The Foolishness (and Hypocrisy) of Wanting Imported Luxury Items as Christmas Gifts While Opposing BADLY NEEDED Economic Reform

I wrote about the Filipino obsession with the iPhone a few months ago. With Christmas being a few days away, I wrote that post to address the foolishness (and hypocrisy) of wanting imported luxury items for Christmas. One of the greatest wishlists that someone in the Philippines could have composed of imported luxury items. It shouldn't be just a bag--it should be something like the latest Prada or Hermes. It shouldn't just be a smartphone or a new tablet--it should be an iPhone or an iPad. Some Filipinos may have even pestered their OFW relatives to bring them the latest imported luxury item. Never mind that working abroad, separated from loved ones, is anything but glamorous.

Ironically, some people who want imported luxury items still oppose economic reform. I mentioned how Apple has a huge factory in Communist Vietnam. I wrote an article where I discussed Lego operating a factory in again, Communist Vietnam. Just think for the moment if I talk to them, who are either wishing for Apple gadgets or having them now. I could start talking about why the Philippines needs to get rid of the Filipino First Policy and allow more FDIs to enter. It could be either in person or on Facebook.

I would expect some dumb answers which are very common. The reasons I tend to state are as follows:

"But the Philippines is not this or that country!"
"But only FDIs will get rich when you let them invest in the Philippines!" (Read rebuttal here)
"But letting FDIs invest here will mean there will be no jobs for Filipinos!" (Read rebuttal here)
"Foreign investors are invaders! They will invade the country and destroy our sovereignty!" (Read rebuttal here)
"We need more wage increase, not more FDIs!" (Read rebuttal here)
"No to foreign imperialism! Filipino Pride!" (Read rebuttal here)

Those same reasons I listed above that might barely cover the long range of stupid answers. It would be very stupid if they're all anticipating those imported luxury items (and maybe, blaming the rich for their poverty at the same time). Even funnier is if they write all the false flags about FDIs and MNCs using their iPads and iPhones. They will say they're "simply forced to participate to survive". Were they forced to buy Apple products when they could've had cheaper substitutes? Maybe, they're also carrying those iPads and iPhones in imported luxury bags. Some people hate the rich, for simply being rich, because they want to have what the rich have, without working for it.

They've already contradicted themselves with their Christmas wish. How can people who are calling for the Filipino First Policy be using imported luxury items? How can the same people who say that only FDIs will get rich in investing in the Philippines be saying this while using imported luxury items? The sheer contradiction is there. Didn't they just "empower" the "imperialists" by buying imported luxury items? Don't tell me those they call "imperalists" forced them to buy those luxury items? They could've bought other non-luxury items.

I'm really going to laugh at the stupidity of the situation. Why can't they think of a better Christmas wish with a more open economy for the Philippines? Just imagine saying FDI will ruin the spirit of the Philippines (all the while, most Filipinos are Catholics) while wishing for imported luxury bands.

Keep Calm and Continue Investing in Stocks, Despite the Current Situation This 2025

FQ Mom It's no secret that U.S. President Donald J. Trump's tariffs may backfire . Should I even be surprised at the results that the global stock market are going low? It's something to think about why I didn't get invested in stocks ASAP. It's because I don't have a calm personality. However, I realized that the key in stock market investing is, "Keep calm and invest long term." Nobody should ever think of investing in stocks hoping to get rich quick fast! The FQ Mom provides useful advice that I should do, as I check my equity funds at an almost daily basis: 1. Understand the stock market. It is the avenue where we can all participate in the ownership of the listed companies. This facility that allows us to buy and sell stocks with ease anytime during trading hours also goes with a “price.” We see the stock prices go up and down like crazy every second, something that does not happen in other asset classes. To borrow from Benjamin Graham in h...

Why I Support Taiwanese Politician Yeh Yi Jin's Proposal for Taiwan to Drop Zhuyin Entirely (in Favor of Pinyin)

Taiwan News It may be news from 2018 (meaning, five years ago) but as a person who sees the importance of Mandarin in the international market, I still want to react. Not surprisingly, Yeh Yi Jin lost the Tainan mayoral bid because of her controversial statement to abolish Zhuyin from Taiwan altogether . She may have lost the race but I'm still supporting her for this. It's not because I kept failing hard in Zhuyin back in my days. It's because I feel that as time goes on, some things need to be dropped like asking students to submit their reports written via typewriter or asking documents to be faxed when email (and modern standard mail) are more reliable. Like I argued with an investment before, I said, "You can't fax a book. Can I just mail it?" The bank kept arguing it had to be faxed. Unfortunately stubborn boomers, stubborn boomers, everywhere, right? From The Free China Post , this is what's said about Yeh's argument: Yeh argues that using zhuyi...

When the Education Cares TOO MUCH About Grades, Schools Produce Idiots Instead of Intellectuals

During the pandemic, I was left in limbo thinking about my poor performance under K+10. It was something to think about that a classmate of mine who was both a summa cum laude and an honor student, ended up posting on his wall, "Students cheat because the education system cares more about grades instead of learning." The class salutatorian of our batch even commented about the good old days. I always had that feeling of insecurity and envy towards people better than me. But as Warren Edward Buffet would say, "Don't hate successful people. Learn from them instead." One of them is currently a teacher and the other is in Canada. I thought about my insecurities especially when I used to believe I was descended from a fine scholar and my family was a family of scholars. I remembered the time I was taking MBA and got conned. I was asked, "Is that what MBA taught you?" I got touchy and ended up admitting, eventually, that I was only taking MBA for the presti...

The Filipino First Policy Caused the Philippines to Succeed!

