Shaun T. Dy's Business & Economics Perspective Blog

Do econ cha-cha opponents have no choice because FDIs "unfairly" own the means of production (read here )? There's always the tendency to say that they participate in capitalism because they have "no choice" but to participate in it to survive. The screenshot above is of Rosario Guzman of the IBON Foundation . They say that the business owners "unfairly" own the means of production (read here ). The photo above makes me laugh because why in the world are they using a MacPro ? I ask, "If you hate capitalism, why use Apple?" They have their usual rhetoric that it's because the workers should own the means of production as if workers were the ones who bought the equipment. It's as if the workers become the most liable for bad business decisions. One wrong check mark and the company may go south. Another question to fire is, "Did society force you to buy Apple products which you know for well, is rather expensive?"  This may mak

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 ins

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

It's National Heroes Day, right? Three years ago, my life almost came to a halt and it was worsened by Odette. It was a good thing that I was already vaccinated twice before Odette came in 2021 . I remembered how some business establishments in Cebu City, Philippines, helped in the COVID-19 relief operation. One of those I remembered was Cherry's the Spice on the way to Talamban, Cebu City. Cherry's the Spice was among those who participated in the frontline when they gave food to the military and medical personnel. ABACA Group also gave some food to the health workers. Little India Healthy Cuisine also gave some vegetarian food to hospital workers. It was a difficult time and I had to learn to ration food at that time. I would eat whatever was available. There were also foreign food companies that helped in the pandemic. We also can't discount the employees who helped distribute the food. Without employees, a company can never move forward and employers owe them their

Finding anti-capitalist (or better said, anti-business) wokes on Facebook (of all places) is just plain funny. Maybe, the term socialist isn't so negative since the late Lee Kuan Yew considered himself a socialist, the late Deng Xiaoping is the author of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, and Vietnam still considers itself as a socialist country. The picture above this paragraph says that landlords and stock traders allegedly "contribute absolutely nothing to society". I feel compelled to write a bit of a post since, as a business graduate, I do feel insulted. Then again even if I didn't get an MBA--I do still feel insulted myself! How good landlords contribute to society   Landlords are often said to be a blight. Some say that it's the "easiest job in the world". However, managing real estate (especially rentals ) isn't as easy as some think. I wrote an essay as to why being a landowner isn't as easy as some people think . I would like to d

Previously, I wrote about how the Philippines can never get rich by blaming its richer Asian neighbors . Right now, I think I want to write this new short where I'm talking about the anti-successful people mindset. I remembered a couple of people I met in college who had this bad habit of saying, "It's the fault of the rich that we're poor!" I was often told that I "bullied" them because I was one of those whom they call "may kaya" (those who are better off). Such statements happen when I also mention something like, "Do you people wonder why you have little to no money?" I must "applaud" the stupidity of the argument that says, "It's the fault of the rich that we're poor!"  Why is it common for some poor people to rudely generalize the rich as insensitive people while they're the victim?  Psychology Today  presents this on why some people will always blame others . It's really something when you th

The battle for or against economic liberalization has been going on for years. Back then, I remembered the Filipino First Policy and how it was taught in values education (read here ). With March, it's very easy to remember the late Flor Contemplacion, whom Migrante (Migrant) International (or some people on Facebook gave them the nickname  Migraine International ) still has declared as some kind of heroine (read here ). Migrante International (which has branches around the world, ironically ) has also shared several ideals that are really declared failures yet they still insist on them. They have been demanding for "Trabaho sa Pinas, hindi sa labas." (Jobs in the Philippines, not abroad). Yet, one big question that I'd like to ask as an MBA graduate (though I'm no longer planning to pursue a doctorate) is this, "Do these groups demanding jobs for Filipinos, instead of abroad, provide local employment." A look at the economic nonsense arguments of Filipi

Today would've been the 96th birthday of the late John L. Gokongwei Jr. Right now, I want to write this blog entry in his honor. Once he spoke at the University of San Carlos (USC) but I never had the chance to shake his hand. I did meet Mr. Bunny Pages of Mooon Cafe during my MBA days. Now, I'd like to write some life lessons on Gokongwei. I decided to start thinking about my advocacy for economy reforms. Back then, I remembered when I asked people if they'd listen to Gokongwei or Hilario Davide Jr. Some said, "If it's business, it's Gokongwei. If it's law, it's Davide." Though, Davide Jr. had erroneously made a statement concerning foreign direct investments (FDIs). That's why I asked about Davide Jr. or Gokongwei when it's regarding business. Though, a better question to ask is if you'd listen to Davide Jr. or the other UN diplomat grandpa, Singaporean-Indian Kishore Mahbubani (read here ). One of the things I noticed in my recent ad

Dreamstime.com People tend to hate capitalism without knowing what it means. More often than not, capitalism is often confused with commercialism. However, we must know the difference between the two. It's very crucial to learn what the difference is aside from the spelling . We need to take a view of two socio-economic systems and why one isn't the other. Let's define capitalism in its plain simple terms Capitalism is simply defined by the  Investopedia  as: ...an economic system in which  private individuals or businesses own capital goods . The production of goods and services is based on  supply and demand  in the general market—known as a market economy—rather than through central planning—known as a planned economy or command economy. In short, capitalism's focus is that private individuals or businesses are in charge of production. In turn, these businessmen fill in the supply and demand gap of the market. The supply and demand gap starts from basic goods to good