell Venezuela to do its really bad economic policies?

I would read the comments made by SJWs on Facebook. They would write all forms of anti-capitalist rants without understanding what capitalism is. They say that competition ruins quality and that things will be better under a welfare state. The video above shows a sample of social media breakdowns. I've been watching some of Misha Petrov's videos on YouTube. The complaints here are no different from Filipinos who are anti-capitalist, idolize Communist leaders (while ironically getting mad at China and Vietnam), say that FDIs cause debt increase (because they can't differentiate debt from investment, read here), and the list can go on. They also keep saying that the capitalist system is oppressive, that the workers own the means of production (as if they were the ones who purchased it, read here), and that they hate the rich for simply being rich (read here).

I could go ahead and tell them to study economics at the University of Economics-Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. I could go ahead and tell them about China's progress. Their response is that those countries have ceased to be Communist because they gave in to the "evil FDI". By accepting FDI, both China and Vietnam allowed more oligarchies to enter. Some of them may even insist that both countries are just giving lip service to the likes of their heroes such as Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, and Mao Zedong. Well, Ho Chi Minh, often called Uncle Ho, wasn't an isolationist, and Vietnam's great Communist leader, Nguyen Duy Cong (who died last 2018), became known as Doi Moi and gave the Do Muoi program. It was to create a struggle between both their local companies and FDIs. Deng Xiaoping is often disregarded because his views on socialism say, "Poverty isn't socialism, to be rich is glorious."

For people who are anti-business (and anti-American), it's really baffling why they use imported luxury products (such as iPhones which may be assembled in Vietnam), they eat at several restaurants (such as getting a McDonald's meal), yet they all keep arguing that FDI is evil, buy Filipino, etc. What's funnier is that they use imported devices to type their anti-FDI rants (read here). Don't tell me that their gadgets are proudly Filipino? Don't tell me that the brands of their iPhones are Mansanas (Tagalog word for apple) instead of Apple? I ask them if they're anti-capitalist then why do they use those products? They reply that they can't take me seriously when I say that. They say that the workers own the means of production, that they're simply "forced to participate in it", and the list of nonsense that I see on Facebook can go on. Yes, such as that bratty administrator (who I think is below 21 years old) of the Philippine Anti-Fascist League (PAFL) Facebook page and many of its supporters.

Let's imagine that they finally succeeded in the revolution and what happens

Allegedly, Karl Marx said that the last capitalist they hung was the one who sold them the rope. It's really a baffling statement. Shouldn't they seize the rope from the capitalist? Let's imagine that these "afflicted poor" finally won the class struggle. It's often bragged that if the poor people group together--the rich will be defeated. Now, let's imagine that the revolution happened and that they shut down every business. They have gotten rid of the FDIs, they have gotten rid of the oligarchy, and they have finally seized the means of production. Now, it's time for these losers to establish their welfare state. They have seized the wealth but do they know how to manage the wealth?

What happens next will be similar to Venezuela. Can they really blame the US (again) if their programs don't work? Just reading the news of poor Venezuelans eating rotten meat makes me cry and puke at the same time That's why I asked those isolationists that they should start eating food from the garbage can. When they monopolize the power supply--can they really keep the power supply up? They might want to blame South Korea for North Korea's lack of power supply. Yet, North Korea has no one but itself to blame, not China nor South Korea, as they have an inadequate supply of electricity.

Just watching this video can make me puke. Maybe, that's why I gave up on my dreams of becoming a doctor because I'm scared of blood. I could remember that I was scared and excited at the same time for my cataract removal. I knew I was going to get the bladeless procedure but knowing that my eye would be poked with an emulsifier was still a scary thought. I could remember my vision becoming red for the first week until it healed. This video though scares me more than scenes in a medical drama. It's because medical drama is props. What is shown above is very real. The really real situation where people are literally forced to eat garbage. Meanwhile, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro enjoys fine food at the cost of his own people.

Their victory against the elite happens. However, without the business owners, can they really start enjoying the fine food they enjoyed before the revolution? Some communist hippies try to talk as if Mao Zedong's Great Leap Forward wasn't the fault of the runner. It might be best for them to try telling that to the survivors of that terrible program. Mao's lack of vision of trying to create an isolationist utopia was a failure. Mao could've learned to produce the best quality steel from FDIs. Mao could've started to invest in FDIs for the agrarian land reform to produce the best grain. Communist China tried to lie to the people about how it was a success. However, the biography of Australian Chinese dancer Li Cunxin will tell you that the Great Leap Forward was anything but a success.

They say competition ruined the quality. Instead, they ruined the quality because there was no more competition. A lack of electricity will mean that they will be eating rotten food. That means they can no longer enjoy the delicious food that they used to enjoy before they won the revolution. The revolution closed down all the businesses. It was competition that built Jollibee and it became a Filipino MNC soon enough. It was having competition that provided better quality. Without competition, there will be nothing but inflation left and right. Those in power may benefit for now but to be consistent, they need to also eat the rotten food first.