High School Philippine History Movement Yes, you read it right! I found a hidden gem that I should've read years ago! It's the book Nationalist Economics by the late Alejandro Lichauco, who is part of the magnificent IBON Foundation. It's a shame I refused to read it. I should've read Lichauco's book instead of the late Lee Kuan Yew's book From Third World to First . What a shame that I didn't look into the details that LKY was a dictator, that Flor Contemplacion was indeed innocent, and that Singapore is a state comparable to Nazi Germany. As I bought my copy of Nationalist Economics from the Trust Me Bro School of Economics--I'm now convinced that the Filipino First Policy caused us to succeed! LKY ruled Singapore for 31 years, meaning it's a frightening thing indeed! Six years is the magic number ot establish a benevolent rule! Who should we all listen to? Should we listen to foreigners or should we listen to our fellow Filipino? We must think st...

The Lesson of "Bad Genius" is More Than Just "Cheating Never Pays Off"

Sometimes, much truth can be told in fiction, right? Talk about how the great Jose Rizal revealed much truth in his fictional novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo . The digital age today would create more entertaining media. I may encourage book reading over movie watching. However, some movies may do more than entertain. They can also address a real issue. It was said that a cheating scandal in China inspired the producers Jira Maligool and Vanridee Pongsittisak to create the film Bad Genius . Right now, there's even a TV series presumably because a movie can't always deliver the message one wants. How does the whole thing go? I was inspired to watch this film because of comments from a Facebook friend's post. The post also talked about how students cheat because the system cares more about grades than learning. As the world becomes more global, exposure to Thai cinema is definitely not surprising. Sure, one can talk about the South Korean wave or the increasin...

Why I Believe 100% Shares Ownership of Public Utilities Will Help Benefit Filipino Businessmen

Accru Melbourne Typhoon Odette certainly blew another serious blow in the Philippines, didn't it? I could remember the Typhoon Ruping when I was only in Kinder 2. Memories in kindergarten may fade over time but a few don't--such as how some people may mention that they failed kinder for sleeping in classes. The passage of the bill that allows 100% ownership of shares in public utilities has been condemned by certain Filipino organizations such as the League of Filipino Students, Kabataan Partylist, and Bayan Muna. The same old cry of "imperialism" is funny since these groups are using American made social media (such as Facebook and Twitter), they may be ordering meals from Grab which is from Singapore , they are using gadgets made from other countries (such as iPhones which were most likely assembled in China), and other stuff which were obviously not Filipino in origin. A heavy lesson from Odette and other previous disasters The reason why Odette restoration couldn...

Learning from the Indian Economic Legacy of Third World to First

CNN Today is Indian Independence Day. It's very easy to look down at India that's until you realize that it went from an impoverished former British colony to an emerging country. It's 75 years of India's independence from Great Britain. I feel it's time to write another economics-related post for this blog. Before that, you may want to read about Deng Xiaoping's real great leap forward (read here ). Though, if you don't mind then you can start reading this post which I will talk about in this post. CNN has Rhea Mogul shares this insight on India's economic growth : Rise of an economic power Following independence, India was in chaos. Reeling from a bloody partition that killed between 500,000 and 2 million people, and uprooted an estimated 15 million more, it was synonymous with poverty . Average life expectancy in the years after the British left was just 37 for men and 36 for women, and only 12% of Indians were literate. The country's GDP was ...

Foreign Investors Only Get Rich Based on Net Income AFTER Taxes

Malaya Business Insight Above is an artwork by the late Neil Doloricon which was shared on Malaya Business Insight page. I'm amazed by this ignorance can easily be traced to what the late Lee Kuan Yew said in his book From Third World to First . I'm almost finished reading the book and I might reread certain portions of it. Doloricon's artwork is very misleading for this reason. It's pretty much a lack of understanding of profits in accounting and finances. Both accounting and finance would deal with how much money is left after expenses. Foreign investors are no different in that regard--they operate based on profits. The picture says that the foreign investors get rich leaving the Philippines with nothing. However, that's a very misleading picture for this reason--that is if you think your sales for the day are your profits for the day. We must understand the concept of revenues vs. income . I guess the fools who say that only foreign investors will get rich ar...

Bongbong's Story of the Little Piaya Store That Could

It's been some time since I did a food review, right? As of right now, I feel like I've been burdened not taking Hotel & Restaurant Management and chose Business Administration instead. Both departments today are under the School of Business and Economics (SBE) at the University of San Carlos (USC). Having been a fan of almost everything that they can offer to customers--I decided to do some research. I'm not surprised that its owner, Reynaldo B. Villan Sr. aka Bongbong. The timeline from their very own website shares the humble beginnings of Bongbong or Villan Sr. Right now, you can check all their branches here . The humble beginnings of Villan Sr. (I'll use this one instead of Bongbong to avoid confusion with Philippine President, Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. who goes by that nickname) aren't surprising. I've read how Jollibee was the little bee that could. Tony Tancaktiong wasn't born wealthy and had to face the challenge of foreign food companies. Vill...

My Experience with Pyramid Scams in College Up to Present

Often, a pyramid is often confused with a Ponzi scheme. Both are illegal schemes but there's the difference. A pyramid scam emphasizes on recruitment and selling of products. A Ponzi scheme guarantees high returns for short periods. Both operate similarly but scam people differently. Both should be shunned and be considered defective baskets. I remembered my college days at the University of San Carlos-Main Campus (USC-Main) when I was still a newbie with money. It sucks really when high school didn't teach us financial literacy and people seemingly need to take commerce to do so. One of the biggest scams that hit even graduate school students was the pyramid scam. Even worse, some of those who got suckered with ongoing financial scams were graduate school students of the School of Business and Economics! The Investor.gov website from the United States of America (USA) would tell us these are the hallmarks of a pyramid scam: These are some of the hallmarks of a pyram...

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