Econ Cha-Cha Opponents Have No Choice Because Foreigners "Unfairly" Own the Means to Produce Equipment?

Bulatlat

In 2022, I wrote an article about anti-capitalists having no choice because the capitalists hold the means of production. Recently, I've been raising the issue, "Are you sure your gadgets are all imported?" Instead of falling into silence, they throw the mockery, "Oh no! Not the gadgets question again!" They would go as far as to say, "We have no choice but to use imported equipment because foreigners own the means to produce foreign equipment!" Oh, that's a very brutally honest answer!

They might say that buying imported equipment isn't exploitative. Then I say, "If you can have a MacPRO and an iPhone, why don't we let Apple do more than open Apple stores. Why not let Apple have a factory in the Philippines?" They might shout out, "You're letting foreigners do business here, run away with the profit, and leave us poor? Only they will get rich (read rebuttal here)!" They'd throw in as many childish insults, hoping I'd get mad, and when I lost my cool, they'd play the poor innocent victim. I could explain that if Apple produces its goods in the Philippines--buying an iPhone would be cheaper because of lower costs. They'll still argue that MNCs are invaders (read rebuttal here). They'd say they have no choice but to use the shiny new iPhone (as if there aren't other alternative brands and nobody is forcing them to buy it) to tell people that MNCs are exploitative, that they'd run off with the profit, enslave Filipinos, and that economic charter change means selling the Philippines to foreigners.

The logic fails on many levels. Buying these imported equipment from MNCs empowers the people they hate. It's often allegedly said by Karl Marx or Vladimir Lenin (who ironically introduced the New Economic Policy) that the last capitalist they'd hang is the one who sells them the rope. However, Lenin introduced the New Economic Policy (NEP) which introduced a state-controlled free market, which may have been the basis for Doi Moi in Vietnam. Today, Vietnam uses Doi Moi where the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) attracts FDIs. Why would they buy equipment from the one whom they intend to hang? Shouldn't they just steal their equipment or make their own equipment? This makes you wonder if opponents of FDI have their own agenda? Just think that Atty. Teodoro A. Casiño was last seen with an iPhone. Rosario Guzman uses a MacPRO laptop. If I were leading a revolution--why would I buy equipment from the same person I hate? I would rather steal the equipment or make my own equipment!

One must ask, "Why did they purchase an iPhone and a MacPRO?" If they participate in capitalism simply to survive--they need to answer that. They have some choices between the more affordable models and the luxury brands from Apple. If I were them, I'd preferably purchase any non-luxury phone and laptop over Apple. I might purchase Huawei, Samsung, Sony, or Xiaomi laptops and phones instead of Apple. They must answer if Apple ever forced them to buy Apple products when there are more affordable brand choices. In capitalism, they have a choice between Apple and other non-luxury brands.

This statement may have caused Nguyen Duy Cong aka Doi Muoi (who died in 2018) and Deng Xiaoping to turn things around. Maybe, one day Do Muoi and Deng found out, "Shoot! We can't keep up with this? Why not invite the manufacturers of imported equipment to manufacture in our country instead?" Deng went to the USA and said, "China is now open for business." Do Muoi introduced various reforms. It's because they've had enough of the contradiction. True, China and Vietnam still operate under a Communist form of government. However, their progress under the two great leaders was because of pragmatism. Doi Moi reforms and Socialism with Chinese Characteristics were clever economic plans, despite being set by Communist governments. They did the right thing by inviting those foreigners who made the equipment into the country.

The results of letting foreigners who own the means to produce equipment, invest in one's country became better. It's because FDIs are still regulated by the state even if they don't need a local partner. For Vietnam, there's a more flexible joint venture in some areas such as agriculture where an investor can start with 30% and own more than 50% of the capital - as long as it teamed up with a state enterprise. Vietnam allows other FDIs to own 100% of their shares in most industries. That makes me ask the question of when will opponents of economic charter change see their own hypocrisy? Maybe not if all they care about is feeding their ego.

Filipino First Policy Linked with Crab Mentality

Having sea crab yesterday or just eating crab, I always think of that old commercial in the 1990s. It was called, "Iwasan ang crab mentality." or "Avoid crab mentality." This makes me recall a scene when I was a child. I saw a pail full of mud crabs (called alimango in Filipino) and if one crab got out, the others pulled it down. The TV commercial showed how if the crabs got together, they could all escape their grizzly fate of becoming eaten for human consumption. Chefs are just lucky crabs pull each other down. However, it also shows that the crabs would rather all be cooked together than let that crab escape. Unfortunately, crab mentality is one of the biggest problems in the Philippines. It's not all that unique among Filipinos. However, it doesn't Filipinos should ever take comfort in engaging in a crab mentality, just because other people do it . Here's an interesting excerpt from Inquirer by Jerry Peres de Tagle PhD: Studies in human behavior ...