That would be the big difference between them and the Communists of China and Vietnam. Sure, it's funny to see a Communist flag near Starbucks or Kentucky Fried Chicken. Maybe, if I go to Vietnam, I'd be laughing my head off if I saw a Jollibee branch with a Communist flag near it. I even laughed when I ate at McDonald's China and there was a Communist flag near it. China and Vietnam may both be held by Communist policies. However, their economic reforms have prevented them from becoming another North Korea or Venezuela. They understood isolationism would never work. Both Deng and Do Muoi understood that for their revolutions to succeed, they should stop doing everything themselve and learn new things. They allowed FDIs here and there yet they remain sovereign Communist states.

Would they be willing to do that? The chances are they won't. Communism has shown that much of China starved while Mao enjoyed his luxurious life. Madame Mao was probably worse than Imelda Romualdez-Marcos of the Philippines. Sure, Mrs. Marcos herself has a bad reputation but maybe not as bad as Madame Mao. Mao and his cronies all lived good lives. The rest of China ate rotten food. So much for the claim of a classless, equal society huh?

Open FDI Equals CHINA?!

This is an interesting drawing I found on Facebook. It's often used to portray people who look at the removal of the unnecessarily restrictive 60-40 shares ownership policy as, "The current president's gift to China." The same was done during former Philippine president Atty. Rodrigo R. Duterte. The same was also done with Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. It makes me think of stupid comments written by idiots on Facebook. It would be ironic if a lot of anti-FDI and anti-American rants were made not only on Facebook but also were typed using Apple gadgets of all things! They may be quick to use whatever irrational reasons. Some reasons can range from foreigners "unfairly" owning the means to produce equipment (read here ) and that they're simply forced to participate in the capitalist economy model to survive (read here ). However, I must ask if these guys were forced to use the luxury brands they're using (read here ). As the map shows, s

#SahodItaasPresyoIbaba Economics Will Ultimately Hurt the WORKING CLASS

Cartoonist Zach Some people claim to fight for the working class--while refusing to work themselves. Some people claim to fight for the working class--while supporting policies that will prove detrimental to the working class. One of these policies is #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba--meaning to raise salaries and lower prices. I wrote some time ago about why #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba doesn't work . However, I'lm still attacked by Ad Homimens and Nom Sequiturs. How's that even possible anyway? Economics isn't magic! If President Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos Jr.'s promise of PHP 20.00 kilo rice is absurd--so is the promise of #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba economics! Image by Sabrina Jiang © Investopedia 2020 I don't need a PhD in economics to understand cost accounting. The income statement would include salaries as part of the cost. The cost of goods sold includes salaries. Marketing and promotions include salaries. General and administrative would include salaries. Pa

Is Anybody Willing to Prove Filipino First Policy Has a Place in the Rising Asian Century for a Million Pesos, Tax Free?

Yesterday was the birthday of former president Carlos P. Garcia, who died in 1971. Garcia is often associated with the Filipino First Policy. Back in the 1990s, I remember how Filipino First Policy was taught in values education classes --never mind the glaring contradictions. The contradictions are that imported equipment was used, or that we can literally never escape the use of imported equipment. I wrote an article discussing why Garcia's Filipino First Policy has no place in the rising Asian Century . I haven't done academic work right now, having been disgruntled by the Filipino education system. Sadly, not even graduate school taught me the basics of stock market investment (such as equity funds) or how Cash 2 Go works. That's why some people say, "It's just a degree!" I often said, "Well your doctor went to college, your lawyer went to college, etc." However, it looks like a college degree may not be for everyone, under K+12! Some people are

Millions of Studies from the Trust Me Bro School of Economics Show #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba Business Model Works

Happy Labor Day anyone? It's this time of the year when labor groups like Kilusang Mayo Uno (literally the May One Movement) would protest. They would raise banners demanding #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba. For those who don't speak Tagalog, it means raising salaries and lowering the prices of goods. However, basic cost accounting will tell you that salaries are part of the cost of production . People ignore facts and choose their feelings a lot . I tell them that salaries are part of the cost of production (no need for a Ph. D for that, which I no longer aim to get) but they just sneer at it . They think the government has absolute control over the economy like magic . Members of Filipino labor groups may even say that wage hikes aren't inflationary even when evidence shows otherwise. The Economics Help website presents why doing so can actually worsen inflation: Wage Push Inflation. If labour is able to push for higher wages, despite lower growth, then we could get a combi

What's the Use of Complaining About Jollibee Acquiring Companies BUT Not Accepting Open FDI to Bring in COMPETITION to the Philippines?

