Kabataan Partylist SERIOUSLY Needs to Learn BASIC Business from the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union

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Foreign Trade University

A few days ago, I wrote about Kabataan Partylist needing to learn economics from the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union. Otherwise, I'll continue using the Vietnam Youth Union for convenience. Speaking of which, the Foreign Trade University in Vietnam is actually a government-owned university (read here). For this post, I decided to expand on a point, saying that Kabataan Partylist needs to learn from the Vietnam Youth Union on entrepreneurship. I pretty get jealous of the Vietnam Youth Union members with their practical early immersion. 

The National Defence Journal of Vietnam gives out this important detail of the Vietnam Youth Union: 

Fifth, enhancing the support of young intellectuals to get access to opportunities of work, research, develop ideas, products, and start-up to legitimately enrich themselves, the community and the country. Support the implementation of startup ideas and projects of young intellectuals in practice, making practical contributions to the country's development. In addition, there should be solutions to support young intellectuals to access capital to start their business. Actively innovate the content and methods of operation of intellectual organisations, etc., contributing to the successful implementation of the Party's resolution, building a contingent of young intellectuals with dreams, ambitions, and aspirations to develop themselves, make contribution to the country, and follow the entire intellectuals of the country on the path of integration, development, and make the country increasingly rich, prosperous, civilised, and happy.

Do Kabataan Partylist members really understand how businesses work, even at a basic level? 

Kabataan Partylist Twitter

When I think of Kabataan Partylist and their insistence on #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba economics, like what?! I end up saying "What?!" whenever I hear their stance against FDI, their crying foul when the Public Services Act of 2022, and their stance that we need a wage hike, not charter change. Do these people think that such decisions aren't ruled by the law of economics? Some people I ran into on Facebook (of all places) insist that supply and demand laws are all part of "some grand conspiracy by big corporations" (read here). Really, well, try refuting the idea of supply and demand then! Mao Zedong tried, Pol Pot tried, and both ended with disastrous results! 

The insistence on #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba can be proof of a lack of necessary economic knowledge. If they think increasing salaries while reducing the prices of goods, all at once, can work, one must ask, "Have they seen an income statement?" Of course, some people might even say, "But profits are just unpaid wages!" Excuse me, profits are barely half of the revenues! They may have studied some economics in high school and college, but it's purely theory. What do you expect when the Philippine education system grades us more on what we memorize for a test than what we understand? Grading should be based on understanding! A good grade should spring out of learning and healthy minds, not a result of excessive pressure to get them.

Business & Plans

We need to take a look at the sample income statement. Any person with basic knowledge of business would know that SG&A means selling, general, and administrative expenses. In short, that also includes the salaries of the workers. If one must increase the salary of the workers, they need to increase the prices of goods and services. Where will they get the money to increase the salary of the workers? Thin air? Print more money, which by the way, is inflationary and will reduce the value of the money. It should be funny that the Vietnam Youth Union is holding money much weaker than the PHP. The VND is barely equal to PHP 1.00. In fact, today's exchange rate is PHP 0.0022! However, why are investors flocking to Communist Vietnam instead? Why hasn't Vietnam ended up like Venezuela? Ever ask those questions and bother to research them, then rely on the IBON Foundation?

A sudden salary increase would mean, "It's time to raise prices too." That means a PHP 750.00 to PHP 1,200.00 daily salary isn't ideal under the current conditions. Salary increase is determined by supply/demand conditions in the job market, not #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba economics by the Trust Me Bro School of Economics (read here)! The final product must be sold higher price if the conditions require a price increase. Sell at a higher price when necessary. Sell at a lower price when necessary. Pricing conditions all depend on the law of supply and demand, not #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba economics. 

What may put Kabataan Partylist at odds with the Vietnam Youth Union is an understanding with business. The Vietnam Youth Union would've been immersed in businesses, even before entering business school! I would feel humbled if I were to meet the Vietnam Youth Union members. I even ask myself, "What can practicum in college teach compared to this?" I look at the Vietnam Youth Union members, and they're doing a business practicum even before college. What might be even more embarrassing is if there are commerce students in the Kabataan Partylist! 

If Kabataan Partylist were involved with businesses, they would start to understand how businesses work. They would get immersed in a basic income statement. They would see that increasing the salaries would also mean having to increase the prices of goods and services. They would look at the costs of supplies for their raw materials. However, Kabataan Partylist is showing their lack of an entrepreneurial mindset. If they did, they wouldn't be talking about wa age hike like it's just a walk in the park!

The Vietnam Youth Union's business-minded Communist youths

24h.com

It's easy to throw Alice Guo jokes (and they can be distasteful), especially the woman above looks even more like the dismissed mayor than chess champion Ju Wenjun. However, this is Ha Thi Thu Trang, a member of the Vietnam Youth Union with more brains than the cum laudes of Kabataan Partylist! I wish I had the context of the interview. The picture above has Thu Trang having an interview for her "Digital Transformation Startup Creative Idea Contest in Business". If only I could just find the news report. Given her course as a real estate major (and a cum laude at it), I was thinking about how she might be trying to fix imbalances between the rural area and urban area in Bac Giang. Bac Giang happens to be an agricultural center, and Thu Trang probably grew up on a farm, too.
"Currently, I feel very happy when I achieve with the certificates of merit, certificates of merit, and noble awards awarded by the Student Union at all levels. However, it is also from here that I feel the need to make efforts to improve myself and contribute a small part of my efforts to develop the work of the Youth Union - Association.

I always live, study and work with the concept: "On the road to success there are no footprints of lazy people" and if you try, you will achieve worthy results. As a young person, first of all, each of us needs to strive to improve ourselves, cultivate soft skills, because when we try to complete our tasks and missions well, we are living a useful life and contributing to the development of society." 

Vietnam National University 

The Vietnam Youth Union's involvement in business gives them an edge over Kabataan Partylist. The Vietnam Youth Union could've just focused on community service, like Kabataan Partylist. They could've just chosen to focus on activities (like above). The Vietnam Youth Union would have the awareness that to keep a pantry going, they need to buy the goods. This may be why the Vietnam Youth Union members are encouraged to engage in basic business. In doing so, Vietnam Youth Union members could raise money by asking for donations. In the process, the Vietnam Youth Union members may be more reliant on fundraising than donation asking. I don't think the Vietnam Youth Union has discounted asking for donations entirely. It's more likely they do both fundraising and donations. 

To think of it, the Vietnam Youth Union might even ask Kabataan Partylist, "Are you willing to dare to pay PHP 1,200.00 per day while selling cheaper goods?" This might have Kabataan Partylist members answer, "It's government responsibility, not ours!" Vietnam Youth Union members might even present their accounting statement from their small business, to prove that #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba economics doesn't work. Vietnam Youth Union members would say, "Well, why not prove it by opening your proposed #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba stores?" 

It's because the Vietnam Youth Union is under the influence of Doi Moi. Kabataan Partylist is under the influence of the Filipino First Policy. The Vietnam Youth Union underwent a radical transformation when Doi Moi became an integral part of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Meanwhile, the Filipino First Policy makes the Philippines laughable. People blame corruption as the sole reason why FDIs aren't entering. Reality talk: Communist Vietnam has had more FDI inflows than the Philippines (read here)! To Lam, the current General-Secretary (that is, the chairman) ate a gold steak and even imprisoned a critic. Vietnam isn't ideally freer than the Philippines. However, the Philippines wasted its freer environment through excessive economic restrictions! Kabataan Partylist still defends such third-world mentality nonsense. Meanwhile, the Vietnam Youth Union evolved from isolationism to prosperity. 

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