I found this meme on Facebook. For the sake of non-Tagalog speakers, it means:
- For each one that costs PHP 75.00 no complaints.
- PHP 50.00 per kilo, always complaining!
Last year, I wrote about what's dubbed as pera-normal activities. I would like to write about another cause behind these pera-normal activities. People tend to complain that the prices of goods and services have risen. However, they have no complaints about the rising prices of things they don't need. The meme on Facebook shows two things--the gin and the kilo of rice. I was skeptical about President Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos Jr.'s promise of PHP 20.00 per kilo of rice. The promise is ridiculous but he won anyway. We can thank the presidential system and the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines for that! Now, critics of Bongbong are demanding PHP 20.00 per kilo of rice. Shouldn't the critics show why it's impossible given the current circumstances?
This editorial cartoon from The Manila Times shows the lack of priority. What do you expect from people who drain their paychecks (read here)? They choose to splurge the paycheck instead of budgeting it. They think about the barkada blowout even when they've got mouths to feed. They would prefer gambling instead of investing (read here). There's more fun with gambling than slowly investing the money in stocks and bonds. Speaking of stocks, I hesitated to invest money in the stock market because of horror stories of people losing money in stocks. I never knew (at that time) that most horror stories come from day trading (read here). People want instant gratification. What do you expect from people who just want to have fun all the time? Even worse, they live with the toxic positivity mantra of, "Kung pait gani, butangi lang ug asukar." In English, it means, "If it's bitter, just add sugar!" (read here).
This may explain why people are still engaged in #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba economics. In English, that means raising salaries while lowering the prices of goods. These people ignore basic accounting and economics. What do you expect from people who confuse profits for revenues (read here)? They badmouth FDIs saying that 100% share ownership means no profits go to the Philippines. The Philippine government gets the taxes, not the profits! They're probably demanding higher salaries and lower prices of goods for this reason--so they can continue to have fun. Who wouldn't want to live in a society where salaries are high and the prices of goods are low? Production costs are the factor. If the costs of raw materials and transportation are lower, that might work. What must be accounted for is that salary rates will ultimately affect the end product or service!
The same can be true when the Christmas season arrives. It's no wonder many people have an unhappy new year because of holiday debt (read here). So much for playing the late Andy Williams' song "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year". I find that song to be full of toxic positivity. Never mind that Christmastime disasters do happen. The Doña Paz disaster aka the Titanic of Asia was a Christmastime disaster. During Christmas, it's effortless to say, "Good vibes only!" How inconsiderate can that be especially if a Christmastime disaster happened? Christmas in 2021 was anything but merry when Odette hit certain areas. Some people still want to celebrate anyway even in an emergency situation. People would complain about the rising prices of necessities but wouldn't hesitate to buy expensive gifts, have the band, etc. They may be availing of those under credit or under borrowed money.
It's only natural to complain when prices increase. However, one must ask, "Do I have the right to complain about the PHP 50.00 of kilo per rice when I'm not complaining about the gin that costs PHP 75.00 per bottle?"
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