Anti-Snowflake Squad Facebook Page I was checking across Facebook and noticed some idiots complaining about Jollibee acquiring companies. The same idiots turned out to be anti-FDI--the same group that converses with Porky Madugo and Mukhang Adik. As usual, I will not directly link the idiots (or even reveal them directly, they will reveal themselves) to avoid giving them clout. Here's a statement by Porky that may make anyone wonder if (1) he knows he's lying (which I think he is for some self-serving reason ), or (2) he doesn't know what he's talking about: The monopolization of business ruins the business. It degrades the quality of the business of a product. If you think monopolization is good, that's stupidity. It kills the competition and it kills the business. Well, as old saying goes: "capitalists are the only one will destroy themselves." Since when did capitalism mean killing competition? Isn't Porky supposedly a die-hard Communist? In the

La Salsa: The Delicious Filipino-Mexican Cantina at Lahug, Cebu City

La Salsa Facebook Page I've eaten at La Salsa Twice. I've tried eating at El Taquito (which is probably no longer operational in Cebu) and El Loco (which closed down years ago). I've eaten the Mexican American style of Red Lizard (read here ). La Salsa Filipino-Mexican Cantina offers a delicious blend of Mexican food for the Filipino customer. It's another experience for delicious Mexican-style cooking. I've tried their beef fajita and enchilada. These are some of my favorite Mexican foods. For my first two dine-ins--I felt the cozy atmosphere of a home . I expected the enchiladas to be thinner but they are thicker. Perhaps, it's a different enchilada than the one I ate years ago. Both are delicious in their own way. I enjoyed the huger serving of enchilada. Right now, it's still the soft opening. Some items won't be available at the moment. Based on my own personal review, I'd recommend this restaurant to anyone who enjoys fusion cooking. I love h

Forget About Open FDI, Let's Open #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba Stores Instead

A really disastrous decision! Before the Buwan ng Wika ends, I want to write about those who have been demanding "Sahod itaas! Presyo ibaba!" (Raise salaries, lower prices). Back in 2022, I wrote an article discussing why the demands for higher salaries, lower prices of goods, and handouts for all are a recipe for disaster . I could laugh at people who believed in the promise of PHP 20.00 per kilo of rice promise of Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. Before that, people had been demanding #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba during the reigns of the late former president Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III and former president Rodrigo R. Duterte. Image by Sabrina Jiang © Investopedia 2020 I did explain why the model doesn't work. In the cost of production, you need to account for everything that happens including salaries . Raising salaries during inflation can actually worsen the situation . It's because sticky inflation happens with cost-push factors (ex. cost of gasoline, co

A Fun Song to Start Learning the New Pinyin Sequence

I was looking for a song in relation to the BoPoMoFo. In my case, I'm prone to calling Pinyin "BoPoMoFo" until today (read here ). It's because Pinyin basically serves the same purpose as Zhuyin--teaching one how to read Chinese. I'd like to say that I got too comfortable with this old sequence: I may hate memorizing Zhuyin but I like treating Pinyin in the same sequence. The new table which uses the 23 initials-24 finals method (read here ) can be confusing. Some old-timers may have an easier time transliterating the Zhuyin into Pinyin. However, I still find the new sequence confusing. I may no longer remember Zhuyin (and I kept failing at it and kept memorizing sentences without understanding) but I can remember Pinyin. Except my memorization of the Pinyin was in the BoPoMoFo sequence. With more than a billion Chinese speakers worldwide--can we keep using the old books to teach Mandarin? That's why I wrote about why the old Chinese textbooks can't be us

"But the Philippines Isn't Taiwan!" is Just Another Lame Excuse to Justify Filipino First Policy

Atlas Institute for Internal Affairs Happy Double 10 to Taiwan! Chinese Filipino schools would take part in what's often called the Double 10 celebrations. October is the 10th month and it's the 10th day. I remember talking about how Taiwan succeeded by accepting FDIs and how the Filipino First Policy caused us to fail . The typical response I would get on American-made social media (of all places), such as Facebook, would be, "How many times do I need to stress that the Philippines isn't Taiwan. We are the Philippines! We are unique!" If those fools did a study, they may realize that there's a link between the Taiwanese aborigines and the Filipino aborigines (read here ). The Philippines should've learned from Taiwan during COVID-19 One of the best models for fighting COVID-19 was Taiwan. Sure, I'm more in favor of shifting to a parliamentary system and Taiwan is still a presidential country (with parliamentary features). Former Taiwanese president

The Pinaskohan Mentality is Keeping Poor Filipinos, POOR

Philippine Star Is it me or is the Christmas Season really that toxic in the Philippines? I wrote an article about the irony of early Christmas season with late Christmas shopping . I didn't think about writing this but is it me or do people like to ask for impunity during the Christmas season? Think about that toxic former friend or former romantic partner. You cut off that person because of the toxic behavior he or she shows. However, you meet at a public place during the -ber months. The person says, "Let's reconcile! It's Christmas!" I can be open to reconciliation with classmates with who I had a childish quarrel back in high school. So far, one of the people I had a childish grudge wasn't a toxic person. The reason why I feel I can reconcile with that person is because he's productive . The same can't be said for people who have a toxic attitude. What do several Filipinos look forward to during Christmas? Would it be just the spiritual signific

Shaun T. Dy's Business & Economics Perspective Blog

Search This Blog