Don't Wait Until Filipinos Become Business Savvy Before Opening Up The Economy

I remembered having talks with people about the idea of opening up the economy. Others have their usual alibis not to open the country to foreign direct investment (FDI). Others mention that the Philippines isn't ready for FDI. Their reason? It's because of the typical Filipino spendthrift environment. Such a person would be like Benign0 of Get Real Philippines (GRP). I really wonder why the administrators of GRP still allow idiotic comments (such as a certain Darth Moron the Wuss) to still flood their posts? Ever heard of the word MODERATE? Anyway, time to back to the topic. Benign0 ended up showing that he DOES NOT understand how FDI works at all! Reading the article from CoRRECT Philippines (and I suggest you do) really shows the IGNORANCE of the idea that Filipinos must wait to be business savvy before opening up the economy!

Let's consider the two economic legacies namely Lee Kuan Yew (left) and Deng Xiaoping (right). 

Do you know that Singapore and China were ONCE POORER than the Philippines? You can consider the rampant corruption caused by Mao Zedong's China had caused. Did you know China wasn't always business savvy? Well, consider how Mao's decades-long rule plundered China's resources. Mao's two FAILED programs the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution left an impact on China for a LONG time. Do you think Chinese people would be business-savvy after decades of Mao's so-called "equal" state? Business-savvy Chinese left for different parts of the world including the Philippines. You can consider how Chinese prospered in other countries while those who were stuck in Mao's regime became lazy and stupid. Also, Singapore was once run by poverty and rampant crime. 

Did Lee and Deng wait until Singaporeans and Chinese become business-savvy? Nope. Instead, Deng started creating special economic zones. In the Netflix documentary History 101 - one documentary on China revealed that while Deng was indeed a dictator - he was also business-savvy. Deng went to the USA where he actually wanted to turn China into an economic power. Deng ended up defeating both the Marcos Years and the Aquino Years. If anything, Corazon C. Aquino herself could've taken pointers from both Lee and Deng on how to help the Philippines recover after the Marcos years' damage. 

How did the Chinese people learn to be business-savvy? Deng did the opposite of Mao. Deng opened China to FDI and China started to have more jobs. Deng gave his communist state a no work means no pay policy. I wonder did the Tiananmen Square massacre also involve lazy Chinese who missed Mao's handouts? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, Deng's communist agenda put Karl Marx and the likes of Bayad Muna and Kadamay to shame. The Kadamay commies won't last a day in China because they might be run over. Deng's opening up China for business made Chinese more business-savvy. They got paid based on how much they produced. That motivated the comrades of the People's Republic of China to work harder. Deng's program was truly the REAL Great Leap Forward. 

The same happened with democratic Singapore. Lee was a critic of Marcos. Okay, so I was wrong when I thought Lee said that Filipinos have a stupid democracy. Even I wonder where did that wrong quote come from. Anyway, what's important to know is that Lee actually emphasized that people need for freedom than democracy. Lee didn't wait until Singaporeans were business-savvy. Instead, Lee opened up Singapore to FDIs where they were ready or not. Lee knew that good old fashioned competition would change the way Singapore runs. Lee's no work means no pay policy did wonders because of an open economy. I wonder why in the world doesn't GRP ever get that? Too busy being idle in their ivory tower in Australia? 

How FDIs may change the way Filipinos run their businesses? 

What Benign0 of GRP doesn't understand is that culture is NOT static. If culture were static then why do you think Mao tried to undermine Chinese culture? Waiting for Filipinos to be business savvy before opening the Philippines to FDI is like waiting for people to stop littering before implementing anti-littering rules. That makes me ask the question of WHEN will Filipinos learn to be business-savvy? Many of them are a group of Bondyings because of protectionism. A good example of a Bondying business is ABiaS-CBN. It's a good thing that ABiaS-CBN didn't get its franchise renewal though I'm still in favor of letting it operate. One way or another ABiaS-CBN's baby bottle called the government franchise has been removed. It's more than time for ABiaS-CBN to face REAL competition. Then I'd suggest the same should go for EVERY local TV station because they're mostly PRIVATE-OWNED. If GMA-7 and TV-5 were also forced to compete WITHOUT a government franchise then SO MUCH THE BETTER.

It's because one truth is certain - the SYSTEM determines behavior. Thinking that the constitution or rules aren't like algorithms or an operating system is a flawed way of thinking. Having a good operating system is important to every good programmer. Every good driver needs a good car to do better. Since the current Philippine system is full of EXCESSIVE restrictions against FDI then you can expect Filipinos who aren't business-savvy as a result. A lack of competition was what turned China into a cesspool of lazy and ignorant Chinese. The same goes for the Philippines. Carlos P. Garcia's "Filipino First" policy, Marcos' crony capitalism, and the 1987 Constitution's excessive restrictions are all to blame as to why Filipinos have a LOSER mindset. 

I remembered writing an article on how Filipino businesses can actually grow with FDIs. What's on with it for them? It's because in businesses - we always have the SWOT analysis. SWOT means Strengths, Weaknesses, OPPORTUNITIES, and Threats. For every threat there's a possible opportunity. Why whine about you having competition when your customers now have competitors. True, FDIs will serve as a threat to local businesses (and to other FDIs as well) yet they also serve as opportunities. I mean, FDIs would want to purchase local raw materials for their production and hire locals as much as possible to reduce costs. For example, an FDI may want to buy rice and flour from a Filipino businessman in order to avoid importing from the former's home country. The Filipino businessman would in turn see that if his customers have FDIs as competitors then why not get other threats as customers?

As CoRRECT Movement wants to emphasize it - it's ALL about competition. Having threats keep people on their toes. If Filipino businessmen were faced with the threat of competition DAILY then wouldn't that change things? Filipino businessmen would be forced to innovate and improvise their businesses because of constant threats. The only local businesses that will die in the presence of FDI are those who refuse to step up to the plate and improve their business. Those businesses that gladly embrace competition are destined to evolve when they see opportunities in threats.