It's a Common, Broken New Year's Resolution Among Filipinos to Do Better with Their Finances and Economic Knowledge

Happy New Year, right? There's this statement in Cebuano that says, "Sa Disyembre nag lipay-lipay. Sa Enero, naglikay-likay." For non-Cebuano speakers, it means, "Enjoying all December. Fleeing in January." It's because of the bad habits that are common during the Christmas season. I wrote an entry talking about when a Merry Christmas leads to an Unhappy New Year . After Christmas vacation, it can be common to talk about New Year's Resolutions. Sadly, there are resolutions meant to be broken or resolutions on paper only. Several people finish high school, go to college, get a job, but never gain the necessary knowledge of economics and finances. Instead, they continue to live the same habits year after year. Even worse, the same foolish behavioral patterns get passed down f rom parent to child to grandchild. Still stuck with financial habits that put one in a financial dodo The New Year starts and it can get funny. I tend to hate December because of the ...

Rejoicing Over Filipino Businesses Getting 100% Ownership Abroad While Crying Over FDIs Getting Allowed to Own 100% Ownership

The Philippine senatorial elections are on, right? One of the many things candidates (regardless of party) need to hold is the need for economic reform. As I continue discussing economic charter change, several objections are held. One of the objections is allowing 100% FDI--a subject often subjected to mockery. These mockeries can range from promoting colonial mentality, selling the Filipino to foreigners, borrowing money from abroad (which is definitely not investment, read here ), or even the ridiculous notion that FDI includes Filipino women dating foreigners (read here ). This time, I would like to address another hypocrisy. This time, it's all about Filipinos who rejoice that Filipino businesses are investing with 100% FDI ownership. All the while, this is crying foul when there's a law passed that will allow foreigners to own 100% FDI ownership , in the Philippines. This is a meme to expose the hypocrisy. Jollibee has 158 branches in Vietnam, which I assume happened bec...

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The Express Tribune The recent Microsoft Global Outage was caused by Crowdstrike. Since I'm no IT or CS expert--it's better if I let them talk in the news. From BBC News , here's a detail from Crowdstrike that reveals the root cause of the problem has been systemic with an update: This is still a little unclear. CrowdStrike is known for producing antivirus software, intended to prevent hackers from causing this very type of disruption. According to CrowdStrike boss George Kurtz, the issues are only impacting Windows PCs and no other operating systems, and were caused by a defect in a recent update . "The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed," he said. "This is not a security incident or cyber-attack." What exactly was wrong with the update is yet to be revealed, but as a potential fix involves deleting a single file, it is possible that just one rogue file could be at the root of all the mayhem. Thankfully, those who created th...

Is Vietnam Getting More FDI Inflows than the Philippines, Because of Its Supposedly Better Fight Against Corruption?

Discussing international marketing or world economics with boomer Filipinos can be painful. Some people still believe in the Filipino First Policy. I cite Vietnam as an example of why economic charter change (called econ cha cha) should be done. Some people cite that Vietnam's increase in FDI is because of the fight against corruption. I don't deny Vietnam has a crackdown on corruption. I don't deny that fighting against corruption helps the economy. However, fighting corruption without the proper tools and not having economic development, is useless. Fighting corruption isn't a panacea or cure-all either. Spanking is part of child discipline, not the whole of child discipline. People who only spank but never teach right and wrong, render spanking ineffective . Instead, look at Vietnam's economic policy vs. the Philippines' economic policy. Some people blame the following for the Philippines' lack of foreign investments, some things Vietnam also suffers fr...

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

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I was doing some news readings and I found out about the death of a certain Stephen Corilla. The incident happened in the Universal Robina Corporation's factory in Mandaue a few days ago. It really chilled my bones to read these details which I'll share from Sunstar : POLICE are set to investigate a food and beverage plant in Barangay Tabok, Mandaue City after one of its workers was killed on duty while cleaning a pulverizer machine Thursday afternoon, June 2, 2022. Cpl. Glenn Bordalba of the Mandaue City Police Office Station 3 in Barangay Basak who is leading the investigation told SunStar Cebu Monday, June 6, that they will visit the Universal Robina Corp. (URC) Mandaue City plant in Tabok on Tuesday, June 7, to investigate the matter. Bordalba added that they have not started the investigation yet as they were not allowed entry to the site by the URC management after the incident was reported to them. An approval from the corporation’s consultant is needed for the police to...

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March is fire prevention month, right? If there are people who are too extravagant then I'd like to talk again about stingy people (read the article here ). I've tried growing up with the stingy vs. extravagant extremes. Some people become stingy even with the necessities. It's one thing to deny a child a children's party since it's a want . It's another thing to deny a child stuff they need all in the name of saving money . Even worse, some people may be more than stingy enough to ignore fire safety. A stingy person just wants to save. It's almost like the story of the Miser and His Gold or The Rich Miser . I really find these stories entertaining at the same time, irritating. The first story has the miser who hid his gold under the ground. Some people today are too distrustful of banks and investments. The second story has a rich man who even dresses in rags, denies his son's shoes, had his wife cook some cake only for him, and was so greedy he had it ...

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