We beg to differ.
In the midst of big time oil price increases in the country, you can hear every Juan and Pedro complaining about how harder it will be to make ends meet. Some will go to the extent of politicizing the price increase just to be able to throw some cheap shots at the Duterte admin. Yes,…
For once, the Philippines’ “vice president” Leni Robredo said something right — and with conviction — rather than pander to populist sentiment like she usually does. Asked what she thought of the reported hardships Filipinos could be facing if inflation rate trends continue, she urged Filipinos “to curb their spending habits, save and find ways…
Read More “Defending Leni Robredo’s “anti-poor” statements” »
Much has been said about the poor being unable to escape the simple poverty equation I proposed earlier — that to escape poverty, one merely needs to spend less and make more money. For most Filipinos, the challenge is keeping ahead of inflation. For poor people whose spending is almost entirely confined to just the…
Inflation is like taxation. It is a certainty. The only thing that is not certain about inflation is the rate at which it gallops (or trots) along. Sometimes we enjoy low inflation rates and sometimes we suffer high inflation rates. At an individual level, we have no control over the behaviour of this ill-understood economic…
Read More “Whining about inflation (and politicising it) won’t solve Philippine poverty” »
Why are Filipinos poor? Simple. Because they entered into too many commitments they, as a people, are inherently incapable of honouring. That’s essentially the definition of poverty in my book. As such, poverty in the Philippines is not the enormous problem it is made out to be. At its core, it is a simple problem…
Read More “Philippine poverty is really a very simple problem. It really is.” »
Treatment of the poor is perhaps among the greatest issues that lead to a lot of debate online or offline. It’s one of the issues politicians like to exploit for their “platforms” (and it’s an overly beaten one, so much that it’s now a non-platform), and sometimes it’s an issue that separates friends. But for…
Read More “Unmuddling the Issue of How One Should See the Poor” »
Evidently, Inquirer columnist Rina Jimenez-David set out to write another unimaginative piece on presidential granddaughter Isabelle Duterte, the latest outrage fad her Yellowtard community is feasting on. This is not the point of my article here. The more interesting insights to be gleaned from Jimenez-David’s piece lies in what can be read between the lines….
Read More “The POOR are responsible for uplifting the poor, NOT the rich” »
Most Filipinos would like to believe that the outrage they feel (or are encouraged to feel by their “activists”) about excessive displays of wealth comes from a deep need to see social justice delivered. Thus, the typical screeching lament we hear when such “social justice warriors” (SJWs) are confronted with displays of wealth goes like…
Read More “Filipinos are poor because their “activists” teach them to be obsessed with the rich” »