Shaun T. Dy's Business & Economics Perspective Blog

Some time ago, I wrote about why I can't take IBON Foundation seriously . As the battle for economic charter change is on, I believe it's time to tackle them again. They're tweeting here and there. Okay, I'm no researcher or organization. However, it doesn't mean that I can't do some basic research, share the research of others, and read other books. Even an intellectually stupid person can actually make sense if they gather the best materials. I even recall someone I know who's not intelligent but he actually spoke well about career opportunities, in the very school where he wasn't performing well! Trying to understand IBON's data presentation  I would like to address how IBON Foundation presents FDI growth. They would say stuff such as the claim job creation weakened despite FDI growth .  I was looking at IBON Foundation's claim (above) where it says that job creation allegedly weakened despite FDI inflows. Sure, they named sources but do they

Feeling the heat wave today is really something. I tend to take antihistamine tablets every now and then due to prickly heat. The post above was towards the end of the year. As a business school graduate (and with an MBA on top of it), I feel the need not to heed the IBON Foundation (read why here ). I even wrote a post as to why I can't take their executive director Sonny Africa's statement about FDIs seriously . Their continued quest for national industrialization, their destructive obsession with ayudas meaning cash handouts (read here ), and the Filipino First Policy make me cringe.  The recent narrative on agriculture is this. Just reading Africa's statement reminds me I wrote an article about eating rotten meat . The question that I asked is would anti-business, anti-FDI Filipinos want to eat rotten meat in an isolationist Philippines. I shared the comment on the now-defunct Philippine Anti-Fascist League Facebook page (they made a second one but it's so inactive)

WWD I really hate December because of the heavy traffic. Some say that people do last-minute Christmas shopping because they just live paycheck to paycheck. However, the way things go during payday can tell why they can't have the money to do some early Christmas shopping . An irony indeed that Christmas comes early in the Philippines (September) but not the Christmas shopping.  Indeed, so many should realize that living paycheck-to-paycheck should be a warning not to splurge on it (read here ). Instead, they choose to many stupid activities. Maybe, call in the one-day paycheck where they immediately go splurging the paycheck when it arrives. They would focus more on their wants than their needs. I guess that's why some fools are demanding the stupidity of higher salaries and lower price of goods aka Sahod Itaas Presyo Ibaba. I'm afraid that such a move isn't economically feasible (read here ). Even if they do get a high-income job (or even become an OFW for better inco

  2023 is about to end and it's going to be  2024  any time soon. It's very easy to talk about  New Year's Resolutions  but why is system change hardly discussed? I run into people on Facebook who love to say, "It's just common sense that it's the people, not the system, that's the problem." That's the  wrong type of thinking  that hits people whether it's business or politics. I would like to discuss how systems affect business. Back then, I was challenged, "If you manage the business, can you do better?" My only answer is, "There's no guarantee." What I should've said is, "We must create a system for the business that will force anyone, not just me, to do better." We need to define what a system is  Does a system really matter? If you look at the definition of what a system is in this context, I can give the definition from the  Merriam-Webster Dictionary : 1 :  a regularly interacting or interdependent g

Updated: December 23, 2023 I'm amazed at how I'm surrounded by people overly resistant to change. I was reminded of a former house helper (who also loved the phrase "If it's bitter then just add sugar", read the related article here ), who was overly resistant to change. She would always get mad whenever the iron, the light outlet, etc. were changed to better ones. I'm afraid the same can be true about jeepney modernization. There are some people (and even "thought leaders") who are still saying, "No to jeepney modernization! Think of the drivers!" The same people may also be those who are still against accepting of FDIs because of dumb reasons like "But only the FDIs will get rich!" or "FDIs will invade us and destroy our sovereignty type of talk."  I'd admit that driving in the Philippines isn't exactly more fun. I remembered a couple of times I cursed because of a jeepney driver. I guess the vehicle gets the n

Chinese is a tonal language and it can be very confusing. None of the overdose of memorizations in Chinese has done a thing. I tried using the Taoli application updates and found myself not hitting the 75% mark in the Pinyin lessons. I do feel I didn't master the subject until I hit 75% (passing) then tried to reach 80%. The final lesson in the Taoli Pinyin course is tonal change . If I still had that weekly report card from the Pinyin course, I think I'd get a red mark with a score I had with only 68% during my exercise last night.  It can be very confusing but here are a few rules to remember: Vivid Chinese This can be very confusing. From the Vivid Chinese , we can read this general rule of thumb to follow: 不 usually pronouns as “bù.” But it can change to “bú” when it follows by a 4th tone word. 一 pronouns as “yī.” But it can change to “yí” or “yì.” And if you see two third tone in a row, the pronunciation of the first word will change to the second tone. This can get confu

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