Why Serfdom-Reliance and Protectionism Will Undo Any Economic Growth in the Long Run?!

Although the Marcos 1972 Constitution is gone but one rule was never removed when the 1987 Constitution was written - it was the rule of economic protectionism. While Cory had reduced presidential powers but the failure to correct any mistakes she made, isn't going to help. Nobody must look at Cory as some flawless being but a flawed human whose errors need to be rectified to bring improvement.

So what's wrong? When the 1987 Constitution refused to revise the economic protectionism otherwise provided by the 1972 Constitution, it continued the SAME legacy of corruption, only under different names. While Cory was not a dictator but refusing to remove those provisions has caused two major problems - serfdom and the oligarchy. Let me discuss how these two aren't working.


Serfdom

It's typical for many Pinoys to think working abroad is glorious. Some of them have become as stupid to think Pinoys working over the world means the Philippines is taking over the world. The reality of the situation is that having Pinoys working all over the world puts the Philippines at the yoke of the rest of the world. Being an OFW means being under foreign control. Just think about it - most earnings of OFWs are taxed by the place of origin. Income earned in foreign ground is income taxable in foreign ground.

Another problem is with bad OFWs. Now not all OFWs are bad, some of them are OFWs with a plan. But the problem is most OFWs usually stay poor. The idea of relying on serfdom is one of the biggest disasters ever. Having Filipinos looking for jobs around the world with or without demand for them means SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH THE PHILIPPINE ECONOMY.


Protectionism

The Marcos oligarchy of 1972 were businessmen protected by Marcos policies. Why do Marcos cronies say that the Marcos years were the best? It was the best years for them, not for the rest of the country. Being an oligarch is really more fun in ANY protectionist state because the poor are under your control. You can exploit everyone and raise prices, deteriorate services and do anything you want especially you have unethical protection from the president.

The 60/40 restriction says foreigners may only own 40% of shares and Pinoys get 60%. It's a major problem because it refuses to do any give and take. Why is it that any Filipino business may invest 100% abroad while foreigners may only invest 40% in the Philippines? It's just very unfair isn't it? To be honest, the oligarchy means fewer job opportunities and lesser revenues. Why don't they want the Philippine economy to open up? It's because they want their sissy asses protected. Besides, lesser job opportunities means less revenues.

One has to think... if foreign firms are attracted to invest in the Philippines, would not that even raise GDP MUCH BIGGER than now? More open economy means more revenues and more jobs. Sad to say, either the government isn't using its common sense or they are just too full of themselves. Besides, protectionism is what's giving the corrupt oligarchy its power.

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