Rags To Riches Stories Prove 4Ps Is Garbage

I think about how much I actually enjoy dropping by Jollibee every now and then for some delicious varieties of their burgers -- cheesy bacon mushroom, TLC (tomato, lettuce and cheese) mushroom and any Filipino regardless of ethnicity can be proud to be Filipino for the reason that Jollibee is now going worldwide. I'm even excited to think of Jollibee is not only going to be Chinese (and Tan Caktiong is of Chinese descent but Filipino nonetheless) but also to the Japanese. But did you know that Tony Tan Caktiong wasn't born with a silver spoon? They started out poor, they started getting a little better, they were striving hard and the whole family rose up.

But that's not just one success story. Some people were even far worse. At least Tancaktiong was soon able to have some relief where they went from poor to middle class. But did you know that huge men like John Gokongwei, Lucio Tan and Henry Sy used to be very poor? We could talk about the situations of how these men got out without the lousy 4Ps program. They were far worse than Tancaktiong. Gokongwei was once a peddler, Tan was once a janitor and Sy was once a sari sari store seller before they gave us Robinson's, Universal Robina, Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines, Fortune Tobacco, SM Holdings, Banco De Oro and Chinabank which Filipinos enjoy today as part of the local investor scenario.

The claim that the 4Ps program will help increase spending and spending creates businesses is just a half-truth. Let's just say the government gives 4Ps to the poor. How sure is that certain stupid old man that they will mostly spend it on kangkong, rice, corn and other basic necessities to survive? I've heard some stories about how the lower class use 4Ps not to spend for necessities but for gambling. How in the world did 4Ps create jobs there and stimulate the economy? It just let the money spins around and around with no real increase.

Now let's talk about the rags riches stories. They had no 4Ps back then and all they had was to work hard to get them to where they are. They had to literally work themselves to get where they are. Gokongwei's peddling isn't an easy job especially they went from riches to rags when his father died. Tan was once scrubbing the floors of Bataan Tobacco Factory while going through College. Sy once saw his family store destroyed by World War II. He didn't give up as he had done buy and sell some shoes from American G.I.s hence the name Shoe Mart or SM. There was also constant innovation done in one way or another which brought those businesses to survive to where they are now.

Here's the reality. The same stupid old man said that 4Ps is for the 37% (more or less) of people with less purchasing power. But guess what -- those men that I've mentioned once belonged to a group with less purchasing power. How much do you think Tan could have spent with his salary as a janitor back then? Perhaps all he could afford was lugaw or mongo beans. He didn't wait for handouts. He worked himself so hard to pay for his food, his shelter and education. What if Tancaktiong's father decided to wait for government handouts rather than work their asses off to improve their restaurant so they will no longer be poor? These great men wouldn't exist. If Gokongwei just waited for handouts then he would always be from riches to rags (which was most likely a result of bad debts left by his father prior to death) if he just waited for handouts -- rather than strive to get the fortune back.

The 4Ps program is nothing more than mendicancy. It's giving Filipinos fish instead of teaching Filipinos how to fish. There's the real quote that teach anyone how to fish and they will have a lifetime. Just keep giving them fish and they will never have a meal for a lifetime. What did these success stories teach? It teaches that government handouts are just temporary help. They managed to increase their purchasing power by hard work. So far, what's your 4Ps success story would be how much money was wasted. They had their success alright -- they succeeded in wasting more money through 4Ps.