If The Current "Opposition" REALLY Want To Help The Poor Then They Should Push For Economic Liberalization, Not Giving Ayuda

 

Some people say that I'm just a political analyst and economist wannabe. I may be neither BUT it doesn't mean I can't do some research and self-study on the BASICS. I decided to read through Get Real Philippines and their latest article is about "helping the poor" as an OBSOLETE platform. The following words in the introduction really get me to think about their theatrics:

Filipino voters are just so done over by those “helping the poor” ululations that pepper today’s “activist” rhetoric. This is the big lesson the Philippine Opposition need to learn if they are to win in 2022. That sort of rhetoric is simply not consistent with the way Philippine society is structured. You can see it most starkly in the way the rich cloister themselves within fortified residential enclaves patrolled by private armies. That reality does not sit well when one considers that the most chi chi “thought leaders” of wokedom grew up — and continue to tap their “activist” slogans into their 1000-dollar iPads — within those very walls. The sight of this private school set pontificating about the “plight” of the “poor” is quite rich indeed. Literally.

This pretty much illustrates the crisis of relevance the Opposition suffers today. They foolishly built their entire political brand on “helping the poor”. No less than their default “leader” of the moment, “vice president” Leni Robredo, had channelled most of her media mileage expenditure to publicity stunts that aim to showcase her “helping the poor” initiatives. Suffice to say, all of these PR stunts fell flat on their faces. Many have backfired badly thanks to the silly grin Robredo habitually sports while inserting herself in the midst of otherwise grim situations. For that matter, many of these supposedly “grim” situations were only made to look so on the back of the million-peso creative license Robredo’s army of consultants apply to these PR jobs.

This reminds me of back then that I wrote about three possible reasons why anti-squatting law got repealed. The three reasons I wrote are (1) squatters are easy to bribe for votes, (2) squatters are good for show business, and (3) squatters are an easy source for hiring thugs to do dirty work. The usual political stunt (and theatrics) about helping the poor makes you wonder do these people REALLY CARE ABOUT THE POOR or is it just show business? There are also those Filipino communists like members of Bayad Muna, Alliance of Complaining Teachers, Migraine International, and Kayabangan Parylist. They are opposing foreign direct investments (FDIs) as something that will not be beneficial to the poor. Their anti-FDI stance has been said to be for nationalism. Again, don't be fooled for a second because it's obvious that it's always been a battle for power. It has always been a power struggle whether we like to admit it or not. 

Why do I think this "helping the poor" program is nothing more than theatrics? If they really wanted to help the poor then guess what the poor REALLY need. It's not more ayuda or handouts such as the 4Ps program. It's not more spaghetti or fried chicken from Vice President Leni Loud Robredo. It's not black olives, mayonnaise, and bihon for the homeless. The poor need not just money but a steady source of money. What's the best steady source of money? It's all about having more JOB OPPORTUNITIES. It's the same old Chinese proverb that says, "Give a man fish and he will have meal for a day. Teach a man how to fish and he will have a meal for a lifetime." In short, give a man his ayuda and he will just have a meal for that day. Give a man decent work with a decent salary and he will have a meal for a lifetime. People are becoming lazier and lazier with government handouts. Besides, if they say that the government should print more money then the money gets DEVALUED to the point that it's inflationary. True, depreciated currency can be helpful (such as Japan and South Korea) but it can also be damaging when you've got economic policies like Venezuela and North Korea. Printing more money won't be that damaging IF the Philippines has economic policies like Japan and South Korea.

What economic reforms am I talking about? It was a good thing that the late Corazon C. Aquino gave back the businesses to the rightful owners. However, the maintenance of 60-40 or a certain degree of economic protectionism still prevailed. The opening of the Philippines to foreign investments (to a certain extent) has been done since the time of Fidel V. Ramos. Joseph Estrada, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and even Benigno Simeon C. Aquino did some easing of certain sectors according to the Asian Correspondent. However, what should have been done is to completely remove the 60-40 restriction on other affected sectors.  That's why the business environment isn't that good because there are still excessive restrictions. If you want more investors then get rid of that stupid 40% limitation of ownership. I mean, would you rent a space if your lessor will only let you own 40% of your business in his or her commercial space? I certainly won't rent that space. Instead, lessors will get more money from tenants (in the long run) IF the latter is allowed to own 100% of the intangible assets and that they're only required to pay monthy rentals than remit 60% of their profits to the landlord.

Welcoming FDI isn't against the poor but for the poor people to get better opportunities to climb out of poverty without having to have an OFW for the family. In business, the SWOT Analysis is all about surviving knowing one's Strengths, Weaknesses, OPPORTUNITIES, and Threats. It's the most basic tool used in business administration, accounting, and hospitality management courses. A bad businessperson only see FDIs only as a threat to their existence and bitch about it. A good businessperson sees FDIs as less of a threat and more of an OPPORTUNITY. A good businessperson doesn't whine about competition but faces it head on. A good businessperson sees that his customers' competition is also one's customers. A good businessperson sees the competition of his suppliers and service providers as one's opportunity to expand. A good businessperson respects one's competition (while keeping company secrets, well, secret) and chooses a friendly rivalry over a hostile relationship. FDIs may be foreigners but it's the locals of the country that get the job. Where FDIs go, the locals get the jobs and the country gets the investors. FDIs are still bound to local laws where they go even if they don't require a local partner. FDIs are still required to pay rent (or land tax IF they ever own land outside their country). In short, the FDI helps produce jobs for locals, products and services for local businesses, and more taxable income. Failure to keep one's obligation of paying rent will result in the Filipino lessor's rightful eviction. Failure to pay taxes and to follow business laws may result in deportation. 

I'm not saying that the current opposition should get rid of raising concerns for the poor. However, what they did to do is as said, SUPPORT ECONOMIC LIBERALIZATION. They need to stop being like the members of those pasaway commie fronts who only know how to beg this and that. They should focus on what makes jobs instead of continually giving ayuda to the poor. Unfortunately, it seems that the current opposition wants to keep people poor so they can continue to be "relevant". Unfortunately, they can only expect to remain out of the relevance spectrum unless they change their ways.